An annotated collection of more than 6000 links to resources and ideas for the teaching of social psychology and related courses organized by topic

Aggression

= new link as of September 1, 2024

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Activities and Exercises

Pornography and psychological science - Some good suggestions about how to open discussion in your class on this sensitive topic

Intimate partner violence and the foot-in-the-door

Digit ratio and aggression - Here is an in-class activity to illustrate the correlation between digit ratio and aggression.

What is an aggressive act? - Michael Britt created this interactive, online re-creation of a study.   See the note below under the Psychology in the Courtroom activity for more information.

Operationalizing the concept - I have often used the concept of aggression to illustrate how challenging it can be to operationalize our terms.  Here is an activity that walks your students through it.

Social psychology of road rage - a link to an interesting article on the topic with some suggested applications

Why hurting others might feel good - Some possible activities around a recent Current Directions article -- here is a link to the Current Directions article.

The power of words

"The psychology of extremism" - David Myers suggests an activity to accompany Michael Hogg's article/theory on why some people move toward extremism. As I read Dave's discussion of this topic and suggested discussion questions, I thought of one I might ask next time. The article notes that despite our similarities we tend to focus on our differences. So, I think I will pick out a student in class and ask him/her to describe the two of us. Describe me in relation to you. Then I will ask the class what they heard. I suspect the person will primarily identify differences between us. Of course, sometimes they surprise me! [added 1/22/15]

Why people drive aggressively and how to prevent it - another good activity from DeWall and Myers [added 1/20/15]

Variety of activities - This is an excellent site produced by a class at Ball State University. The page I have linked to "links" to a variety of exercises you can use in or out of class on prejudice, stereotyping and bullying. Unfortunately, the links were not working for me. However, if you put your cursor over the link of a particular activity, such as "KKK Application," which "illustrates how easily people might be lured into joining organizations that promote prejudice and intolerance," the full address of that activity should show up in the bottom-left corner of your screen. You can then type in that address to get to the actual activity. [added 1/5/06]

 

Multimedia Resources (Audio / Video / Images)

Audio

The Science of Evil (57:00) - A podcast:  “How attempts to understand the Holocaust created a science - social psychology. This Holocaust Memorial Day (Jan 27th) marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Attempts to understand racism, antisemitism and the horrors of Nazi ideology led to the creation of a new field of science. Social psychology is the investigation of how our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by others. This Archive On Four is about the science of evil and five of its pioneers: Kurt Lewin, Solomon Asch, Henri Tajfel, Serge Moscovici and Stanley Milgram. They were all Jewish. They all lost family in the Holocaust. They were all driven by one question. How could it have happened? David Edmonds speaks to among others, Moscovici's son, Milgram's daughter and two of Tajfel's former students.’

"Does male-ness lead to sexual assault and harassment?" (39:18) - a podcast from WDET-FM

Voices on genocide prevention - a collection of interviews with those involved with sites of potential genocide such as in Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo -- from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum [added 12/27/06]

Video

Brief lecture on aggression and violence (7:39)

Behavior is context dependent (2:52) - Comedian Louis C.K. talks about road rage.

Aggression and violence (7:39)

“Why are trolls so mean online?” (6:39) - anonymity and …

Difficult dinner conversations (4:25) - amusing Saturday Night Live skit about trying to talk about sexual abuse/harassment stories among friends

Anti-bullying message from Monica Lewinsky (2:07)

Undermining compassion (4:31) - interesting study using hot sauce allocation as the measure of aggression

“How society silences victims of sexual harassment” (5:27)

Amusing sexual harassment skit from Saturday Night Live (3:19)

An even funnier skit on sexual harassment (3:16) - from the show Portlandia

“A Night at the Garden” (7:05) - This is a brief but very disturbing film of a German-American rally held in Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1939.

"School bully" (2:05) - amusing Key and Peele video exploring some of the motivations of bullies

Rape culture (1:59) - This video defines and gives examples of it.

Rape culture (23:28) - Ashleigh Banfield reads aloud the entire victim statement written by a woman who was unconscious when she was raped in an alley.    The judge sentenced the rapist to only six months because the judge believed more time might have a negative effect on the young man's life.

Sex without consent is rape (0:31) - a new Public Service Announcement from the Obama administration

Sexual consent (2:51) - Excellent video explains consent by comparing it to asking for tea.

No Raping! (5:23) - Amusing clip from the show Inside Amy Schumer in which the new high school football coach tells his players, "No raping."

Homeless man set on fire (3:09)

80% of Central American females are raped on way to U.S. - (5:34) [added 1/21/15]

The country song about date rape - (3:33) [added 1/20/15]

It's your fault, women - (3:36) This parody video from India addresses the rape culture and blaming of the victim [added 1/27/14]

Actor Patrick Stewart talks about violence against women - (7:40) [added 7/31/13]

Blaming the victim - (5:10) Stephen Colbert, poking fun at some comments, provides an amusing take on this as he advises gays "It's up to you to keep us from discriminating." [added 6/26/12]

"The Interrupters" - (1:54:42) This is a PBS documentary describing how former gang members and perpetrators of violence are trying now to interrupt that cycle. Full program is available here. [added 6/25/12]

"Bullied: A student, a school and a case that made history" - (2:28) This 40-minute DVD is available for free from Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. [added 12/16/10]

"'Women for sale' store highlights sex trafficking in Israel" - (2:53) [added 12/16/10]

Anti-teenage dating violence ad - (0:29) In the U.K., "An advertising campaign is being launched to raise awareness of domestic violence in teenage relationships." [added 3/7/10]

"Cougars" hunt young males - (2:22) "A campaign that portrays single middle-aged women as cougars who prowl bars looking for sex with young men has landed Air New Zealand in hot water." [added 2/6/10]

Violence in women's sports - (4:00) Here is a story about a college soccer player's aggressive acts during a soccer match. It is interesting to hear about how others responded to it and how it was reported. When is such aggression tolerated and when is it not? [added 1/15/10]

"Exploring the mind of a killer" - (6:29) In an interesting TED talk, "neuroscientist Jim Fallon talks about brain scans and genetic analysis that may uncover the rotten wiring in the nature (and nurture) of murderers. In a too-strange-for-fiction twist, he shares a fascinating family history that makes his work chillingly personal." [added 1/15/10]


Afghan schoolgirls defy Taliban - (0:30) After being sprayed with acid on the way to school, Afghan girls speak out and return to school. [3/29/09]

Bandura's Bobo doll studies - (5:04) A good video of the Bobo doll studies is available online. [added 8/14/08]

Rape in the (U.S.) military - (11:40) [added 6/2/08]

"A short history of torture" - (59:51) an hour-long lecture on the topic [added 4/15/08]

- a blog entry about it [added 4/15/08]

"Why I am opposed to the war in Vietnam" - (22:49) speech by Martin Luther King [added 4/9/08]

Darfur - (1:00:00) The entire Frontline program, "On our watch," is available online. [added 4/9/08]

Militaryvideos.net - lots of video from Afghanistan and Iraq [added 4/2/08]

