Regression to the mean
Casualties of Social Combat: School Networks of Peer Victimization and Their Consequences
Robert Faris & Diane Felmlee
American Sociological Review, April 2014, Pages 228-257
Abstract:
We point to group processes of status conflict and norm enforcement as fundamental elements in the development of school-based victimization. Socially vulnerable youth are frequently harassed for violating norms, but the logic of status competition implies they are not the only victims: to the extent that aggression is instrumental for social climbing, increases in status should increase risk — at least until the pinnacle of the hierarchy is reached. Victimization causes serious harm, and, we argue, at the margin these consequences will be magnified by status. We test these ideas using longitudinal network data on friendship and victimization from 19 schools. For most students, status increases the risk of victimization. However, youth at the uppermost extremes of the school hierarchy — students in the top 5 percent of centrality and those with cross-gender friendships where such friendships are rare — sit just above the fray, unlikely to fall victim to their peers. As expected, females and physically or socially vulnerable youth are victimized at particularly high rates. Victims experience psychological distress and social marginalization, and these adverse effects are magnified by status. For most students, gains in status increase the likelihood of victimization and the severity of its consequences.
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Biting versus Chewing: Eating Style and Social Aggression in Children
Brian Wansink et al.
Eating Behaviors, forthcoming
Abstract:
Does biting food lead to aggressive behavior? An experimental study is reported where children ages 6–10 (n = 12) were served chicken either on-the-bone or pre-cut in bite-size pieces. When children ate on-the-bone chicken, they exhibited more aggressive behavior than pre-cut, boneless chicken. For example, children were more likely to violate the counselor’s instructions by leaving the eating area after eating on-the-bone chicken compared to kids who ate pre-cut chicken. These findings suggest a connection between how children eat and how they behave. This could have implications for developmental psychologists as well as for educators and parents.
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Jane O'Reilly et al.
Organization Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Ostracism has been recognized as conceptually and empirically distinct from harassment. Drawing from theory and research that suggests that employees have a strong need to belong in their organizations, we examine the comparative frequency and impact of ostracism and harassment in organizations across three field studies. Study 1 finds that a wide range of employees perceive ostracism, compared with harassment, to be more socially acceptable, less psychologically harmful, and less likely to be prohibited in their organization. Study 2 surveyed employees from a variety of organizations to test our theory that ostracism is actually a more harmful workplace experience than harassment. Supporting our predictions, compared with harassment, ostracism was more strongly and negatively related to a sense of belonging and to various measures of employee well-being and work-related attitudes. We also found that the effects of ostracism on well-being and work-related attitudes were at least partially mediated by a sense of belonging. Study 3 replicated the results of Study 2 with data collected from employees of a large organization and also investigated the comparative impact of ostracism and harassment on employee turnover. Ostracism, but not harassment, significantly predicted actual turnover three years after ostracism and harassment were assessed, and this was mediated by a sense of belonging (albeit at p < 0.10). Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.
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Effects of Avatar Race in Violent Video Games on Racial Attitudes and Aggression
Grace Yang et al.
Social Psychological and Personality Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
The media often link Black characters and violence. This is especially true in video games, in which Black male characters are virtually always violent. This research tested the effects of playing a violent game as a Black (vs. White) avatar on racial stereotypes and aggression. In Experiment 1, White participants (N = 126) who played a violent video game as a Black avatar displayed stronger implicit and explicit negative attitudes toward Blacks than did participants who played a violent video game as a White avatar or a nonviolent game as a Black or White avatar. In Experiment 2, White participants (N = 141) who played a violent video game as a Black (vs. White) avatar displayed stronger implicit attitudes linking Blacks to weapons. Implicit attitudes, in turn, related to subsequent aggression. Black violent video game avatars not only make players more aggressive than do White avatars, they also reinforce stereotypes that Blacks are violent.
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Justin Carré et al.
Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
We tested the hypotheses that the Fast Track intervention program for high-risk children would reduce adult aggressive behavior and that this effect would be mediated by decreased testosterone responses to social provocation. Participants were a subsample of males from the full trial sample, who during kindergarten had been randomly assigned to the 10-year Fast Track intervention or to a control group. The Fast Track program attempted to develop children’s social competencies through child social-cognitive and emotional-coping skills training, peer-relations coaching, academic tutoring, and classroom management, as well as training for parents to manage their child’s behavior. At a mean age of 26 years, participants responded to laboratory provocations. Results indicated that, relative to control participants, men assigned to the intervention demonstrated reduced aggression and testosterone reactivity to social provocations. Moreover, reduced testosterone reactivity mediated the effect of intervention on aggressive behavior, which provides evidence for an enduring biological mechanism underlying the effect of early psychosocial intervention on aggressive behavior in adulthood.
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Low glucose relates to greater aggression in married couples
Brad Bushman et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, forthcoming
Abstract:
Intimate partner violence affects millions of people globally. One possible contributing factor is poor self-control. Self-control requires energy, part of which is provided by glucose. For 21 days, glucose levels were measured in 107 married couples. To measure aggressive impulses, each evening participants stuck between 0 and 51 pins into a voodoo doll that represented their spouse, depending how angry they were with their spouse. To measure aggression, participants competed against their spouse on a 25-trial task in which the winner blasted the loser with loud noise through headphones. As expected, the lower the level of glucose in the blood, the greater number of pins participants stuck into the voodoo doll, and the higher intensity and longer duration of noise participants set for their spouse.
