Street Cred
Violence and Predation in Late Medieval Mediterranean Europe
Daniel Lord Smail
Comparative Studies in Society and History, January 2012, Pages 7-34
Abstract:
In the full-text databases of Latin sources from Europe from the period between 400 and 1500, the Latin word for violence crops up around two thousand times, about as often as "justice" (2,400) though not as often as other interesting words like "envy" (6,000) or "vengeance" (3,800). The frequency of use of the word, adjusted for the vagaries of survival, reveals an interesting trend. From the tenth to the eleventh centuries, an age of predatory castellans and violent territorial expansion, the frequency nearly doubles in the extant literature, and remains high for several centuries to come. The word often appears in texts alongside nauseating tales of violence, of hands lopped off and eyes plucked out and intestines dragged from their hidden recesses. There is the story told by Guibert of Nogent about the predatory castellan Thomas de Marle, who hung his captives by their testicles until the weight of their own bodies tore them off. These were exempla. They painted verbal pictures of the behavior of those who were surely doomed to hell. In the hands of clerical authors like Guibert, they served as a goad to kings and princes who, in their indolence, might allow this stuff to go unavenged.
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Stjepan Mestrovic & Rachel Romero
International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, January-February 2012, Pages 62-69
Abstract:
The authors draw upon the experiences of one of the co-authors as an expert witness in sociology for mitigation at three of the courts-martial pertaining to the abuse at Abu Ghraib that were held at Ft. Hood, Texas in the year 2005 (for Javal Davis, Sabrina Harman, and Lynndie England). In addition, this paper is based upon the thousands of pages of affidavits, testimony, and U.S. Government reports concerning Abu Ghraib. These internal government reports, as well as the Levin-McCain report, point to collective responsibility and the responsibility of individuals high in the chain of command for establishing unlawful techniques. We review the shortcomings of a purely psychological approach for understanding the abuse, and turn to Durkheim's original understanding of anomie as a state of social derangement or rule by lack of rule to introduce the ideas of the social origins of and social responsibility for the abuse. We conclude with sociological suggestions for reforming some of the legal, medical, psychiatric, and other professional complicity in the abuse at Abu Ghraib.
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Ronald Simons et al.
American Sociological Review, December 2011, Pages 883-912
Abstract:
Although gene by environment studies are typically based on the assumption that some individuals possess genetic variants that enhance their vulnerability to environmental adversity, the differential susceptibility perspective posits that these individuals are simply more susceptible to environmental influence than others. An important implication of this perspective is that individuals most vulnerable to adverse social environments are the same ones who reap the most benefit from environmental support. Using longitudinal data from a sample of several hundred African Americans, we found that relatively common variants of the dopamine receptor gene and the serotonin transporter gene interact with social conditions to predict aggression in a manner consonant with the differential susceptibility perspective. When social conditions were adverse, individuals with these genetic variants manifested more aggression than other genotypes, whereas when the environment was favorable they demonstrated less aggression than other genotypes. Furthermore, we found that these genetic variants interact with environmental conditions to foster schemas and emotions consistent with the differential susceptibility perspective and that a latent construct formed by these schemas and emotions mediates the gene by environment interaction on aggression.
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Wesley Jennings et al.
American Journal of Criminal Justice, December 2011, Pages 392-407
Abstract:
The current study evaluates neighborhood effects, individual-level effects, and demographic characteristics that influence physically aggressive behavior among urban youth. Using data derived from 5,812 adolescents from Project Northland Chicago (PNC) and Heirarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) techniques, the results suggested that neighborhood problems significantly predicted physical aggression, before and after adjustment for individual-level risk factors (alcohol use, peer alcohol use, lack of adult supervision, and depression) and demographics. After accounting for baseline physical aggression, however, neighborhood problems were no longer a significant predictor of physical aggression. Implications for intervention at both the neighborhood and individual-level and study limitations are also discussed.