"A brief history of violence" - (19:19) a brief talk from Steven Pinker [added 12/12/07]

Children modeling parents - (1:31) Cute little video [added 12/12/07]

"Saudi rape victim tells her story" - (2:59) story and video of case in Saudi Arabia of rape victim who was punished [added 12/12/07]

"Nuremberg Remembered" - (13:06) "This (13-minute) documentary about the Trials combines both archival footage and modern-day interviews with trial participants who served in a variety of roles, including members of the legal team for the prosecution and a journalist reporting on the events for the press." [added 11/27/07]

NBA brawl 2004 - story / video - (6:15) The first link is to a story on the brawl that broke out at a Pistons-Pacers basketball game. The second link is to some video of that brawl. I don't know how long this video will be available, but perhaps you will be able to use it for awhile in your classes. This story can illustrate the effects of deindividuation, frustration, competition, alcohol and probably many factors on aggression. [added on 12/1/04]

Penguins! - (0:05) I leave this one to your creativity as to how you might use it; I just like it! [added 6/9/04]

Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive - The archive is in the process of making many films available for viewing online about the Holocaust and other Jewish experiences. More than 100 are available for viewing. [added 7/21/03]

Assault on Gay America - (5:00) the video excerpt from this program is an excellent clip to show in class addressing some of the motivation behind these hate crimes [added 11/07/02]

The Killer at Thurston High - (56:34) click on "special audio and video" to see and hear clips. Click on "tapes and transcripts" to read the entire transcript of the show [added 11/07/02]

Holocaust teaching guide - hundreds of images, videos and other resources

Images

World War I color photos - [added 4/15/08]

Photos from Auschwitz - "Auschwitz through the lens of the SS: Photos of Nazi leadership at the camp" is a collection at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. [added 1/25/08]

Military images from the U.S. Air Force - If you are looking for military images for some purpose, the Air Force provides a few thousand at this site. [added 3/30/04]

More military images from Iraq - from "Faces of valor: A photo tribute to the men and women of Operation Iraqi Freedom" [added 3/30/04]

 

Class Assignments

Projects

Mass violence and reconciliation in Rwanda and its neighbors - an elaborate and interesting field research study [added 8/1/10]

Using Lessons from the Holocaust to Reduce Bullying - The final honorable mention from the 2007 Action Teaching Award was given to Ruth T. Hannon for her creative assignment in her Perspectives of the Holocaust course. From the proposal: "Over the next several class sessions, our college students meet in small groups to design projects to be taken to the middle school. Their task is to use lessons from the Holocaust to teach about the dynamics of prejudice, hate speech, and bullying close to home. For example, our students have spoken about the psychology of conformity and depicted how conformity operates in bullying situations. Middle school students come to see the power of conformity in such situations, and they learn ways to resist being drawn into bullying behaviors. Lively discussions follow and, oftentimes, middle schoolers share stories about bullying they've witnessed." [added 7/7/07]

Examples

Ethnic violence - more anti-Islam attacks during Ramadan [added 12/16/12]

Victim-blaming - Geraldo Rivera blames the hoodie, in part, for Trayvon Martin's death. [added 6/18/12]

Aversive Incidents

Besides frustration, there are three other unpleasant conditions which lead to aggressive behavior. The first unpleasant condition is pain. I remember one particular time I had a piece of fiber between my contact lens and my eye. Talk about pain! This happened while I was driving. Needless to say, I became very angry and cussed like a sailor. Finally, I decided to pull off the road and take my lens out. What a relief! I drove with one eye closed all the way home as I had no contact solution with me. Attack is yet another form of unpleasant condition. In my case, a verbal attack. Any type of negative verbal abuse towards me usually ignites very hostile emotions. Again, I get angry or sarcastic or just clam up. Loss of control is yet another unpleasant condition which increases arousal and then aggressive behavior. For me, getting up in the morning and looking at the alarm only to find out I should now be at work is downright frightening. Being in a hurry and out of control makes me angry and I tend to be abrupt and crabby.

Biology

Penguins! - I leave this one to your creativity as to how you might use it; I just like it! [added 6/9/04]

Frustration

Relative deprivation - “56 percent of tech employees at Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple think they’re underpaid.”

Sources of frustration - A gunman who killed four in Pennsylvania this summer "described his anger and frustration in painstaking detail in notes he carried with him and left at his home and in a chilling online diary, offering an extraordinarily stark portrait of a killer's motives." [added 1/13/10]

Hostility on the road and anonymity - Another excellent blog from Sam Sommers -- read about his tangle with Green Nissan. [added 3/29/09]

Rising food prices brings unrest - Once again, that social psychology equation, aggression = expectations - attainment, raises its head. [added 5/3/08]

Anger - oh yeah! My friends know about this pretty good. I wouldn't think that the people I hang around with are aggressive. But they definitely show a great deal of displacement of frustration - especially on their cars! Whenever my friends get mad - for example - they got in a fight with their girlfriend - they tend to take out their anger on their cars. Luckily most of them work on cars! Me, I guess when I get mad, I get really quiet. I won't talk to anyone! But when I get super mad - the wall and my fist become enemies!

Competition

 

Gendered Violence

"Woman beaten to death after defending teen girls from harassment" - in Germany [added 1/22/15]

Blaming the victim? - Here's a story from New York City in which police are apparently warning women that they should not be wearing shorts or short skirts considering the current series of rapes that have occurred. [added 1/15/12]

Violence against women - the horrible story of a 14-year-old Bangladeshi girl who died from lashes after being charged with adultery [4/9/11]

Topic Resources

Gendered Violence	School and Youth Violence	Genes/Biology and Violence
Sexual Violence	Workplace Violence	Reducing Violence
Orientation-based Violence	Media and Violence	Criminal Behavior
Ethnic Violence	Drugs and Violence	Other Resources

 

Gendered Violence

Domestic Violence

Muslim survivors of domestic violence

“An investigation into domestic violence in the military” - a good but disturbing series of articles from HuffPost

Many mass killers and terrorists have a history of domestic violence - as does the alleged perpetrator at the Charlottesville episode

Many mass shooters are also prone to domestic violence

"Pakistan passes legislation against 'honor killings'"

More subtle forms of relationship aggression - Who is more likely to spread negative rumors about their partner, or exclude them from social circles, or withhold affection, and what effect does it have?

Marital rape in India reaches "tragic proportions" - Marital rape is still legal there.

How much aggression will we endure in relationships? - Recent research "suggests that when we want to keep our partner badly enough, we redefine the levels of aggression that we believe it is justifiable to endure."

"The price of protection" - "Study by Pitt sociologists reveals that women who petition for restraining orders against abusers typically see decreased earnings."

