The Ecology of Aggression

197 Pages·1994·5.26 MB·English

by  Arnold P. Goldstein (auth.)

THE ECOLOGY OF
AGGRESSION
THE PLENUM SERIES IN
SOCIAL/CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Series Editor: C. R. Snyder
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Current Volumes in this Series:
AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR
Current Perspectives
Edited by L. Rowell Huesmann
DESIRE FOR CONTROL
Personality, Social, and Clinical Perspectives
Jerry M. Burger
THE ECOLOGY OF AGGRESSION
Arnold P. Goldstein
HOW PEOPLE CHANGE
Inside and Outside Therapy
Edited by Rebecca C. Curtis and George Stricker
HUMAN LEARNED HELPLESSNESS
A Coping Perspective
Mario Mikulincer
PROCRASTINATION AND TASK AVOIDANCE
Theory, Research, and Treatment
Joseph R. Ferrari, William G. McCown, and Judith L. Johnson
SELF-ESTEEM
The Puzzle of Low Self-Regard
Edited by Roy F. Baumeister
SELF-HANDICAPPING
The Paradox That Isn't
Raymond L. Higgins, C. R. Snyder, and Steven Berglas
THE SELF-KNOWER
A Hero under Control
Robert A. Wicklund and Martina Eckert
A Continuation Order Plan is available for this series. A continuation order will bring delivery of each
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THE ECOLOGY OF
AGGRESSION
ARNOLD P. GOLDSTEIN
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Goldstein, Arnold P.
The ecology of aggression / Arnold P. Goldstein.
p. cm. -- (The Plenum series in social/clinical psychology)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4613-6082-7 ISBN 978-1-4615-2538-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-2538-7
1. Aggressiveness (Psychology) 2. Env,ronmental psychology.
3. Personality and situation. 1. Title. II. Series.
BF575.A3G644 1994
155.2'32--dc20 94-26532
CIP
ISBN 978-1-4613-6082-7
©1994 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by P1enum Press, New York in 1994
Softcover reprint of ilie hardcover 1 ste dition 1994
AII rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
With love and deep appreciation
to my wife, Susan,
a most special partner
PREFACE
Most efforts to better understand, and reduce, human aggressive behavior
focus upon the perpetrator. Whether specialist or general public;
psychologist, sociologist, or criminologist; theoretician, researcher, or
practitioner; or concerned with prediction, prevention, rehabilitation, or
public policy-the person or persons actually committing the aggressive
act are almost always the primary target of attention. Who he or she is, the
person's relevant background experiences, history of similar behaviors,
mood and rationality at the time the act occurred, and related
intraindividual matters are the typical questions addressed. The abuser's
parenting; the delinquent's early temperament; the offender's personality
traits; hormonal levels; television viewing habits; and other in-the-person
markers are posited, examined, and held responsible. For most of those
concerned, aggression is in the perpetrator, by the perpetrator, and from
the perpetrator. This book presents an alternative view.
Our perspective is responsive to one of the most significant develop
ments in the study of human behavior in recent decades-the ascendance
of interactionism. Broadly defined, interactionism is a philosophical stance
toward understanding and predicting human behavior which holds that
such efforts will be optimized when they reflect both intraindividual (e.g.,
trait) qualities and relevant characteristics of the individual's environment.
These latter ecological features may be other people (e.g., victims, fellow
group members) or qualities of the immediate or larger physical location
in which the perpetration occurs.
In recent years, this interactionist perspective has been brought to
bear upon a wide range of behaviors, and aggression is certainly among
them. This body of aggression-relevant knowledge is the central focus of
vii
viii PREFACE
the present book. Aggression, we hold, is invariably a person-envirorunent
event. After describing more fully the historical evolvement of interaction
ism, we present and evaluate the substantive relevance of this perspective
to aggression at different levels of the physical and social ecologies in
which such behavior typically occurs. Thus, the physical ecological contri
bution to an interactionist determination of aggressive behavior is exam
ined at the micro level (Le., home, street, bar, etc.), the meso level (Le.,
neighborhood), and the macro level (Le., regional), as are parallel social
ecological components-micro (the victim), meso (the group), and macro
(the mob).
However, it is not only the causes of aggression that may be profitably
viewed from an interactionist perspective. So, too, its prevention and
remediation. In chapters devoted to environmental design as a strategy for
diminishing criminal opportunity, and to interpersonal contact as a con
flict-reduction strategy, we seek to demonstrate, respectively, the potency
of physical and social ecological settings as aggression-moderating and
minimizing venues. The book concludes with a look ahead, seeking to
suggest yet further avenues via which a person-environment interactionist
