When Luigi Mangione was arrested for the alleged murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in December 2024, public reaction shocked observers. Far from universal condemnation, many people expressed support. This was especially true among younger people, with polls showing 41% of young adults viewed the murder as acceptable.
So what leads the average person to justify extreme violence? Our recently published research, in the special issue “Understanding violent extremism” of the APA Journal Psychology of Violence, locates the answer in one increasingly widespread phenomenon: workplace burnout.