1/3 women killed in U.S. murdered by male partners - [added 1/21/15]

"Why didn't you just leave?" - "Six domestic violence survivors explain why it’s never that simple." Here is another good discussion of why it is often so difficult for women to leave abusive relationships. [added 1/21/15]

"How the country has changed under the Violence Against Women Act" - "The 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act — landmark legislation that was signed into law by President Clinton on September 13, 1994 — comes at a particularly prescient moment, as the country is engaged in a national conversation about the NFL’s responsibility to adequately respond to incidences of domestic abuse perpetrated by its football players." [added 1/21/15]

In UK, schoolchildren taught domestic violence is unacceptable - [added 1/16/10]

"It's okay to slap spendthrift wives" - so says a judge in Saudi Arabia [added 7/11/09]

"Muslim American women confront domestic abuse" - [added 4/5/08]

More on honor killings - a story of a young Turkish woman living in Germany who claims to be escaping an abusive husband and the fear of an "honor killing" [added 7/14/07]

Domestic violence in Belarus - report from Amnesty International [added 12/29/06]

Partner violence across nations - A paper entitled, "Dominance and symmetry in partner violence by male and female university students in 32 nations," found that "almost a third of the female as well as male students physically assaulted a dating partner in the 12 month study period, and that the most frequent pattern was mutuality in violence, i.e. both were violent, followed by 'female-only' violence. Violence by only the male partner was the least frequent pattern according to both male and female participants." [added 7/5/06]

Marital rape - new research and directions on marital rape from the National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women [added 7/5/06]

Domestic violence - "Assessing the offending activity of criminal domestic violence suspects: Offense specialization, escalation, de-escalation evidence from the Spouse Assault Replication Program" is a report from the U.S. Department of Justice. [added 2/22/06]

Domestic violence resources - from the American Bar Association's Commission on Domestic Violence [added 3/1/05]

Violence Against Women and Girls

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Mapping Female Genital Mutllation (FGM) - an update on the prevalence of this practice

6,000 new cases of FGM reported in Great Britain - "A law passed last year requires professionals in England and Wales to report cases of FGM, which helped pave the way for the first-ever survey of medical professionals on the topic."

"Nigeria bans female genital mutilation"

"Vacation cutting" - During the summer, some girls in the U.S. are "sent abroad to undergo a painful female genital mutilation (FGM) procedure."

"The shocking rise of female genital mutilation in the United States"

U.N. calls for ban on female genital mutilation - "Campaigners against female circumcision scored a major victory Monday with the approval by a key U.N. committee of a resolution calling for a global ban on female genital mutilation." [added 12/19/12]

 

How hatred of women is fueling the far-right

Native women (in America) are 10 times more likely to be murdered

Inside the “incel” movement - “’Incel’ stands for ‘involuntarily celibate,’ an online community of mostly men who blame women for their inability to get the attention, and sex, they feel entitled to.”  The man who recently drove the van in Toronto that killed 10 people has been linked to this movement.

Female sex workers less likely to be killed if they can advertise online

"Pakistan bars family from 'forgiving' son for honor killing" - ... of his sister, a social media celebrity.

Telling the stories of honor killings - a website was created to highlight and tell the stories of the many women who are still killed to save the "honor" of their families.

Violence against women in Egypt - The first link is the report from Amnesty International.  Here is a link to a story about it.

"Snubbed by women" killer and the online response - As most of you in the U.S. know, Elliot Rodger, who made a disturbing video claiming he was wrongly snubbed by women, shot and killed seven individuals and wounded many more in a recent shooting spree near the University of California at Santa Barbara campus.This link is to a blog entry suggesting that this act is reflective of a culture of violence against women, reporting statistics on violence towards women. This link and this link take you to feminist responses to the spree, the websites, and the culture in general. And, in a related incident, this last link is to a story about a bar which posted the following "joke": "I like my beer like I like my violence: Domestic." [added 1/21/15]

School protects star player over rape victims - We have seen a number of these stories in the U.S. International readers: Does this happen in other countries? [added 7/29/13]

Afghan school girls poisoned - "More than 120 schoolgirls and three teachers have been poisoned in the second attack in as many months blamed on conservative radicals in the country's north, Afghan police and education officials said on Wednesday. The attack occurred in Takhar province where police said that radicals opposed to education of women and girls had used an unidentified toxic powder to contaminate the air in classrooms. Scores of students were left unconscious." [added 6/29/12]

Afghan girls pay for elders' misdeeds - [added 6/29/12]

"Rescuing girls from sex slavery" - a very compelling story from India [added 7/13/10]

"Turkish girl, 16, buried alive for talking to boys" - [added 3/7/10]

Database on violence against women - from the U.N. Secretary General's office [added 4/17/09]

Violence against indigenous women - A report from the National Institute of Justice -- "Violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women and the criminal justice response: What is known" [added 4/11/09]

"Women and violence at work" - A background paper (2007) from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions reports on the incidence, determinants, and impact of bullying and sexual harassment on women at work. [12/31/07]

Violence against girls - A report from the 51st U.N. Commission on the Status of Women -- it includes separate reports on violence against schoolgirls, violence against child domestic workers, and violence against girls in conflict with the law. [added 7/7/07]

People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) - a site from South Africa -- The mission of POWA: "To be a powerful, specialised and multi-skilled service provider that contributes towards the complete eradication of violence against women in society, in order to enhance women's quality of life." A variety of resources here [added 7/5/06]

"When men murder women..." - a (2005) report from the Violence Policy Center [added 1/10/06]

Violence against women - From the National Institute of Justice, this report entitled "Violence and Victimization Research Division's compendium of research on violence against women" contains a large number of summaries of research on the topic. [added 6/17/05]

Stop violence against women - a lot of resources from Amnesty International USA [added 12/1/04]

Violence against Women - publications and other resources from the Violence Against Women Office, U.S. Department of Justice

Are lactating moms more aggressive? - Interesting study -- or as asked in this blog entry -- are lactating moms more likely to go all Wild Kingdom on you? [added 6/29/12]

Is an angry face a male face? - Ask your students to imagine an angry face. Now a happy face. Did they envision a male or female? This study found both males and females pictured a male face when asked to think of an angry one. [added 4/17/09]

Sexual Violence

Sexual harassment

Female Twitch streamers frequently victims of sexual harassment - The stories are horrific.

"New Deepfake tool has digitally undressed thousands of women" - Here is ANOTHER horrific example of the internet used to harass women.  The internet provides anonymity which we know can unleash antisocial and deviant behavior.

A very detailed case of sexual harassment

The case of Aziz Ansari - This is one of many essays about responses to an accusation of inappropriate sexual behavior from comedian/actor/writer Aziz Ansari and how it informs the ongoing conversation on the topic.

Sexual harassment - some interesting articles describing research on the topic from APS

Does anti-harassment training work? - It's a multi-billion dollar industry, and the U.S. Congress is now considering mandatory training.  This article reviews some research on its efficacy.

"What is the link between sex and power in sexual harassment?" - "New research discovers how power predicts sexual abuse."

“European parliaments rocked by sexual harassment claims” - I wonder how many of these men in positions of power will be replaced by non-males.

