Affect: origins and Targets of Hate

Abstract Somewhere in the United States a hate crime is committed every hour — someone is being assaulted on the basis of his or her race, religion, or sexual orientation. Innocent people are being murdered, raped, and intimidated, and their property is being destroyed for no other reason than their affiliation to a group that is disliked, despised, or even hated by the perpetrator (Crime in the United States, 2007 ). Turning one's eyes from the United States to other parts of the world, the situation does not look much better. Worldwide, there are dozens of armed conflicts and wars being fought. Terrorism and counterterrorism are increasing risks to the security of the global community. At the time this article is being written, genocide is being committed in parts of the Sudan. Genocides are nothing new. Past genocides have left many millions of people dead. The causes of the armed conflicts, genocides, terror attacks, and hate crimes are complex and cannot be reduced to one single factor. However, hate toward the target group is one (of the many) antecedents in most of these cases. To date, little attention has been given by psychologists to understanding how hate evolves and is maintained. Only knowledge of these processes will make it possible to devise programs to prevent the development of hate and to intervene effectively in ongoing conflicts.