Raging
Violent Video Games and Violent Crime
Scott Cunningham, Benjamin Engelstätter & Michael Ward
Southern Economic Journal, April 2016, Pages 1247–1265
Abstract:
Video games are an increasingly popular leisure activity. As many best-selling games contain hyper-realistic violence, many researchers and policymakers have hypothesized that violent games cause violent behaviors. Laboratory experiments have found evidence suggesting that violent video games increase aggression. Before drawing policy conclusions about the effect of violent games on actual behavior, these experimental studies should be subjected to tests of external validity. Our study uses a quasi-experimental methodology to identify the short-run and medium-run effects of violent game sales on violent crime using time variation in retail unit sales data of the top 30 selling video games and violent criminal offenses from both the Uniform Crime Report and the National Incident-Based Reporting System from 2005 to 2011. We find no evidence of an increase in crime associated with video games and perhaps a decrease.
---------------------
Violence as Honorable? Racial and Ethnic Differences in Attitudes Toward Violence
Mary Rose & Christopher Ellison
Crime & Delinquency, June 2016, Pages 800-820
Abstract:
Criminologists have suggested that Latinos differ from Southern Whites in their views of violence. A sample of 1,429 Texans indicated whether they agreed that violence deserves a violent response, whether violence is necessary to prevent future violence, and whether people have a right to kill in defense of self or family. Controlling for other factors, Latinos and African Americans were more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to disagree about the need for violence in preventing future harm and the right to self-defense. Less-acculturated Latinos, indicated by whether they took the survey in Spanish, were the least supportive of violence. Despite having roots in a so-called “culture of honor,” Latino immigrants, as well as those who are U.S. citizens, have distinct views on violence.
---------------------
Going to extremes for one's group: The role of prototypicality and group acceptance
Liran Goldman & Michael Hogg
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
To explore who goes to aggressive and antisocial extremes on behalf of their group we primed perceptions of (a) group prototypicality (peripheral vs. central) and (b) ease of acceptance by the group. Participants were members of self-significant groups — fraternities and sororities (N = 218). Drawing on social identity theory, uncertainty-identity theory and the social identity theory of influence through leadership, we found, as predicted, that peripheral members who believed it was easy to be accepted were most likely to intend to engage in and support antisocial and aggressive intergroup behaviors. This effect was somewhat stronger among males than females, and strengthened among the most highly identified participants. The research's potential for understanding socially harmful intergroup violence is noted.
---------------------
Are target-shooters more aggressive than the general population?
Thorsten Erle et al.
Aggressive Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
Although psychological research shows that guns are aggressive cues, proponents of liberal gun control argue that people rather than guns are to blame for gun-related violence. For instance, athletic target-shooters might classify guns as athletic rather than aggressive stimuli and thus should not be more aggressive than the general population. The present work investigated aggression and emotion-regulation in target-shooters. A longitudinal study found that initial self-reported aggression in target-shooters was higher than in the general population and further increased over 1 year. Additionally, the sample exhibited deficient emotion-regulation strategies, and this was related to self-reported aggression. In contrast, their implicit self-construct became more peaceful over time but was unrelated to all other measures. Two further cross-sectional experiments explored the causal impact of athletic target-shooting and other athletic activities (shooting a basketball) on aggression. Target-shooters and basketball players were tested before and after their regular team practice and aggressive thoughts and feelings were measured. Target-shooting but not basketball practice activated aggressive and anxiety-related thought more strongly than positive thought. Future research avenues, implications for the indirect measurement of aggression, and possible interventions to decrease aggression in target-shooters are discussed.
---------------------
Have LEGO Products Become More Violent?
Christoph Bartneck et al.
PLoS ONE, May 2016
Abstract:
Although television, computer games and the Internet play an important role in the lives of children they still also play with physical toys, such as dolls, cars and LEGO bricks. The LEGO company has become the world’s largest toy manufacturer. Our study investigates if the LEGO company’s products have become more violent over time. First, we analyzed the frequency of weapon bricks in LEGO sets. Their use has significantly increased. Second, we empirically investigated the perceived violence in the LEGO product catalogs from the years 1978–2014. Our results show that the violence of the depicted products has increased significantly over time. The LEGO Company’s products are not as innocent as they used to be.
---------------------
The association between intelligence and personal victimization in adolescence and adulthood
Kevin Beaver et al.