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Benjamin Wilkowski & Michael Robinson
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, forthcoming
Abstract:
Previous research has suggested that aggressive individuals exhibit a bias to perceive nonangry expressions as angry. Another line of thinking, however, posits that aggression is a learned response to hostile environments and should be linked to social-cognitive skills suited to such environments. If so, aggressive individuals may exhibit greater perceptual sensitivity to subtle facial cues of anger. Three studies were conducted to test this proposal. In them, participants' ability to discriminate between subtly different intensities of facial anger was tested. Aggressive participants generally displayed greater perceptual sensitivity to subtle cues of facial anger. This pattern could not be explained in terms of response bias and was specific to angry expressions. The results thus support the idea that aggression is associated with social-cognitive skills rather than bias and ineptitude.
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Power, defensive denigration, and the assuaging effect of gratitude expression
Yeri Cho & Nathanael Fast
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
This article examines the interactive effects of power, competency threats, and gratitude expression on the tendency to denigrate others. The results of two experiments indicate that (1) power holders whose competence has been threatened are more likely than others to denigrate interaction partners, and (2) receiving gratitude expression has self-affirming effects for insecure power holders. Experiment 1 demonstrated that high-power, but not low-power, individuals who received threatening feedback about their competence denigrated the competence of their partners. Importantly, this tendency was ameliorated when subordinates expressed gratitude for previous help provided from the power holder. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the ameliorating effect of gratitude expression on threatened power holders' tendency to denigrate subordinates is mediated by increased perceptions of social worth. Implications for research on power, gratitude expression, and the self are discussed.
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What lies beneath the face of aggression?
Justin Carré, Kelly Murphy & Ahmad Hariri
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, forthcoming
Abstract:
Recent evidence indicates that a sexually dimorphic feature of humans, the facial width-to-height ratio (FWHR), is positively correlated with reactive aggression, particularly in men. Also, predictions about the aggressive tendencies of others faithfully map onto FWHR in the absence of explicit awareness of this metric. Here, we provide the first evidence that amygdala reactivity to social signals of interpersonal challenge may underlie the link between aggression and the FWHR. Specifically, amygdala reactivity to angry faces was positively correlated with aggression, but only among men with relatively large FWHRs. The patterns of association were specific to angry facial expressions and unique to men. These links may reflect the common influence of pubertal testosterone on craniofacial growth and development of neural circuitry underlying aggression. Amygdala reactivity may also represent a plausible pathway through which FWHR may have evolved to represent an honest indicator of conspecific threat, namely by reflecting the responsiveness of neural circuitry mediating aggressive behavior.
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Detection of propensity for aggression based on facial structure irrespective of face race
Lindsey Short et al.
Evolution and Human Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
The human face provides a wealth of information pertaining to the internal state and life-stage history of an individual. Facial width-to-height ratio is a size-independent sexually dimorphic trait, and estimates of aggression made by untrained adults judging own-race faces were positively associated with both facial width-to-height ratio and actual aggressive behavior. Given the significant adaptive value of accurately detecting aggressiveness based on facial appearance, we hypothesized that aggression estimates made by adults and 8-year-old children would be highly correlated with male facial width-to-height ratio even for a face category with which they had minimal experience - other-race faces. For each of the four race and age groups, estimates of aggression were positively correlated with facial width-to-height ratio irrespective of rating own- or other-race faces. Overall, the correlations between facial width-to-height ratio and ratings of aggression were stronger for adults than for children. Sensitivity to facial width-to-height ratio appears to be part of an evolved mechanism designed to detect threats in the external environment. This mechanism is likely broadly tuned and functions independently of experience.
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Can Outcome Expectancies Help Explain Sex Differences in Direct and Indirect Aggression?
Anthony Marks et al.
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, January 2012, Pages 151-169
Abstract:
This study examined the role of outcome expectancies in explaining sex differences in adolescents' inclination to engage in acts of aggression. Using a sample of Australian adolescents, 2 scales were developed to measure outcome expectancies of direct and indirect aggression. The data were used in subsequent mediation analyses. Sex differences in direct aggression were partially mediated by 2 types of aggression expectancies. Relative to females, males anticipated more overall benefits associated with acting aggressively and less fear of reprisals from authority figures. This pattern of expectancy beliefs predicted higher levels of self-reported direct aggression. Sex differences in indirect aggression were fully mediated by anticipation of personal benefits, with males expecting greater personal benefits for engaging in this type of aggression.