SPSP reaffirms its stance against harassment - from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology

Sexual harassment and #metoo - The #metoo has been used to share stories of sexual harassment.  It is an interesting recent phenomenon to emerge, like the # below on disabilities, the worldwide sharing of common experiences.  I have read anecdotal accounts of the costs and benefits of such sharing.   I wonder what the research will tell us.  Have any of you done such research?

"Sex, power, and the systems that enable men like Harvey Weinstein" - An essay by social psychologist Dacher Keltner -- here is a link to a blog entry that discusses "why all of the Harvey Weinstein allegations emerged now."

"McDonalds accused of ignoring rampant sexual harassment"

Sexual harassment at school - a report from the AAUW [added 1/29/12]

Or, is sexual harassment a myth? - amusing cartoon of attempts to minimize sexual harassment [added 1/29/12]

"Sexual harassment and violence at the military service academies" - report from the U.S. Department of Defense [added 2/22/06]

Rape

Rape is okay if she willingly got drunk - According to the state of Minnesota and a few other states, it is only rape if the woman was forced to drink alcohol.  Here is a link to a photo series on victim blaming.

“What experts know about men who rape” - interesting article from the New York Times

The Kobe Bryant rape case - As NBA superstar Kobe Bryant retires this year, this excellent essay reviews another chapter from his life and its influence on subsequent rape accusations.

Responses to "The Hunting Ground" and rape culture on campus - "The Hunting Ground" is a 2015 documentary on universities' handling of rape and other sexual violence

Marital rape in India reaches "tragic proportions" - Marital rape is still legal there.

"Blurred concepts of consent" - a good article in the APS Observer reviewing recent research on different and distorted interpretations of consent that can lead to sexual assault [added 1/22/15]

"Rape victims are just as guilty as rapists if they're both drunk" - so says a Wall Street Journal columnist [added 1/20/15]

Protests of rape culture in New Zealand - [added 1/27/14]

"How Elizabeth Smart is taking on rape culture" - [added 1/27/14]

Rape and Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines - Many interpret the lyrics of Robin Thicke's song Blurred Lines to condone rape by suggesting the victim wants it. Here is a response to that. [added 1/27/14]

Men outnumber women among American rape victims - when you include the prison population, according to this source [added 6/29/12]

Rape myths impede justice - Blog entry covering an international conference on sexual violence discusses certain myths that block the justice system from getting more convictions and what to do about it. The blog entry also contains a public service video from New Zealand pushing "the idea that everyone is responsibility for the safety of those around them." [added 1/29/12]

"Unaccountable rape in Iraq" - Story of Jamie Leigh Jones, former employee of Halliburton/KBR, who claims she was drugged and raped on her fourth day in Iraq. "After reporting her rape to KBR, Jones says 'the company put her under guard in a shipping container with a bed and warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she'd be out of a job.'" See video of the story. [added 12/23/07]

Saudi gang-rape victim punished - In Saudi Arabia, "the 19-year-old victim was sentenced last year to 90 lashes for meeting with an unrelated male, a former friend from whom she was retrieving photographs." Then "the judges more than doubled the punishment for the victim because of 'her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media.'" Here is a news video about the story and a response from the rape victim. [added 12/15/07]

Drug-facilitated, incapacitated, forcible rape - a national study from the National Crime Victims Research & Treatment Center [added 11/17/07]

Rape cases and alcohol - a report, "Juries reluctant to convict in rape cases in which alcohol involved," from the Economic and Research Council (UK) -- even when a woman had become involuntarily drunk [added 12/29/06]

"Extent, nature and consequences of rape victimization" - report from the U.S. National Institute of Justice based on findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey [added 7/5/06]

When is rape "okay"? - News story of a study a few years back in the UK in which 14-21 year old males and females identify conditions (e.g., "if she'd slept with loads of men") under which it would be okay for a man to force a woman to have sex. Similar research (with similar results) has been conducted in the U.S. [added 3/30/04]

Sexual assault

Institutional culture and sexual assault - Michigan State University continues to struggle with creating a healthy climate regarding sexual abuse and harassment.

Inside the “incel” movement - “’Incel’ stands for ‘involuntarily celibate,’ an online community of mostly men who blame women for their inability to get the attention, and sex, they feel entitled to.”  The man who recently drove the van in Toronto that killed 10 people has been linked to this movement.

Sexual assault common for flight attendants

Police sexual abuse

Sexual assault in the U.S. military - A report from the Department of Defense stated that 26.000 assaults occurred last year. The report and other material can be found at this site on sexual assault prevention and response from the Department of Defense. [added 7/31/13]

Sexual assault on campus - a report and other resources from The Center for Public Integrity [added 7/13/10]

"Rescuing girls from sex slavery" - a very compelling story from India [added 7/13/10]

"The culture of prison sexual violence" - a report from the National Institute of Justice [added 12/29/06]

Sexual violence in the U.S. Armed Forces - "A considerable sacrifice: The costs of sexual violence in the U.S. Armed Forces" is a paper from The Miles Foundation. [added 1/9/06]

Army Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program - [added 3/15/05]

Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic church - a report on the "The Nature and Scope of the Problem of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States" [added 6/9/04]

National Sexual Violence Resource Center - lots of good resources on different types of sexual violence and strategies for responding to it [added 4/06/04]

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): World Health Organization / NOCIRC - The first link from World Health Organization provides a lot of background info on FGM. The second link is to NOCIRC, an "educational non-profit organization committed to securing the birthright of male, female, and intersex children and babies to keep their sex organs intact." [added 3/30/04]

Tailhook '91 - PBS Frontline show on the Navy Tailhook Convention where "83 women and 7 men were assaulted during the three-day aviators' convention, according to a report by the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (DOD)."

Orientation-based Violence

Transgenderism must be eradicated - This is an interesting essay which links attacks against transgenders and genocide.

Documenting Hate - Documenting Hate is a project to create a national (U.S.) database of hate crimes and bias incidents. You can read stories of hate crimes and bias incidents here.  Here is a link to a good history of how the U.S. came to document hate crimes.

Violence is common against LGBT - Here is a good article about how the Orlando, FL shooting is not an isolated act of violence against LGBT.  Apparently, the Orlando shooter's father said his son had recently been disgusted by seeing two men kissing.  Here is an essay about how "two men kissing is still a stunning, terrifying sight."

Iraqi gay men face "lives of hell" - [added 7/11/09]

Police abuse against LGBT people in U.S. - report from Amnesty International USA [added 7/5/06]

"Assault on Gay America" - PBS Frontline show (2000) on the life and death of Billy Jack Gaither

Ethnic Violence

Can Black on Black violence be driven by racism? - That is a question this article tackles as it discusses the case of five Black police officers charged with the murder of a Black citizen in Memphis, Tennessee.

NYPD say hate crimes rose 100% in 2020; Anti-Asian crime up 361%

Native women (in America) are 10 times more likely to be murdered

Documenting Hate - Documenting Hate is a project to create a national (U.S.) database of hate crimes and bias incidents. You can read stories of hate crimes and bias incidents here.  Here is a link to a good history of how the U.S. came to document hate crimes.

