Grandstanding or foreshadowing: analysing the University of Alabama active shooter threats with intergroup threat theory

Abstract

In 2014, the University of Alabama community became the victim of a cyber-threat for a school shooting that started on social media. This active shooter threat was used as an opportunity to embrace the rarity and unpredictability of a crisis, and publicly accessible social media data were captured and analysed using established linguistic analysis software. Through the lens of intergroup threat theory, social media and publicly sent messages were analysed so that it was possible to test predictions that in-group (individuals on campus) messages would differ in their use of language compared to out-group (mass media) messages. The results indicated that individuals differed significantly from mass media in the following ways: individuals used more personal and fewer plural pronouns, more religious language, and less cognitive complexity than mass media. Also, as might be expected, individuals engaged in more reassurance giving and information seeking than did the mass media. Implications and directions for future research are discussed, with an emphasis on understanding the nature of resilience.