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Stuart Kirby, Brian Francis & Rosalie O’Flaherty
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, May 2014, Pages 259-276
Objectives: This study aims to establish whether empirical evidence exists to support the anecdotal view that the Fédération Internationale de Football Association world cup football (soccer) tournament can be associated with a rise in reported domestic abuse incidents, when viewed remotely via television.
Method: A quantitative analysis, using Poisson and negative binomial regression models looked at monthly and daily domestic abuse incidents reported to a police force in the North West of England across three separate tournaments (2002, 2006, and 2010).
Results: The study found two statistically significant trends. First, a match day trend showed the risk of domestic abuse rose by 26 percent when the English national team won or drew, and a 38 percent increase when the national team lost. Second, a tournament trend was apparent, as reported domestic abuse incidents increased in frequency with each new tournament.
Conclusion: Although this is a relatively small study, it has significant ramifications due to the global nature of televised football (soccer) tournaments. If replicated, it presents significant opportunities to identify and reduce incidents of domestic abuse associated with televised soccer games.
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Thomas Harford, Hsiao-ye Yi & Bridget Grant
Child Abuse & Neglect, forthcoming
Abstract:
The aim of this study is to examine associations among childhood physical, emotional, or sexual abuse and violence toward self (suicide attempts [SA]) and others (interpersonal aggression [IA]). Data were obtained from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions Waves 1 and 2 (n = 34,653). Multinomial logistic regression examined associations between type of childhood abuse and violence categories, adjusting for demographic variables, other childhood adversity, and DSM-IV psychiatric disorders. The prevalence of reported childhood abuse was 4.60% for physical abuse, 7.83% for emotional abuse, and 10.20% for sexual abuse. Approximately 18% of adults reported some form of violent behavior, distributed as follows: IA, 13.37%; SA, 2.64%; and SA with IA, 1.85%. After adjusting for demographic variables, other childhood adversity, and psychiatric disorders, each type of childhood abuse was significantly related to increased risk for each violence category as compared with the no violence category. Furthermore, the odds ratio of childhood physical abuse was significantly higher for SA with IA when compared with IA, and the odds ratio of childhood sexual abuse was significantly higher for SA and SA with IA when compared with IA. Childhood physical, emotional, and sexual abuse is directly related to the risk for violent behaviors to self and others. Both internalizing and externalizing psychiatric disorders impact the association between childhood abuse and violence. The inclusion of suicidal behaviors and interpersonal aggression and internalizing/externalizing psychiatric disorders within an integrated conceptual framework will facilitate more effective interventions for long-lasting effects of child abuse.
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Heart Rate And Antisocial Behavior: The Mediating Role Of Impulsive Sensation Seeking
Jill Portnoy et al.
Criminology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Although a low resting heart rate is considered the best-replicated biological correlate of antisocial behavior, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains largely unknown. Sensation-seeking and fearlessness theories have been proposed to explain this relationship, although little empirical research has been conducted to test these theories. This study addressed this limitation by examining the relationship between heart rate and antisocial behavior in a community sample of 335 adolescent boys. Heart rate was measured during a series of cognitive, stress, and rest tasks. Participants also completed self-report measures of state fear, impulsive sensation seeking, and both aggressive and nonaggressive forms of antisocial behavior. As expected, increased levels of aggression and nonviolent delinquency were associated with a low heart rate. Impulsive sensation seeking, but not fearlessness, significantly mediated the association between heart rate and aggression. This study is the first to show that impulsive sensation seeking partly underlies the relationship between aggression and heart rate, and it is one of the few to examine the mechanism of action linking heart rate to antisocial behavior. Findings at a theoretical level highlight the role of impulsive sensation seeking in understanding antisocial behavior and at an intervention level suggest it as a potential target for behavioral change.
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The effects of passive leadership on workplace incivility
Crystal Harold & Brian Holtz
Journal of Organizational Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
In this article, we examine the effects of passive leadership on workplace incivility across two studies. Study 1 examines passive leadership–incivility relationships in a sample of employee–supervisor dyads, and Study 2 examines these relationships in a sample of employee–coworker dyads. Results from these studies suggest that passive leadership has a significant direct effect on behavioral incivility and an indirect effect through experienced incivility. Moreover, our results suggest that the relationship between experienced incivility and behavioral incivility is conditional on the level of passive leadership, such that the effect of experienced incivility on behavioral incivility is stronger at higher levels of passive leadership.
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Hai-Jeong Ahn & Philip Rodkin
Journal of Educational Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
This study investigated moderating effects of classroom friendship network structures (centralization and density), teacher–student attunement on aggression and popularity, and gender on changes in the social status of aggression over 1 school year. Longitudinal multilevel analyses with 2 time points (fall and spring) were conducted on a sample of 856 fourth and fifth graders from 45 classrooms. Aggressive boys lost social status over time in classrooms where friendship networks were egalitarian (not centralized) and dense (with many friendship ties) and where the teacher and students were attuned to (shared perceptions about) who in their classroom was aggressive and popular. There were no effects for girls. Educational implications and prospects for setting-level theory, measurement, and intervention are discussed.