Hunting and killing of albinos in Malawi in subsaharan Africa - Their bones are believed by some to have magical properties.

"Columbus's real legacy: The brutal disparities suffered by Native Americans" - [added 1/21/15]

20 years since Rwanda - some remembering and reflection on that anniversary of the genocide [added 1/21/15]

The shooting of Trayvon Martin - How big is the Trayvon Martin story? It's got its own Wikipedia page. [added 6/29/12]

Preventing genocide - The U.S. Memorial Holocaust Museum has put together a good set of resources on genocide including a description of countries that are at risk today. [added 7/13/10]

"Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime" - a case study in London [added 7/13/10]

Ethnic cleansing in America? - "From the 1860s to the 1920s, towns across the U.S. violently expelled African American residents. Today, these communities remain virtually all white." [added 2/6/10]

"The code of the street and African-American adolescent violence" - a report from the U.S. Department of Justice [added 4/17/09]

Defining the crime of genocide - This essay attempts to carefully define the term, ending with the conclusion that "using the definitions of both Lemkin and the Convention, and placing them within the context of the larger category of crime against humanity in general, there have really only been three genuine examples of genocide during the course of the twentieth century: that of the Armenians by the Young Turks in 1915, that of the Jews and Gypsies by the Nazis and, in 1994, that of the Tutsis by the Hutu racists." [12/31/07]

"Hate crimes rose 8% in 2006"

"America and the Holocaust" - a website accompanying the film "America and the Holocaust" which contains a lot of resources including a complete transcript and links to many of the primary resources [added 9/30/07]

Violent neo-Nazi group - A report from the Anti-Defamation League: "Volksfront, a virulently racist and anti-Semitic group comprised mostly of neo-Nazi skinheads, is growing in prominence in the United States and internationally, with chapters in Canada, Spain, Australia Germany and Portugal." [added 7/16/07]

Killing fields of Cambodia - another story looking back at this murder of 1-2 million during the 1970s [added 7/14/07]

A story of Jewish refugees fleeing war-torn Europe - An exhibit, "Flight and rescue," from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum that tells the story of 2100 Jewish refugees who escaped with the help of a Dutch businessman and a Japanese diplomat. [added 7/06/07]

Kristallnacht exhibition - From the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, this online exhibition "Kristallnacht: The November 1938 pogroms" describes the destruction and intimidation from that "night of broken glass." [added 12/29/06]

Sydney (Australia) riots
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Cronulla_race_riots
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3491299.stm
two examples of prejudice-related violence from Australia [added 7/5/06]

Riots in France (2005) - info and photos about the riots in France - more info can be found here [added 1/13/06]

The Holocaust Martyrs'... [added 6/9/04]

The Holocaust - lots of resources and links related to the Holocaust [added 11/7/02]

"Voices of the Holocaust" - a new project from The British Library that includes audio and written recordings from survivors who live in Great Britain [added 3/6/02]

Holocaust teaching guide - hundreds of images, videos and other resources

Holocaust links - extensive set of links to Holocaust memorials, museums and other resources

India's "Untouchables" - report (1999) from the Human Rights Watch - "Broken People: Caste Violence Against India’s “Untouchables”"

School and Youth Violence

Bullying

Cyberbullying – how do you measure it?

“Australia launches anti-bullying campaign after former child model commits suicide”

Cyber bullying: The complete resource guide - from Background Check.org

"Kids are quoting Trump to bully their classmates"

"Bullying and 'doing' gender" - blog entry on the topic

Three types of cyberbullying - and not just of kids [added 1/20/15]

Bullying: A rational choice? - [added 7/31/13]

Fight bullying with babies - Interesting article about a program in which babies visit a classroom (usually accompanied by an adult) to teach empathy as a means of reducing aggression [added 12/24/10]

Young girls particularly prone to ongoing bullying - "Among the girls, the 44 who were victims of so-called 'direct bullying' (physical and verbal abuse) at baseline, were two and a half times more likely than their classmates to also be a victim of direct bullying at follow up. By contrast, boys who were victims of direct bullying at baseline were no more likely than their classmates to be a victim at follow up." [added 1/16/10]

Yes, but how do students define bullying? - In surveying students about what is and is not bullying, this research found that students often interpret bullying as something done by a bully. You are a bully or you aren't one. If you can convince yourself that you are not a bully, then you don't engage in bullying. As a result, efforts to reduce bullying in schools may not reach those who bully because they do not believe it applies to them. Instead of thinking that anyone can engage in bullying, many students associate it only with "bullies." [added 1/16/10]

Responding to bullying through virtual experiences - describes two virtual world programs that are being used to helped the bullied and increase empathy among the bullies [added 7/11/09]

A successful anti-bullying program in schools - Study tested an approach to reduce bullying by also focusing on the bystanders, including other students and staff [added 4/17/09]

"In defense of teasing" - Is teasing a good thing or a bad thing? Interesting essay in the New York Times [4/17/09]

Cyber-bullying - a good blog entry summarizing some research [added 6/4/08]

"Effects" of bullying in twins - Interesting study looked at twins where one was bullied and the other was not. The study found more mental health difficulties for bullied twin. [added 4/13/08]

Bullying in schools - article in The Washington Post [added 8/05/07]

Bullying - "From teasing to torment: New national report on school bullying" is a report from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. [added 1/13/06]

"The 5 W's of threat appraisal" - advice for school personnel and parents if you hear a student make a threat

"Most acts of aggression by toddlers are unprovoked" - I'm surprised there isn't a reality TV show about that yet.  Oh wait, it's called politics.

"LEGO figures are getting angrier" - No, not just my opinion. There is research to back it up! I imagine someone has already written a sci-fi story in which they crawl out of kids' closets one night and take over the world, led, of course, by the pastel-colored "Friends" collection (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/opinion/does-stripping-gender-from-toys-really-make-sense.html?_r=2&) targeted to girls. [added 7/31/13]

The Newtown tragedy - Stories and updates about the recent shooting in Newtown, Connecticut [added 12/19/12]

Interactive map of school shootings around the world since 1996 - Click on a dot and read about the details of each shooting. Amazing how many are concentrated in the U.S. [added 12/19/12]

"Newtown kids vs. Yemenis and Pakistanis" - This provocative essay comparing U.S. reaction to the Newtown tragedy and the killing of children in Yemen and Pakistan provides a lot of fodder for considering social psychological factors in each. [added 12/19/12]

The shooting of Trayvon Martin - How big is the Trayvon Martin story? It's got its own Wikipedia page. [added 6/29/12]

"Neighborhood effects on crime and youth violence" - a report from the Rand Corporation which looks at how Business Improvement Districts in Los Angeles have helped control violence [added 4/17/09]

Do toy guns lead to crime? - Mexico's parliament is considering banning toy guns for children because they think it might encourage criminality. [added 4/17/09]