stance may prove valuable to the theoretician, researcher, or practitioner
concerned about more adequately understanding and more successfully
reducing human aggression.
Four valued colleagues, each of whose own significant works has
helped shape and sharpen my thinking about aggression and its reduction,
read earlier drafts of this book. Their generous efforts and perceptive
critique have substantially improved it and are warmly appreciated. Thus,
to Don Ford, Fred Kanfer, Len Krasner, and Mark Sherman, a special thank
you.
CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
1. The Person-Environment Duet............................ 3
II. PHYSICAL ECOLOGY
2. Microlevel: The Site ....................................... 15
TheHome ................................................. 15
The Street ................................................. 20
The Bar ................................................... 23
The Car ................................................... 26
The Store ......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 31
The School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 34
Aggression toward Persons .............................. 34
Aggression toward Property ............................. 36
Causes and Correlates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 37
3. Mesolevel: The Neighborhood ............................. 41
Taxonomies of Neighborhood ................................ 42
Neighborhood Social Ecology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 44
Neighborhood Physical Ecology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 45
Incivilities ................................................. 46
Density ................................................... 48
ix
x CONTENTS
Neighborhood as Criminal Opportunity ...................... 53
Routine Activity Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 53
The Journey to Crime ................................... 56
Neighborhood. as Support Network .......................... 57
Social Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 58
Network Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 58
Social Support ......................................... 60
4. Macrolevel: The Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 65
Regional Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 65
National Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 70
A Historical Perspective .................................... 72
Internation Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 75
City Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 77
Temperature .............................................. 79
III. SOCIAL ECOLOGY
5. Microlevel: The Victim. . . . .. .. .. . . . . . . .. . . .. . .. .. . . . . . . . .. 85
Child Abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 87
Demographic Characteristics ........................... . 88
Physical Characteristics ................................ . 89
Behavioral Characteristics .............................. . 90
Rape .................................................... . 91
Assault and Murder ....................................... . 93
Other Contributory Victimizations 96
6. Mesolevel: The Group .................................... 97
Realistic-Group-Conflict Theory ............................. 97
Social Identity Theory ...................................... 101
Information Processing ..................................... 105
7. Macrolevel: The Mob 109
Theories of Mob Behavior .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 110
Contagion Theory ...................................... 110
Convergence Theory .................................. " 111
CONTENTS xi
Emergent-Norm Theory ................................. 112
Deindividuation Theory ................................. 113
Sociocultural Theories .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
IV. INTERVENTION
8. Physical Ecological Intervention: Environmental Design .... 121
9. Social Ecological Intervention: Interpersonal Contact ....... 131
Introduction ............................................... 131
Facilitative and Inhibitory Conditions of Contact ............... 133
Equal Status ............................................ 133
Casual versus Intimate Contact ........................... 134
Multiple Contacts ....................................... 135
Institutional Support .................................... 135
Cooperative Contact .................................... 136
Individual Characteristics ................................ 137
A Case History: Contact plus Facilitative Conditions ............ 139
Generalization of Contact-Induced Change .................... 140
V. CONCLUSION
10. Future Directions ......................................... 147
Prediction of Crime and Aggression .......................... 147
Audience Effects ........................................... 149
Other Ecological Antecedents ................................ 150
References .................................................... 153
Index ........................................................ 187