Zur Ontogenese aggressiven Verhaltens

The present article reviews current etiological approaches to the origin of violence. In a wide range of empirical research ample results have been found on the causes of violence in many different disciplines like social sciences, psychology, psychotherapy, and neurobiology/neurophysiology. However, an integrative view is still missing. Current knowledge suggests a complex interaction of genetic, physiological, developmental psychological, personality-related, familial and social factors in shaping an individuals’ disposition to engage in physical violence. Accordingly, interventions for reducing violence have to be multidimensional in nature.     

Violence in sports and among sportsmen: a single or two‐track issue?

The object of this study is to find our whether there are differences between the forms of violence exerted by sportsmen and those represented within sports areas. Three hundred competitors from five sports disciplines (karate, basketball, table tennis, swimming and shooting) were approached and filled out a questionnaire. Results showed (1) sportsmen do not exert the same forms of violence depending on the sport and that there are similarities between the forms of violence in sports and those represented in the sporting field which supports the “homological assumption” [Bourdieu, 1979 ]; (2) the frequency and degree of the forms of violence relate to one another and differentiate sports significantly, thus confirming the influence of their level; and (3) a cross‐matching of the forms of violence and their level shows an uneven distribution of the sports in three “classes”. Therefore, these overall results show that the forms of violence, their frequency and their degree are particularly effective variables when accounting for differences in “relations” violence in sports and among sportsmen. Aggr. Behav. 32:1–10, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The Compatibility Between Sociological and Cognitive Neuroscientific Ideas on Consciousness: Is a Neurosociology of Consciousness Possible?

This article considers the possibility of integrating sociological and cognitive neuroscience ideas on consciousness and developing a new research area: neurosociology of consciousnesses. Research was conducted taking into account the limited knowledge on consciousness produced in these disciplines and the necessity of finding ways to study the social roles concerning the neural correlates of consciousness. Applying several ideas on consciousness from these disciplines (intersubjectivity, close connection with collective forms representations, deriving awareness from the brain’s processes, and so on), I show that it is difficult to reconcile the differences in the treatment of consciousness through the simple combination of the different ideas. The integration should be pursued in light of the neuroscientific findings concerning consciousness in different social contexts (role behavior, social interactions, and so on). In integrating the concepts, I predicted the role of time delay in conscious awareness in decision making, synchronization of neural oscillations under conscious perception, and the activations of certain brain zones in correspondence to different conscious cognitive processes for understanding in face-to-face situations. The study reveals that the optimal path for neurosociological research on consciousness is in its primary development without a rigid binding to either sociology or neuroscience.     

Youth suicide: a psychosocial perspective

I draw on my studies in different cultures and subcultures and in different age groups to develop a psychosocial perspective for viewing youthful suicide. This perspective utilizes disciplines ranging from demography to psychodynamics to discuss the relationship of violence to suicide; the role of families in producing youngsters who become preoccupied with death and suicide; and the directions that seem most profitable for future research.     

The Ecology of Intimate Partner Violence: Theorized Impacts on Women's Use of Violence

The aim of this paper is to describe the multiple factors associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) using the social-ecological framework developed by Heise (1998). This framework is used to categorize research findings from multiple disciplines according to the level of social organization at which they operate. Evidence-based strategies are then reviewed according to the sphere of influence in the social ecological model, as well as their place on the prevention continuum. Along the way, possible effects on women's use of IPV, and battered women's use of violence in particular, will be noted.     

Person perception when aggressive or nonaggressive sports are primed

Previous research investigating the factors contributing to sports spectator violence has focused primarily on conscious processes such as the disinhibiting effects of aggressive models and physiological arousal. The current research borrows a methodology from social cognition work to examine the role of passive, category accessibility effects on fan hostility. Prior research has indicated that as a schema becomes more accessible in memory, the use of it to encode subsequent information is increased. It was therefore hypothesized that individuals for whom the category of hostility had been unobtrusively primed with aggressive-sports names (e.g., boxing) would rate an ambiguous target person as more hostile and as more likely to prefer hostile activities relative to persons who were primed with sports names which were not associated with violence (e.g., golf). The results supported the hypotheses, with subjects who were primed with aggressive-sports rating an unrelated target person's behavior as significantly more hostile and as more likely to prefer aggressive activities relative to subjects exposed to sentences containing references to nonaggressive-sports. Discussion includes the potential ramifications for spectator aggression at sporting events.     

Media coverage of sports and violent behavior: An elusive connection

The general relationship between the media and violence has proven to be exceptionally elusive in spite of decades of research. Furthermore, there have been no attempts to link media coverage of sports to the lifestyles of their audiences. Exposure to the media does not occur in a social, cultural or political vacuum, and the responses to such exposure, including coverage of sports violence, vary according to individual circumstances.     