The Campus Sexual Assault Study (2007) - "Data were collected using a Web-based survey from over 6,800 undergraduate students (5,466 women and 1,375 men). Data indicate that 13.7% of undergraduate women had been victims of at least one completed sexual assault since entering college: 4.7% were victims of physically forced sexual assault; 7.8% of women were sexually assaulted when they were incapacitated after voluntarily consuming drugs and/or alcohol (i.e., they were victims of alcohol and/or other drug- [AOD] enabled sexual assault); 0.6% were sexually assaulted when they were incapacitated after having been given a drug without their knowledge (i.e., they were certain they had been victims of drug-facilitated sexual assault [DFSA])." From the National Institute of Justice. [added 4/13/08]

"College football games and crime" - "Our results suggest that the host community registers sharp increases in assaults, vandalism, arrests for disorderly conduct, and arrests for alcohol-related offenses on game days. Upsets are associated with the largest increases in the number of expected offenses. These estimates are discussed in the context of psychological theories of fan aggression." [added 4/5/08]

"Child witches" in Nigeria - scary story of children being attacked, abandoned, and killed because they were identified as witches [12/31/07]

Report on violence against children - Read here the newly released U.N. World Report on Violence Against Children. [added 12/29/06]

School associated violent deaths - a brief report from the Center for Disease Control also describes a few preventative measures -- other violence related resources can be found here as well. [added 12/28/06]

Violence against children widely accepted - News article reporting that "violence against children is widely accepted as normal around the world, and at least 106 countries still allow physical punishment in schools, a U.N. report on the issue showed." Here is the U.N. report. [added 12/28/06]

Physical dating violence among U.S. high school students - report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on a 2003 survey [added 7/5/06]

StopHazing.org - Resources related to "educating to eliminate hazing" [added 8/30/05]

"Diet of fish 'can prevent' teen violence" - interesting example of how media can distort research findings [added 11/20/03]

Gang Research - "Gang research.net is a website dedicated to providing quality research on gangs to students, academics, public officials, the media, and the general public. While most "gang" websites either present the views of law enforcement or give unverified or questionable information, Gang research.net seeks to dispel stereotypes and present research, original documents, and helpful links." [added 11/7/02]

"Deadly Lessons: Understanding Lethal School Violence" - (2002) - an online, book-length report built around case studies from the National Research Council [added 8/28/02]

"The school shooter: A threat assessment perspective" - report (2000) from the FBI - in PDF

"Youth violence: A report of the Surgeon General" - (2001)

"The Killer at Thurston High" - PBS Frontline show (2000) on 15-year old Kip Kinkel who killed his parents and classmates

"Little Criminals" - PBS Frontline show (1998) on violent young children

Workplace Violence

Twitter incivility is increasing among our elected representatives in the U.S

"I was a racist cop" - a powerful essay from a retired police officer and forensic investigator

Female sex workers less likely to be killed if they can advertise online

Workplace bullying - a few good articles on the topic from APS

"What to do when the boss is a bully" - a report on research

"Harassment is running rampant in American workplaces"

Australian anti-sexual harassment campaign

"What is it like to sexually harassed?" - "There's a video game for that."

A violent enforcer in hockey - Here's an excellent three-part series on the life and death of hockey brawler Derek Boogaard who died at the age of 28. [added 1/29/12]

Incentives for violence in NHL hockey - [added 6/4/08]

Survey of workplace violence prevention, 2005 - [added 12/28/06]

Workplace violence reports - a variety of reports on workplace violence from the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration [added 7/23/03]

Media and Violence

Violence and Video Games

Do violent video games increase aggression? - The fight continues.  A 2015 meta-analysis found a link between violent video games and aggression in children.  However, a new meta-analysis casts doubt on those results, suggesting the previous analysis was flawed.  The 2020 analysis found little to no connection between watching or playing violent video games and aggression.

“More common ground than conflict in video game data” - In one of the most heated areas of social psych research, perhaps there is some common ground.  Or, at least that’s what this person says.

“Video game lets players simulate school shooting rampage” - Of course it does.

Video games and aggression in kids - Once of those most hotly debated topics in psychology is whether video games affect kids’ behavior, particularly aggressive behavior.  Here are a few articles from APS on the topic.

Do video games have any effect on our youth? - The fiesty world of video game research is on full display in the most recent issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science.  It's fun to read the back and forth between the two camps, as well as from those who are trying to "mediate."

Does video game violence increase aggression in adults with autism? - No, it did not according to this research.

Effects of violent video games: Superman vs. The Joker - Blog entry about an interesting study finding different effects for those who took on the character of Superman vs. the character of The Joker in a violent game [added 1/27/14]

"Violent video game play makes more aggressive kids" - [added 7/13/10]

Violent video games increase hostility in aggressive individuals - interesting article summarizing research on playing violent versus non-violent video games [added 12/28/06]

Marketing Violence to Children - this is a statement made by Lee Peeler, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, to a subcommittee of the House of Representatives (October, 2002) on "Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children: Self-Regulation and Industry Practices in the Motion Picture, Music Recording, and Electronic Game Industries." Also includes links to related resources. [added 12/06/02]

Entertainment Software Rating Board - home of organization that developed ratings for games [added 12/06/02]

  Does the “attention economy” promote aggression? - an interesting analysis of how social media’s use of conflict to attract viewers might encourage violence towards retail workers, among others

Killing by police officers has become increasingly common and acceptable in Hollywood portrayals - according to this brief review of it

"What bullets do to bodies" - In part, our inhibitions to aggression are lowered because we don't see the full consequences of violence.  This article describes the often unknown effects of bullets.

"The surprising history of 'snowflake' as a political insult" - If you didn't follow the recent U.S. elections, you may have missed this insult revived from earlier times.

"The Bill Cosby of indie music"? - A story about female musicians and publicists coming forward with sexual assault and sexual harassment allegations against a very popular music publicist

Can game role playing shape later behavior? - Does playing Lord Voldemort increase your aggression? Yes. Does playing Superman increase your generosity? Yes. So, I have to ask. If you were turned into a character in a video game, what behavior would the player engage in after playing you? [added 1/20/15]

Pro-social songs can lessen aggression - "Participants who listened to pro-social songs subsequently showed reduced aggressive cognitions - for example they were less likely to complete ambiguous word stems (e.g. 'schla_' in German) with violent endings (e.g. 'schlagen', to hit), choosing instead more peaceful endings (e.g. 'schlafen' to sleep). They also exhibited reduced aggressive mood, being less likely to say they felt angry or irritated." [added 4/27/11]

Dominance/disadvantage in movies Avatar/Blind Sides - [added 3/7/10]

Policy statement on media violence - from the American Academy of Pediatrics [added 1/16/10]

Violent media desensitizes - This study finds that participants who played violent video games (for 20 minutes) responded more slowly to a victim in need than those who were not exposed to the violent media. [added 4/17/09]

"Does movie crime increase violent crime?" - This is an interesting correlational study that finds "that violent crime decreases on days with larger theater audiences for violent movies." A couple plausible explanations they consider: Theater attendees can't be out committing crimes and they probably aren't drinking alcohol. [added 4/5/08]

