Chapter 1: As American as apple pie Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Origins of Violence • Violence • Aggressive and/or harmful behavior • Unity of human aggression • All violence is connected by a web of actions and behaviors. • All violent acts share a number of essential characteristics. • By and large, perpetrators rely on similar justifications for their violent acts. • Aggression • Behavior that is physically and/or psychologically harmful Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Justifications for Violence • “Righteous slaughter” • Humiliation→rage • Retaliation or defense of values or principles • Spillover theory • Values and justifications for violence in socially approved settings “spill over” into other settings and result in illegitimate forms of violence • Ex: DEATH PENALTY • Brutalization hypothesis • Desensitized killings by the state devalue human life and lead to increased collective tolerance of lethal behavior Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Embracing Violence  Culture • Values, beliefs, and rules of behavior • Dictates what is expected and prohibited  Subcultures of violence • Members of particular groups are prone to violence because of values and beliefs imbedded in their cultures • Example: gang violence, Ku Klux Klan activity Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Embracing Violence Ray Rice, who was indefinitely suspended by the NFL after a video portrayed him punching and knocking out his then fiancé (now wife), Janay Rice, in an Atlantic City elevator. Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Defining Violence • Complexities of defining violence • Varied actions and contexts • Individual perceptions and understandings • Legitimacy of aggression • Highly situational, contingent, and contextual • • • • • Victim Offender Nature of violence Locational of violence Rationale for violence Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Social Distance Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Defining Violence Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Defining Aggression Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Classifications of Violence • Expressive vs. instrumental • Expressive: emotionally-motivated violent behavior • Instrumental: violence as a means to an end • Interpersonal • Assaults, rapes, robberies, and murders • Institutional • Violent behaviors perpetrated in an organizational setting • Structural • Discriminatory social arrangements that can be construed as violent; social inequality Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Measuring Violence  Reports to law enforcement • Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) • Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) • National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS)  Victimization surveys • National Victimization Survey (NCVS) • National Youth Survey (NYS)  Varied strengths and weaknesses of each data source Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Violence in U.S. Society • Data indicate that the impact of violence on society is immense • Individual level avoidance strategies steer everyday behavior • “Get Tough” legislation • Centuries of warfare • Media replete with depictions of violence • Entertainment and gaming consoles • Everyone knows a victim • At least in part, our identities are often shaped by violence Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Violent Crime Rates, 1993-2014, NCVS Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Murder Rates per 100,000 by Country, 2004 Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Organization of the Book • • • • • • • • • • Chapter 2 – Explaining Violence Chapter 3 – Aiding and Abetting Violence Chapter 4 – Assault and Homicide Chapter 5 – Violence in the Home Chapter 6 – Stranger Danger Chapter 7 – Rape and Sexual Assault Chapter 8 – Mob Violence Chapter 9 – Terrorism Chapter 10 – Genocide Chapter 11 – Toward Violence Protection Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Open-Access Student Resources · SAGE journal articles · Multimedia resources and more at study.sagepub.com/alvarez3e Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Chapter 2: Explaining Violence Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. What prompted the Boston Bombers to Attack? • • • • • National Identity? Ideology? Religion ? Personality? Assimilation? • Types of theories that explain violent behavior: • Ethological/biological • Psychological • Sociological Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Ethological and Biological Explanations • Animalistic Aggression • • • • Intermale Territorial Status Dominance • Atavism • Violent criminals as evolutionary throwbacks • Eugenics movement • Justified sterilization and discrimination Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Ethological and Biological Explanations • Serotonin • People with low levels of serotonin appear more likely to engage in violence because their ability to control their aggressive behavior is diminished. • Testosterone • Given that most violence is perpetrated by males, some have suggested that male aggression is linked with levels of testosterone. Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Ethological and Biological Explanations • Brain injury • Work has focused on brain function by looking at things such as lesions on the brain caused by injuries, tumors, and other kinds of head trauma. • Antisocial personality disorder • Often characterized as being very narcissistic, reckless, and emotionally shallow, they are also unable to empathize or feel compassion for others. Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Ethological and Biological Explanations • Frustration-aggression hypothesis • Violence is one possible response for individuals who feel frustrated and thwarted in achieving something. • Stress and violence • Many minority populations live in more impoverished and more difficult life situations, and these situations are largely responsible for their higher levels of violent crime. Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Sociological Explanations • Focus is largely on certain kinds of structural and cultural life situations that affect the behavior of individuals and groups. • Some focus is on large macro-units such as society, while others focus on smaller units like the family. • But all address themselves to determining what environmental conditions or situations help bring about violent behavior. Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Sociological Explanations • Economic deprivation • A great deal of research has found that income inequality is strongly connected with violent crime, especially homicide and assault. • Strain theories • One of the first theories in this perspective was developed by Robert K. Merton who suggested that people living in poverty are under strain because their options are very limited. • Focuses on the societal factors that contribute to frustration Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Violent Victimization Rates Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Anomie and Adaptation • Individuals may choose from a variety of adaptations, some of which may more often result in an increased risk of violence • Conformity • Innovation • Retreatism • Rebellion • Ritualism Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Sociological Explanations • Cultural adaptations • Elijah Anderson suggests that some poor young AfricanAmerican men develop what he calls a “Code of the Street.” • This involves a strong sense of personal honor combined with a corresponding emphasis on guarding against personal affronts and insults. • These young men take respect very seriously and are apt to respond violently to that which is perceived as disrespectful. Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Sociological Explanations • Social learning theory • Research has shown that individuals learn to respond aggressively and violently when • • • • they are rewarded for it, they observe it, they are victimized by it, or they don’t develop strong positive connections with others. • People learn through • conditioning, • reinforcement, and • imitation and modeling. Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Sociological Explanations • Differential association • Edwin Sutherland suggested that people learn not only the techniques of criminality but also the motives and attitudes supporting that behavior. • In other words, people also learn the attitudes, rationalizations, justifications, and vocabulary of violence. • Gangs, for example, illustrate this theory in action as they are very good at inculcating proviolent attitudes and ideas among their membership. Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Sociological Explanations • Social learning, media, and violence • Exposure to media violence and images affect those who view them. • Script theory • Television & movies • Video games Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Sociological Explanations • The cycle of violence • Intergenerational transmission of violence theory • Parents are children’s strongest role models. • Violence is normalized. • Violence is learned. • Future violence is correlated with (rather than caused by) early exposure to it. Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Sociological Explanations • Self-control and violence • Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi articulated their General Theory of Crime that is based on the idea of individual criminality being the result of low self-control. • Importantly, they argue that, even though this appears psychological, they believe that low selfcontrol is a product of early socialization and is not an innate trait. Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Sociological Explanations • Informal social control • Robert Sampson and John Laub contend that criminality and violence are the result of both structural factors such as poverty and weak social controls, especially from the family. • As a result, people develop poor social bonds with peers and have low attachments to conventional activities such as school. Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Explaining Collective Violence  Groups possess legitimacy and authority • Example: Milgram experiment  Theory of moral disengagement • Selective disengagement with moral prohibitions against negative or destructive behavior in order to avoid seeing themselves as bad people • Example: martyrdom  Dehumanization • Perception that victims are less than us or even less than human • Increased social distance Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Deindividuation • Lost of sense of self and individuality when in a group • Where “collective mind takes possession of the individual” – Le Bon • Behavioral characteristics • Lessening of conscious individual personality • Convergence of thoughts and emotions in a common direction • Emotions and unconscious drive displace reason and rationality • Propensity to immediately carry out intentions as they develop Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Conclusions • Motivations and structural conditions that prompt and enable violent behavior are vast. • Individuals act within specific contexts that bring perpetrators and victims together. • Context is connected to participants; historical, cultural, structural, psychological, and biological backgrounds. Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Open-Access Student Resources · SAGE journal articles · Multimedia resources and more at study.sagepub.com/alvarez3e Alvarez/Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3rd Edition © 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc. Viviana Octaviano Question 6 & 7 6. Economically deprived people are out-right crooks and deviants? I don't think this statement is accurate, there is a lot of people that fall into that category of crooks and deviants and they're not economically deprived. I believe that money has nothing to do with how a person acts it all just depends on the characteristics of the person. People that are given many opportunites or are born into weathy people tend to become crooks because of enjoying being evil or wanting to just have an easy way of life. 7. Poor people usually have no intentions of getting married, and a bunch of drug addicts? Not usually, you dont have to be poor to not want to be married. Right now we are living in a bad economy time. I'm not consider poor financially but more middle class and my boyfriend and I want to get married but can't fully afford it still so we have to wait some time to save up money. And with the drug addicts there is rich people that do drugs and are addiced to them. They're just able to hide it better or pay for the best kind out there. And to some degree the rich people that do drugs and are addicted usually lose everything because of this addiction. Skylon Rosas Q 8 & 10 Kids who grow up in poor neighborhoods learn crooked ways before adulthood. Just because a kid grows up in a poor neighborhood, does not mean they learned crooked ways before adulthood sooner than any other kid. Despite where a child grew up, they begin to learn crooked ways at younger ages depending on their exposure and one's definition of crooked. Money doesn't stop people from partaking in illegal activities of any sort. One can even say that people who grew up in poor neighborhoods can also turn out to be the complete opposite by being honest because they may not have much as it is and aren't willing to take risks by being crooked. Folks who grew up with racist grandparent(s) and/or parent(s) have very similar racist views about other races today? Racism is taught, but not everybody who's being taught will retain the knowledge. Although one's parents or grandparents have certain views, does not mean that those who grew up around them will agree with their perceptions. Unlike back then, the majority of people are more likely to be exposed to a larger amount of diversity. Many of those people today are growing up and looking past such differences because they're learning that those aren't the qualities to be judging a person by. Dedra Johnson Discussion question 4 & 5 Poor people are more likely to commit crime than upper-class people? I disagree with this statement. Most of the time it is the upper-class people’s children that will commit crimes for their parent’s money. Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted of killing their parents for their inheritance. Ahh…let’s face it; minorities are to be blamed for ruining American with crime? (Minorities, in the United States of America, are defined as anyone who is not a Caucasian male). This statement takes me back through the history of slaves. People don’t understand that what the Caucasian male as well as the Caucasian female did in slavery days was a crime. In all fairness one can say crime in American was started with the Caucasian race. But to just single out certain races for the crimes that are being done in America is unfair. Every race has a part in ruining America.
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