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Social Aggression on Television and Its Relationship to Children's Aggression in the Classroom
Nicole Martins & Barbara Wilson
Human Communication Research, January 2012, Pages 48-71
Abstract:
A survey was conducted with over 500 children in grades K-5 to examine whether exposure to socially aggressive content was related to children's use of social aggression. The results of the survey revealed a significant relationship between exposure to televised social aggression and increased social aggression at school, but only for girls and not for boys. Although this relationship was dependent on the sex of the child, the study is the first to provide evidence that viewing social aggression on television is related to an increased tendency for elementary school children to perpetrate such behaviors in the classroom. The findings are discussed in terms of social cognitive theory and information processing theory.
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Joachim Hüffmeier et al.
Journal of Management, forthcoming
Abstract:
A meta-analysis (34 studies) is reported on the impact of hard- and softline bargaining strategies on economic (135 effect sizes) and socioemotional negotiation outcomes (30 effect sizes) in distributive negotiations. As expected, hardline strategies lead to higher economic outcomes, whereas softline strategies lead to higher socioemotional outcomes. Moreover, moderator variables are derived from the graduated reciprocation in tension-reduction model and the level of aspiration theory that are expected to qualify the relation of bargaining strategies and achieved economic outcomes. In accordance with this theoretical background, moderator analyses reveal that hardline negotiators gain the highest economic outcomes when visual contact is possible, when the opposing party is male, when negotiators are instructed to maximize individual outcomes, and when they know the bargaining zone. Also in line with the theoretical assumptions, softline negotiators gain the highest economic outcomes when they accurately reciprocate the opposing party's concessionary behavior. Contrary to the predictions, softline bargaining does, however, not prevail when the risk and cost of impasses are high. Based on the reported findings, needs for future research and theory building are identified and discussed.
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Christopher Ferguson et al.
Journal of Psychiatric Research, February 2012, Pages 141-146
Background: In 2011 the field of video game violence experienced serious reversals with repudiations of the current research by the US Supreme Court and the Australian Government as non-compelling and fundamentally flawed. Scholars too have been calling for higher quality research on this issue. The current study seeks to answer this call by providing longitudinal data on youth aggression and dating violence as potential consequences of violent video game exposure using well-validated clinical outcome measures and controlling for other relevant predictors of youth aggression.
Method: A sample of 165, mainly Hispanic youth, were tested at 3 intervals, an initial interview, and 1-year and 3-year intervals.
Results: Results indicated that exposure to video game violence was not related to any of the negative outcomes. Depression, antisocial personality traits, exposure to family violence and peer influences were the best predictors of aggression-related outcomes.
Interpretation: The current study supports a growing body of evidence pointing away from video game violence use as a predictor of youth aggression. Public policy efforts, including funding, would best be served by redirecting them toward other prevention programs for youth violence.
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Jose Valadez & Christopher Ferguson
Computers in Human Behavior, March 2012, Pages 608-616
Abstract:
Research in the domain of video game violence continues to be contentious and debated. Scholars have examined both positive and negative effects of violent games, although results thus far have been inconclusive and systematic internal validity problems have been identified with past research. The current study adds to this growing literature by examining the effects of video game violence exposure and time spent playing on depression, hostility, and visuospatial cognition. This study improves upon previous research by matching game conditions carefully on confounding variables identified as problems by other scholars. In a laboratory setting, 100 participants were randomly assigned into one of six conditions based on two independent variables (time spent playing and type of video game). Results indicated that neither randomized video game play nor time spent playing a video game had any effect on depression, hostility, or, visuospatial cognition. Effect size estimates were below levels for practical significance. These results suggest that both positive and negative influences of violence in video games may be limited in scope.