Study of violence by former mental health patients - interesting study conducted by the MacArthur Research Network asking "How does the rate of violence by former mental patients compare with the rate of violence by other members of the community?" [added 7/23/03]

FTC Report - released 9/11/2000 - "Marketing Violent Entertainment To Children: A Review Of Self-Regulation And Industry Practices In The Motion Picture, Music Recording & Electronic Game Industries" - report from Federal Trade Commission that received a lot of media and political attention

Drugs and Violence

"Alcohol and Violence" - publication from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2001)

"Alcohol, Violence and Aggression" - report from National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (No. 38 October 1997)

Genes/Biology and Violence

“Testosterone may dampen police recruits’ emotional control”

Which mixed martial arts fighter is best? - The one with the widest face according to this research, and we are able to judge that. [added 1/21/15]

"How can the love hormone lead to violence?" - Myers and DeWall share a fascinating study that indicates that oxytocin, often associated with love and cooperation, can also enhance violence in certain individuals under certain circumstances. [added 1/21/15]

Biology and aggression - a good article describing research on genetic and biological influences on hostile behavior, including some possible remedies [added 1/20/15]

Are lactating moms more aggressive? - Interesting study -- or as asked in this blog entry -- are lactating moms more likely to go all Wild Kingdom on you? [added 6/29/12]

Empathy and violence have similar circuits in the brain - Gives new meaning to a love/hate relationship. [added 10/16/10]

Men with brown eyes perceived as more dominant - But it appears not to just be eye color. When blue-eyed men had their eyes photoshopped to appear brown, they were still not perceived as dominant as the brown-eyed men. No such effect for brown-eyed women. [added 7/13/10]

"Testosterone leads to fairness, not aggression" - [added 1/16/10]

Facial structure in men and aggression - [added 1/16/10]

"Aggression written in the shape of a man's face" - interesting studies finding that the shape of a man's face can predict his aggressiveness [added 10/11/08]

Asymmetry and aggression - "The researchers subjected college students to frustrating and belligerent phone calls. And they found that people with less symmetrical body features–for example, an arm, eye, or ear that's bigger than the other–tended to react more aggressively than their more symmetrical counterparts." [added 11/29/07]

Reducing Violence

Another effective radio narrative - A radio drama set in a fictional city might seem a whimsical tool for countering a challenge as grave as violent extremism, but a field experiment in Burkina Faso, in West Africa, suggests that narrative interventions using storytelling may provide impactful solutions for shifting behavioral intentions, beliefs, and attitudes.

"How to reduce shootings" - an opinion essay by Nicholas Kristof

“Harnessing the positive power of relative deprivation” - All that frustration can be used to fight for a better world.

Targeting those with mental disorders to reduce mass shootings - As David Myers points out through a review of some research, blaming mass killing on mental illness or trying to predict who will commit mass murder through diagnosis is both inappropriate and fruitless.

Does anti-harassment training work? - It's a multi-billion dollar industry, and the U.S. Congress is now considering mandatory training.  This article reviews some research on its efficacy.

Strategies for reducing sexual violence - This article primarily discusses using public health strategies of changing the culture, in this case the rape culture.

"Can free homes for police officers ... curb violence?" - Interesting strategy of getting first responders and teachers to live in high-need communities

Violence awareness and prevention guide - "The following guide identifies different forms of violence, offers information on how to recognize abuse, and provides resources to help victims find support services."

No mass shootings in Australia since 1996 - April 28, 1996 was a very fateful day in Australia.  Read about it and its aftermath.

Sociology and infamy - On the same topic as the previous link, this blogger provides some sociological analysis of whether we should publicize the names of these shooters.

"Inside the race to stop the next mass shooter" - an extensive article in Mother Jones

Crime pays ... and that's a good thing! - Richmond, California paid criminals for staying out of trouble, and it worked.

Australian anti-sexual harassment campaign

Consent condoms - Do your students think these will help with addressing the rape culture? [added 1/21/15]

Rebuilding a burned-out Mosque - This columnist argues that "helping a burned-to-the-ground Missouri mosque quickly re-build would make a powerful and constructive statement." [added 12/19/12]

Middle schooler's anti-bullying idea - [added 6/29/12]

Preventing genocide - The U.S. Memorial Holocaust Museum has put together a good set of resources on genocide including a description of countries that are at risk today. [added 7/13/10]

In UK, schoolchildren taught domestic violence is unacceptable - [added 1/16/10]

Violence is declining - Here is an interesting essay by Steven Pinker in which he argues that despite the constant barrage of violent images and stories the historical record suggests we have become less violent than our ancestors. [added 1/16/10]

Responding to bullying through virtual experiences - describes two virtual world programs that are being used to helped the bullied and increase empathy among the bullies [added 7/11/09]

Violence in Kenya - The first link is to a news story about the current violence in Kenya. Here is a link to an analysis, "Breaking the stalemate in Kenya," which explores how the crisis evolved and how it might be resolved. [added 4/5/08]

2007 report on global campaign to reduce violence - A WHO report, "Third Milestones of a Global Campaign for Violence Prevention Report 2007," on the progress made towards reducing violence [added 9/30/07]

Do school-based violence prevention programs work? - "The effectiveness of universal school-based programs for the prevention of violent and aggressive behavior" is a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in which the authors "conducted a systematic review of published scientific evidence concerning the effectiveness of these programs." [added 9/30/07]

Reducing teen dating violence - "This research brief summarizes a survey about the effectiveness of programs from Break the Cycle, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and fielding dating-violence prevention programs." [added 12/28/06]

People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) - a site from South Africa -- The mission of POWA: "To be a powerful, specialised and multi-skilled service provider that contributes towards the complete eradication of violence against women in society, in order to enhance women's quality of life." A variety of resources here [added 7/5/06]

Preventing violence - a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality entitled "Preventing violence and related health-risking social behaviors in adolescents" [added 12/1/04]

Stop violence against women - a lot of resources from Amnesty International USA [added 12/1/04]

"What makes kids care?: Teaching gentleness in a violent world" - a public affairs essay from the APA [added 3/30/04]

Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence - Wealth of resources related to violence prevention including Blueprints project, launched to "to identify and replicate violence prevention programs that are effective." So far, Blueprints has "has identified 11 prevention and intervention programs that meet a strict scientific standard of program effectiveness." See the model programs including video. Site also contains violence and prevention related bibiliographic databases and links (connections) to many other related resources. [added 3/21/02]

Violence Prevention Resources from the AMA - American Medical Association provides data on "violence between intimates," policy documents and other reports

Toolkit to end Violence Against Women - includes an extensive set of recommendations "for strengthening prevention efforts and improving services and advocacy for victims," from the National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women

Violence prevention - hundreds of links to resources on violence, abuse and prevention from the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse

Violence prevention - tips and resources from ACT (Adults and Children Together against violence)

"Reducing Violence" - in PDF - APS Human Capital Initiative Report #5 (1997)

Criminal Behavior

Teen impulsivity and crime - an excellent essay from David Myers

Mother Jones’ mass shooting database - “Mother Jones’ magazine maintains a database of mass shooting events in the United States.  25 variables are collected from every shooting.”

