Recently in Violence/Aggression Category

I've always been interested in learning what motivates people to do things that would be considered extreme to the general population of that culture.  Why do people kill other people?  There are many different motivating factors that could answer that question.  But what kind of motivators are present for someone to kill another person they don't know and have no personal problem with?

I read an interesting article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100310/ts_csm/286499  about a US-born woman that is described as having become gradually radicalized by Islamic contacts through the internet.  She is a middle-aged American woman that had contact with Muslim extremists and was given an order to kill a man in Sweden.  She was preparing to do so when police got wind of the conspiracy and arrested her.  She agreed to marry a co-conspirator so he could travel more easily and have better access to travel in Europe, which is also an example of extreme behavior that doesn't have a blatant motivator. 

All of her actions seem without obvious motivation.  Religion doesn't seem to be the strongest motivator in this case because none of her comments mention God, converting to Islam, or anything that could be tied with extreme religious belifs.  The little I know about the incident from the article seems to me that she could possibly be motivated by a need for affiliation.  What I infer from the article is that she is a single, middle-aged woman with plenty of time on her hands to spend perusing the internet making contacts with Islamic extremists.  She might feel interpersonal rejection from her peers in her own culture, which is a typical fear of people with high needs for affiliation, and because she was unable to gain approval with people in her culture, sought approval elsewhere and via the internet. 

This woman also seems to display long-term goal setting behaviors.  All of this communication with extremists, planning, and marrying a co-conspirator was done over a period of time in order to achieve the goal of killing the man in Sweden.  These behaviors done before the long-term goal was reached were mini, short-term goals that would have provided enough reinforcement to keep her going with the end result, long-term goal in mind.  Constant communication and smaller steps to take before her desired result provided motivation to continue toward the goal.  It also helped internalize her goal to become more intrinsically motivated.  The article said: "In June, 2008, LaRose posted a comment on YouTube under the moniker "JihadJane" saying that she was "desperate to do something somehow to help" suffering Muslims, according to the indictment." which indicates that she was somehow intrinsically motivated toward extremist thinking to the point of plotting and intending to murder someone.

All of this seems to make sense with what we've been learning in class, but I'm still left wondering how all of these motivators and reinforcers could be enough to make someone intend to murder another person and having adopted these extremist views at a later age in life.  I would be able to understand it more from a motivational standpoint if she had been immersed in this culture and extreme thinking her whole life, but she was born in the US and adopted these views from internet communications.  It doesn't seem like enough motivation to commit murder.  But, perhaps this disturbing phenomenon is why the beginning of the article says how even experts are baffled by this sort of extreme behavior.

In class we began discussing other movies that may be a good fit for understanding different types of motivation and emotion.  This weekend I caught the movie "Enough" on TV.  I have seen this movie many times before, and each time I see it becomes more and more interesting.  There are many different things from the text that are shown in this movie.  I won't go too much into depth so that I won't spoil the movie for those of you who have not seen it, but it can be watched on youtube, if you're interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNAdBSxZ9XQ

The most obvious example of motivators in this movie is fear and need for survival.  The first time we see true fear from Slim is when she catches Mitch cheating on her.  She eventually stands up for herself, only to get pushed back down after he punches her in the face.  This is when she really sees that Mitch is not the man who she thought he was.  The violence progresses throughout the movie, escalading to the point where Slim feels that her life is in danger. Slim is terrified that her husband is going to kill her, so she is forced to find a way to get away and survive.  Slim is forced through many obstacles to avoid her abusive husband.  These situations alone are examples of physiological need for survival.  A need is something that is necessary for life (Reeve, 77).  In this case, getting away from her husband is necessary for life.  She also has to save her daughter, Grace.  This is another example of a physiological need to protect her offspring.  Reeve also discusses how "damage can be to the body, so motives arise from physiological needs to avoid tissue damage and to maintain bodily resources...Damage can also be done to one's relationship to the social world, so motives arise from social needs to preserve our identities, beliefs, values and interpersonal relationships" (Reeve, 77). Both of these factors take place while Slim is fighting for her life.  Throughout the movie, Slim has her friend reminder her that it is her primal right to protect herself and her offspring.  This is the same bases that are discussed in the text book.  Slim has perceived that her life is in danger, and this motivates her to make big changes in her life.   We see how strong her drive to save her life is when she moves across the country, changes her hair, and attempts a new life. In the end, her drive to save her life and her daughter is so strong that it causes her to do the unthinkable.