The Role of Police Perceptions and Practices in the Development of “Public Disorder”1,2

Recent studies suggest that crowd conflict needs to be understood as an interaction between the crowd and out‐groups such as the police. This paper describes a questionnaire survey in which 80 police officers from 2 United Kingdom forces were asked about their perceptions of crowds, appropriate “public order” policing methods, and attributions of responsibility for crowd conflict. As predicted, police officers saw the composition of crowds as mixed; yet they also constructed a dichotomy between a powerful minority, capable of exerting influence in the service of disorder, and a majority, who are unable to resist this influence. Police officers did not clearly endorse the view that crowds pose a homogeneous threat. They recommended control and quick intervention to prevent the escalation of crowd violence but denied that such methods might themselves contribute to conflict. Path analysis provides suggestive evidence that these perceptions of the crowd are related as part of a coherent ideology. Overall, these results offer support for the elaborated social identity model of crowd behavior as a dynamic intergroup process.     

Media coverage of sports and violent behavior: An elusive connection

The general relationship between the media and violence has proven to be exceptionally elusive in spite of decades of research. Furthermore, there have been no attempts to link media coverage of sports to the lifestyles of their audiences. Exposure to the media does not occur in a social, cultural or political vacuum, and the responses to such exposure, including coverage of sports violence, vary according to individual circumstances.     

Theorizing Gender in Intimate Partner Violence Research

Research findings of sex-symmetry in the perpetration of intimate partner assaults have sparked vigorous debate about the appropriate definition and measurement of intimate violence. A neglected but central issue in this debate is the conceptualization and measurement of gender. This article first examines the often unstated theoretical perspective on gender that underlies the research on sex-symmetry in intimate partner violence. This perspective treats gender as an individual characteristic of persons. Next, I describe challenges to the individualist model of gender from two emerging theoretical perspectives—interactionist and structuralist gender theories. The article concludes with suggestions for research on intimate partner violence that are informed by these new gender theories.     

Empowerment and Advocacy for Domestic Violence Victims

Empowering women victims of domestic violence has been a goal of advocacy since its inception. The concept of empowerment is also widely shared in social science disciplines where the goal of applied research is to address the lived effects of social injustice. While in some fields, such as community psychology, there has been a long history of engaging theoretically with the concept of empowerment, elsewhere theory has received less attention. In the case of addressing domestic violence, victim advocacy has often been assumed to be empowering. Advocates worked to establish support services for individual women and participate in coordinating community responses to domestic violence that included the criminal justice system so as to improve women's safety. The question of whether this kind of social action is empowering domestic violence victims has been discussed in the literature for almost a decade. In this paper, we consider a proposed theory of empowerment and recommendations of advocacy practices by Kasturirangan (2008) to consider how her conceptualisation of empowerment processes has influenced the field and whether it provides a scaffold for bridging the theoretical gaps that have been identified.     

Intergenerational transmission of violence: Is violence a pathology of intersubjective contact?

In this article, I look at violence as a pathology of the intersubjective contact. In particular, I claim that one possible explanation of violence is lack of recognition on a societal, intersubjective level. I propose an explanation based on Honneth’s concept of struggle for recognition and Merleau-Ponty’s account of intersubjectivity. The article takes the following course: I first give a short outline of the concept of intergenerational transmission of violence, as understood by psychology at the level of an individual, followed by a brief presentation a summary of sociological research on the concept. Then, I proceed with a discussion of Honneth’s three modes of recognition, viz. love, rights, and solidarity, as modes of intersubjective contact, leading to the development of self-confidence, self-respect, and self-esteem. I claim that the lack of these kinds of recognition leads to the decrease in confidence and trust and consequently to abusive behaviour, that it affects social integrity and brings about the destruction of social functions, and that it results in an individual and a society which have lost their “honour” and dignity. Finding his account of intersubjectivity lacking in its philosophical aspect, I complement Honneth’s account of intersubjectivity with that of Merleau-Ponty, based in his understanding of the intertwining of the subject and the world and the reversible contact between and among subjects within the world. Considering the negative effects of misrecognition as described by Honneth, in the light of Merleau-Ponty’s understanding of intersubjective contacts among subjects, I conclude that a country where all three modes of recognition have been disturbed houses a society lacking self-confidence, self-respect, and self-esteem, and consequently shows all the signs of Honneth’s forms of disrespect, i.e. abuse and rape, denial of rights and exclusion, as well as denigration and insult, all of which are forms of intergenerationally transmitted violence.     