“Making sense of the senseless: A sociological perspective on mass shootings”

2017 U.S. hate crime statistics

How a few U.S. cities have responded to police brutality across the years - interesting description [added 1/21/15]

Hoodie or goodie? - A study, "Hoodie or goodie: The link between violent victimisation and offending in young people," investigates how victims of violence (goodies) become offenders (hoodies) and offenders become victims and how each might be prevented. [added 11/29/07]

Homicides in Oakland, CA - This is a website dedicated to exploring the rise in homicides in Oakland and its rippling effects -- a community journalism project by The Oakland Tribune and InsideBayArea.com. [added 7/14/07]

Other Resources

What is stochastic terrorism? - Read about it as applied to Donald Trump's social media threats.

Microaggressions - An excellent essay on the topic

Linking sleep and aggression - "Results of mixed-model repeated measures analyses of variance linked shorter sleep duration with reduced motor inhibition processing during negative and neutral word blocks and greater aggression. However, neurocognitive indices did not explain the sleep - aggression link. This is the first evidence that naturally occurring sleep loss predicts increases in laboratory aggression across the task and suggests that shorter sleepers are more vulnerable to rash action in negative and neutral contexts."

"Discordant knowing" predicts greater fanaticism - New research points to an interesting possible reason why someone may be more likely to become dangerously fanatical.

Harming outgroup members may activate brain rewards

"Physically aggressive people better at detecting anger in ambiguous faces"

“Can outrage be a good thing?” - When might outrage as an emotional response be productive?

Why your grandmother pinched your adorably cute cheeks - or, why we want to squeeze cute animals.

“Aggressive behavior brings emotional pain to the sadist” - fascinating research 

Gun Violence Archive - “Gun Violence Archive (GVA) is a not for profit corporation formed in 2013 to provide free online public access to accurate information about gun-related violence in the United States. GVA will collect and check for accuracy, comprehensive information about gun-related violence in the U.S. and then post and disseminate it online.”

More problems with the concept of microaggressions? - Can they only be directed at minorities/victims or can those in the majority/superior groups also feel them?  Is it still a “microaggression”?

"Hate crimes reach 5-year high in 2016" - as per an FBI report -- this link takes you to the actual report

"A gun in the vehicle triggers aggressive driving"

Can words be violence? - An interesting discussion of the topic -- what do your students think?  Here is a link to the original article to which the first author responds.

"What bullets do to bodies" - In part, our inhibitions to aggression are lowered because we don't see the full consequences of violence.  This article describes the often unknown effects of bullets.

Should we still use the term "microaggressions"? - Scott Lilienfeld in a recent article in Perspectives on Psychological Science reviews what he claims is weak evidence for the concept, and he argues we should discontinue its use.

Global warming and violence - research on what may be coming and what is already here

"The role of toxic masculinity in mass shootings"

Half of all police-related killings involve people with disabilities - according to a new report by the Ruderman Family Foundation

Why friends are reluctant to raise alarms about violent extremism - Interesting study examines some possible reasons why a friend, who might be in the best place to recognize if someone is heading down the extremism path, might be reluctant to say anything.

"How rudeness spreads like a contagion"

"Psychosis and violence aren't strongly linked" - Wait, all the TV shows I watch are wrong?  Is that possible?

Police violence in the U.S. vs. Europe - in one graph

"People are more willing to hurt themselves than others for profit" - A clever study: "You wait in a cubicle, electrodes strapped to your body. In a room nearby, a stranger is confronted with a series of decisions. They can choose a smaller cash reward and avoid an electric shock, or a larger sum that comes together with an unpleasant zap. The twist is that in half of the trials, the stranger knows the associated shock punishment is for them, but in the others they know it’s you who will suffer." [added 1/22/15]

Reading angry faces - According to this cool study, apparently we are very good at using the angry face to judge a person's strength. [added 1/21/15]

Climate change and rising violence are linked - [added 1/21/15]

Climate change may lead to more violence around the globe - from a United Nations report [added 1/21/15]

Actor Patton Oswalt responds to Boston bombings - This brief blog entry might provoke some good discussion from your students. [added 7/31/13]

The threat of violence increases agreeableness? - interesting research [added 12/19/12]

"Who gets aggressive at the late-night bar and why" - interesting methodology in this field study [added 12/19/12]

Overpredicting violence - Apparently laypeople and experts have a tendency to overpredict the likelihood of violence. [added 1/29/12]

The Arizona shooting - This blog entry does a nice job of examining some of the analysis and solutions that followed the shootings in Arizona, and some of the myths surrounding events like this one. [added 4/27/11]

"Are shooting club members more aggressive than most?" - This study's answer? No, in fact, the study found they were less aggressive and impulsive than the control group. [added 7/11/09]

"Do you believe in free will?" - "New experiments show that disbelief in free will decreases helping behaviours and increases aggression." [added 4/17/09]

Number of bumper stickers predicts road rage - You may have heard about this study. It can also serve as a good example of how tempted we are to jump from correlational data to causal conclusions. [added 8/9/08]

"Vengeance and the recycle of violence" - Blog entry takes you to two interesting articles looking at revenge in two different settings: "Tribal peoples from New Guinea, the other in street gangs from Chicago." [added 6/4/08]

Hate crimes against the homeless on the rise - a 2010 report from the National Coalition for the Homeless [added 7/7/07]

Guns, hot sauce and testosterone - a good description of some very interesting research -- here is the original research article [added 12/29/06]

Road rage - "An investigation into serious violence associated with motor vehicle use: Is 'road rage' a valid or useful construct?" is a report from the Criminology Research Council in Australia. [added 12/28/06]

Violence in sports fans - an article from the Cognitive Daily blog [added 12/22/06]

Safety Literature Database - From the World Health Organization and San Diego State University, this database contains abstracts and reference information from a large number of violence-related articles.

Stalking Resource Center - lots of resources (e.g., laws, court cases, profiles, help for victims, publications) related to stalking from The National Center for Victims of Crime [added 3/15/05]

Article and video on mice aggression - Read full text of article and watch genetically variant mice become or not become aggressive when placed in a cage with another mouse. [added 7/1/04]

Fruit Fly Fight Club - I'm not making this up. Researcher Edward Kravitz at Harvard Medical School has created this entertaining and educational site describing his research "on future mutant fly fights to learn more about the biology of aggression, dominance, and defeat." [added 6/15/04]

Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal [added 6/15/04]

"Terrorists and suicide attacks" - a report (2003) from the Congressional Research Service [added 11/20/03]

"Aggravating Circumstances: A Status Report on Rudeness in America" - reports and data from an interesting survey conducted by Public Agenda [added 8/30/02]

Article - Anderson, C.A. & Bushman, B.J. (2002). Human Aggression. Annual Review of Psychology, 53: 27-51. [added 5/1/02]

Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis - classic articles

Modeling of Aggression - classic Bobo doll study

"Valentina's Nightmare" - PBS Frontline show (1998) on the Rwanda genocide