Violence

1. Violence2. Roots of violence

GST

ANGERCriminal Behavior

Strain

Assignment # 4 According to Agnew, males and females

tend to experience different types of strain.

Males: 1) financial problems; 2) work-related problems, 3) status; 4) conflict and competition with peers;

Females: 1) abortion; 2) STD 3) verbal, sexual, and physical victimization; 4) gender-based discrimination; 5) child care problems; 6) stressors involving family and friends; 7) low prestige at work; 8) fitting in (looks+popularity);

Males and females differ in terms of their emotional reactions to strain.

Males: Anger+Moral outrage Females: Anger+Fear

+Depression+Anxiety+Guilt+Self-blame

Assignment # 4

Assignment # 4 Males and females differ in terms of their

behavioral reactions to strain.

Males: Crime and delinquency Females: Self-destructive behaviors such as

eating disorders, alcohol/drugs, running away from home, self-injuring, self-cutting, prostitution.

 

Final Exam New Format 50 Multiple Choice Questions Practice questions?

Roots of violence What causes people to

behave violently? Adults and violence Children and violence Several competing

explanations

Sources of Violence

Violence

Substance abuseCultural Values

Ganging

Regional Values

Human Instincts

Ineffective families

Personal Traits

Firearm availability

Personality Traits Abnormal personality structures Depression, impulsivity, aggression,

dishonesty, pathological lying, lack of remorse, psychopathology

Many murderers kill themselves shortly after committing their crime

There cases when people who commit murder wait for the execution (form of “Suicide-murder”)

Ineffective families Absent/deviant parents Inconsistent discipline Lack of supervision Abused children

Patterson’s Social-Interactional Developmental Model (1989) Children and their environment are in

constant interchange The start of antisocial behavior happens

in dysfunctional families (harsh and inconsistent discipline, little positive parental involvement, poor monitoring)

Family members directly “train” the child to perform antisocial behaviors

Patterson’s Social-Interactional Developmental Model (1989)

In dysfunctional families, coercion is a way of life Child might see that only coercion can stop other

family members from employing hitting Antisocial children manifest “conduct problems”

outside the home (rejected by peers) Later they gravitate toward “deviant peer

groups” This association reinforces delinquent behavior Later these children will have dysfunctional

families and promote coercion

Mark Colvin-Differential Coercion Theory

Non-coercive and consistent Non-coercive and erratic Coercive and consistent (depression) Coercive and erratic (chronic criminal) Likelihood of crime varies according to the

amount of coercion experienced Low coercion produces low anger, high self-

esteem, strong social bonds High erratic coercion produces high anger, low

self-esteem, weak social bonds

Mark Colvin-Differential Coercion Theory Individuals with background of coercion

are more likely to get involved in coercive situations and respond to them with violence

They create and maintain the cycle of coercion (coercive to future children+partners)

They become caught up in a coercive cycle

Abused Children

Eric and Lyle Menendez were convicted of first-degree murder for the brutal shotgun slaying of their parents in Beverly Hills. Their defense was based on the “abuse excuse”

The apparent motives ranged from the brothers’ fear of their father’s abuse to their desire to collect $11 million in insurance

Evolutionary factors Human instincts (survival

instinct) Violent behavior is

committed predominantly by males

Sexually aggressive males have been the ones most likely to produce children

Exposure to violence At home, school,

neighborhood Mental health Deviant behavior Victimization Vulnerable to the lure of

gangs and other deviant groups

Cultural/Regional Values Violence-prone

subcultures Violence is used to solve

social conflicts and dilemmas

Ganging Regional values (murder

rate is higher in the South)

Ganging

Rising homicide rates in the 1960s and 1970s have been linked to increased gang activity and drug trafficking in central cities

Patterns of violence in large cities strongly influence national trends

Homicide rates

Cultural Values

“Legitimation of violence” hypothesis (Archer, Gartner, 1984) argues that during wartime pro-violent values are reinforced and these values are carried over to postwar periods

Increase in homicide rates after World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War are consistent with this idea

Firearm availability

Greater social acceptance of violence as method of conflict resolution

Violence is deeply woven into the fabric of American culture (street talk, prime-time television programming, “gangsta rap” music lyrics)