Mass media treatment of violence in sports and its effects

There appears to be a strong relationship between mass media portrayals of violence and real-life violence itself. This article reviews the available literature on the effects of media treatment of sports violence; analyzes the theoretical explanations for this treatment; and makes proposals on how the problems of both sports violence and its media coverage may be remedied, with a particular focus on amateur hockey in Canada.     

Mass media treatment of violence in sports and its effects

There appears to be a strong relationship between mass media portrayals of violence and real-life violence itself. This article reviews the available literature on the effects of media treatment of sports violence; analyzes the theoretical explanations for this treatment; and makes proposals on how the problems of both sports violence and its media coverage may be remedied, with a particular focus on amateur hockey in Canada.     

Intrafamilial physical victimization and externalizing behavior problems: Who remain the ‘forgotten’ children?

Over the past few decades, researchers have documented positive associations between direct child maltreatment and exposure to interpersonal violence (including intimate partner violence, community violence, school violence, and media violence) and children's externalizing behavior problems. However, current family violence literature largely ignores the effects of child abuse on other children in the family. A handful of studies have focused on exposure to child abuse and documented the behavioral effects on siblings, and these studies lend support for broadening scholarship focused on this type of family violence. This article presents empirical research and theories that focus on the relationships between child physical abuse and exposure to intimate partner violence and children's externalizing behavior problems. Using this literature as a foundation, an argument is made for the need to focus on children's exposure to child physical abuse. This article presents information from the few studies that have focused on children who were exposed to the physical abuse of a sibling and offers theoretical frameworks, including social learning theory and psychological proximity, as a foundation for future research. The article concludes with a discussion of services that may be necessary for children who have been exposed to the physical abuse of a sibling, including services focused on safety and mental health.     

A systematic meta-review of evaluations of youth violence prevention programs: Common and divergent findings from 25 years of meta-analyses and systematic reviews

Violence among youth is a pervasive public health problem. In order to make progress in reducing the burden of injury and mortality that result from youth violence, it is imperative to identify evidence-based programs and strategies that have a significant impact on violence. There have been many rigorous evaluations of youth violence prevention programs. However, the literature is large, and it is difficult to draw conclusions about what works across evaluations from different disciplines, contexts, and types of programs. The current study reviews the meta-analyses and systematic reviews published prior to 2009 that synthesize evaluations of youth violence prevention programs. This meta-review reports the findings from 37 meta-analyses and 15 systematic reviews; the included reviews were coded on measures of the social ecology, prevention approach, program type, and study design. A majority of the meta-analyses and systematic reviews were found to demonstrate moderate program effects. Meta-analyses yielded marginally smaller effect sizes compared to systematic reviews, and those that included programs targeting family factors showed marginally larger effects than those that did not. In addition, there are a wide range of individual/family, program, and study moderators of program effect sizes. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Ethics in violence against women research: the sensitive, the dangerous, and the overlooked

Traditional disciplinary guidelines are inadequate to address some of the ethical dilemmas that emerge when conducting research on violence against women and girls. This article is organized according to the ethical principles of respect for persons, privacy and confidentiality, justice, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. In the article, I describe dilemmas involved in cross-cultural research, research on children, informed consent, voluntariness, coercion, deception, safety, mandated reporting, and dissemination. In the article, I include examples from qualitative and quantitative studies in many nations. I also offer suggestions for researchers and institutional review boards.     

(Re)Applying social psychology to organizational work,well‐being,and leadership

Research on organizational behavior is fundamentally an application of social psychology theory and phenomena. While much of organizational psychology is inherently grounded in social psychological research, these two disciplines are largely disconnected from one another. More visibility of the commonalities may encourage discussion, collaboration, and integration between these two fields—an integration that will only benefit each discipline. The present article briefly reviews the historic overlap between these disciplines, the resulting divide between them, and then discusses recent developments demonstrating the potential power of reconnecting social psychology with organizational‐relevant research. We then examine how the six empirical articles in this Special Issue benefit from applying social psychological theory to organizational research. We will conclude by identifying potential areas ripe for future research.     

Social Workers and Battered Women: The Need to Study Client Violence in the Domestic Violence Field

Domestic violence is a significant issue for the United States and internationally. Although many social workers may desire to work in the domestic violence field, such work is far more difficult and challenging than many social workers would expect. In fact, many domestic violence workers are abused by their clients or their clients' family members in the course of their work. The purpose of this article is to clarify why examining client violence toward workers in the domestic violence field is critically important, describe the current state of the research, and discuss recommendations for future research in this area.