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Teena Willoughby, Paul Adachi & Marie Good
Developmental Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
In the past 2 decades, correlational and experimental studies have found a positive association between violent video game play and aggression. There is less evidence, however, to support a long-term relation between these behaviors. This study examined sustained violent video game play and adolescent aggressive behavior across the high school years and directly assessed the socialization (violent video game play predicts aggression over time) versus selection hypotheses (aggression predicts violent video game play over time). Adolescents (N = 1,492, 50.8% female) were surveyed annually from Grade 9 to Grade 12 about their video game play and aggressive behaviors. Nonviolent video game play, frequency of overall video game play, and a comprehensive set of potential 3rd variables were included as covariates in each analysis. Sustained violent video game play was significantly related to steeper increases in adolescents' trajectory of aggressive behavior over time. Moreover, greater violent video game play predicted higher levels of aggression over time, after controlling for previous levels of aggression, supporting the socialization hypothesis. In contrast, no support was found for the selection hypothesis. Nonviolent video game play also did not predict higher levels of aggressive behavior over time. Our findings, and the fact that many adolescents play video games for several hours every day, underscore the need for a greater understanding of the long-term relation between violent video games and aggression, as well as the specific game characteristics (e.g., violent content, competition, pace of action) that may be responsible for this association.
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Masculine voices signal men's threat potential in forager and industrial societies
David Puts, Coren Apicella & Rodrigo Cárdenas
Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, 7 February 2012, Pages 601-609
Abstract:
Humans and many non-human primates exhibit large sexual dimorphisms in vocalizations and vocal anatomy. In humans, same-sex competitors and potential mates attend to acoustic features of male vocalizations, but vocal masculinity especially increases perceptions of physical prowess. Yet, the information content of male vocalizations remains obscure. We therefore examined relationships between sexually dimorphic acoustic properties and men's threat potential. We first introduce a new measure of the structure of vocal formant frequencies, ‘formant position' (Pf), which we show is more sexually dimorphic and more strongly related to height than is the most widely used measure of formant structure, ‘formant dispersion', in both a US sample and a sample of Hadza foragers from Tanzania. We also show large sexual dimorphisms in the mean fundamental frequency (F0) and the within-utterance standard deviation in F0 (F0 - s.d.) in both samples. We then explore relationships between these acoustic parameters and men's body size, strength, testosterone and physical aggressiveness. Each acoustic parameter was related to at least one measure of male threat potential. The most dimorphic parameters, F0 and Pf, were most strongly related to body size in both samples. In the US sample, F0 predicted testosterone levels, Pf predicted upper body strength and F0 - s.d. predicted physical aggressiveness.
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Sarah Coyne et al.
Aggressive Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
Past research has shown activation of aggressive cognitions in memory after media violence exposure, but has not examined priming effects of viewing relational aggression in the media. In the current study, 250 women viewed a video clip depicting physical aggression, relational aggression, or no aggression. Subsequent activation of physical and relational aggression cognitions was measured using an emotional Stroop task. Results indicated priming of relational aggression cognitions after viewing the relationally aggressive video clip, and activation of both physical and relational aggression cognitions after viewing the physically aggressive video clip. Results are discussed within the framework of the General Aggression Model.
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The effect of stereotype content on anger versus contempt in "day-to-day" conflicts
Elze Ufkes et al.
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, January 2012, Pages 57-74
Abstract:
Depending on how involved parties appraise day-to-day conflicts, they either may feel angry or contemptuous toward the other party, which, in turn, may result in stronger confronting or avoiding intentions. In this paper we investigated how the content of stereotypes associated with the group to which an outgroup perpetrator belongs affects appraisals, emotions, and behavior. In two experiments, we demonstrated that stereotyping an outgroup as less warm resulted in increased feelings of anger, and tendencies to react forcefully toward an outgroup party in a conflict. Specifically, this effect of low stereotype warmth was explained by increased appraisals of negative intentions. Stereotyping an outgroup as less competent in the same situation elicited increased feelings of contempt, and tendencies to avoid an outgroup party in a conflict. This effect of stereotype incompetence was due to decreased appraisals of control over the other party.