Personality and Individual Differences, August 2016, Pages 355–360
Abstract:
Intelligence has been linked to antisocial, violent, and criminal behaviors. Surprisingly, however, there is a lack of research examining whether intelligence differentially affects the risk for personal victimization. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining whether adolescent levels of verbal intelligence are related to the odds of personal victimization in adolescence and adulthood. This study analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). The results revealed a statistically significant and consistent association between intelligence and victimization. Persons with lower intelligence were more likely to report being victimized even after controlling for the effects of violent criminal behavior. Future research would benefit by examining more closely the association between IQ score and the risk for victimization over the life course.
---------------------
Code of the Classroom? Social Disadvantage and Bullying Among American Adolescents, U.S. 2011-2012
Bryan Sykes, Alex Piquero & Jason Gioviano
Crime & Delinquency, forthcoming
Abstract:
Little research has explored whether social policies aimed at lessening economic hardship affect the prevalence of bullying, particularly after the Great Recession. This article investigates how the strains of neighborhood and cumulative disadvantage are associated with racial differences in bullying, and we consider whether social program participation — enlistment in needs-based social programs to attenuate poverty and disadvantage — upends race-based differences in bullying. Using probit, negative binomial, and propensity score matching methods, we show that adolescents who experience any markers of disadvantage are more likely to bully others, with Black and Hispanic adolescents being more likely to engage in bullying than Whites. Importantly, matched estimates reveal that participation in needs-based social programs eliminates racial differences in bullying.
---------------------
The Bond That Breaks: Closeness and Honor Predict Morality-Related Aggression
Theresa Benavidez, Adon Neria & Daniel Jones
Evolutionary Psychological Science, June 2016, Pages 140-148
Abstract:
Endorsement of a “culture of honor” contributes to the belief that family honor is tied to female obedience across a variety of moral values. Violations of these moral values may lead to aggression. Male participants in studies 1 and 3 filled out a measure of cultural honor and closeness to their present wife or partner. Participants with high levels of both closeness and honor were most aggressive toward a hypothetical moral violation. In study 2, we randomly assigned men to bond or not with a female confederate who devalued his most important moral value. Participants were then given the opportunity to aggress against her in a supposedly unrelated study by choosing how much painful hot sauce she would be forced to drink. Once again, high levels of closeness and honor predicted the greatest levels of aggression. In sum, moral disagreements by women are met with increased aggression within the culture of honor, the closer an honor-endorsing male is to the woman.
---------------------
Ruschelle Leone, Dominic Parrott & Kevin Swartout
Psychology of Violence, forthcoming
Objective: The current study examined effects of the presence of a misogynistic male peer norm and masculine gender role stress (MGRS) on bystander intervention behavior for sexual aggression.
Method: Undergraduate men (N = 104) engaged in a novel laboratory paradigm in which they and 3 male confederates watched a female confederate, who reported a strong dislike of sexual content in the media, view a sexually explicit film which they could stop at any time. Prior to the female viewing the film, participants were randomly assigned to an audience manipulation wherein the male confederates set a misogynistic or ambiguous group norm.
Results: Zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression models indicated (a) the presence of a misogynistic peer norm decreased the odds of intervening, and (b) higher levels of MGRS significantly increased the rate of bystander intervention among participants exposed to a misogynistic, but not an ambiguous, norm.
Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of examining situational and individual level factors that may influence prosocial bystander intervention behavior to prevent sexual aggression.
---------------------
Uric acid excretion predicts increased aggression in urban adolescents
Sylvie Mrug & Michal Mrug
Physiology & Behavior, September 2016, Pages 144–148
Abstract:
Elevated levels of uric acid have been linked with impulsive and disinhibited behavior in clinical and community populations of adults, but no studies have examined uric acid in relation to adolescent aggression. This study examined the prospective role of uric acid in aggressive behavior among urban, low income adolescents, and whether this relationship varies by gender. A total of 84 adolescents (M age 13.36 years; 50% male; 95% African American) self-reported on their physical aggression at baseline and 1.5 years later. At baseline, the youth also completed a 12-h (overnight) urine collection at home which was used to measure uric acid excretion. After adjusting for baseline aggression and age, greater uric acid excretion predicted more frequent aggressive behavior at follow up, with no significant gender differences. The results suggest that lowering uric acid levels may help reduce youth aggression.