Mitch, the husband, has an intense need for power.  His ongoing violent tendencies and actions show how his need for power overrides all of his other needs.  He thrives on power, which is why he needs to control Slim, as well as all of the people around him.  The first example of this is when he approaches the stranger and asks to buy his house.  Mitch threatens the man, saying that if he doesn't sell the house Mitch will make his life miserable. These same situations continue to happen and get increasingly violent throughout the movie. Mitch goes through the stages of power (impact, control, and influence) many times throughout the movie (Reeve, 195).  Mitch creates impact the first time he hits Slim.  He shows her that he has power over her through force and violence.  He creates control when he continues to abuse her without any sense of guilt or regret. When she escapes, he attempts influence when he tries to transfer his power over those involved with Slim (her friends who help her escape and the man who she confides in and hides at his house).  He influences these people by threatening them and sending men after them to scare them.  He is extending his power over them even when he is not there, by instilling a sense of fear in both Slim, and the people who she comes in contact with.

 

http://www.insideprison.com/prison-rape.asp

Reeve states jail is a punisher because "its capacity to decrease the probability that the behaviors will recur in the future.   That is, the person who receives the punisher is less likely to repeat the behavior than is the person who received no such aversive consequence for doing the same thing." 

My friends and I were joking around about the movie Shawshank Redemption not too long ago and it made me think that the punishment of a jail term comes in two forms.  First is the long sentence, like the Andy character in the film got, and second is the punishment that happens inside the prison walls, also what Andy got.  

This article throws out some interesting facts and figures about 'recreational' activities that happen in prison.  It aslo talks about the targets of, and the aggressors of this activity.  I was amazed at some of the numbers the article talks about:

"Besides its traumatizing effects, and lasting physical and emotional damage, prison prostitution, many times coerced, infects approximately 500 to 5,000 of customers in US prisons annually, in addition to the approximately 250 to 2,500 of prostitutes themselves (Kleiman, Mockler 1987)."

Wow, possilby 5,000 people getting more F'd up in the head after going to prison because of abuse?  Reeve states "a punisher is any environmental stimulus that, when presented, decreases the future probability of the undesired behavior."  Makes you wonder if showing minors how brutal prison can be would curb some of their violent behavior.

What's your take on this prison love and affection article?

So I was thinking that lately I have been feeling a little frustrated, and getting angry at people that probably don't deserve it. Our textbook tells us that anger is an emotion that many people experience, and arises from restraint, betrayal of trust, being rebuffed, lack of consideration, etc. Anger is also a very passionate emotion, which is why it can come out in some dangerous and uncontrolled ways. So I decided to look up some ways that I could express my anger in a healthier way and share it with all of you. I found an article which provides some good tips which is called Healthy Ways to Deal with Anger and there was some pretty good tips, some I have known about and some that are new to me.

The first tip was to count to ten, and then act. I have been told this tip for as long as I can remember. I just remember being on the playground in elementary school, and seeing kids being pulled aside and being told to count to ten.

The next tips include:
2. Drop your shoulders and take a few breaths.
3. Pummel a pillow or have a scream in your room.
4. Channel your energy into exercise.
5. Distract yourself
6. Get creative (they mentioned writing out your feelings, or some other creative method to release your anger)

All of these tips were for short term anger, however they provided some tips for long term in the article as well.

1. Practice relaxation techniques, like yoga or pilates.
2. Keep talking, Keep listening. Confiding in friends is a really great tool in getting our your anger.
3. Learn how to be assertive, not aggressive.
4. Know yourself. It's important to know what will set you off, and what will cool you down.

I know that some of these tips will help me trigger my anger in a healthier direction, I hope that they will help you as well.

Is there any other techniques that you use to get out your anger? If so, how effective do you think they are?

Some people in the world around me have had friends of friends, or just friends experience some sort of dating violence recently. For me this is a really touchy subject and something that I care deeply about, and am still trying to learn more about as well. I am Vice-President of the student organization here at UNI called Students Against A Violent Environment (S.A.V.E.) and we strive to educate others on violence, including dating violence. Now, of course when these situations occur I know all the "right" things to say like "You should not stay in this relationship" "You need to leave the home/apartment" "Here are the hotlines you can call for help" "It will happen again" and the list seems to get longer. However, these phrases all seem so empty, since I don't fully understand reasons as to WHY a person would want to stay in an abusive relationship. So, I decided to look this up. I was looking for more research-based evidence, however, every article I wished to look at, the Rod Library did not have access to, and so I became frustrated. So, I went a different route and looked at advocacy websites, and others.  The one website I found to be the most clear is Advocacy Center: Domestic and Dating Violence.

This website not only reassured me that it was alright that I did not understand why a victim stays in an abusive relationship, it also went on to explain some reasons as to why victims stay. Fear is a motivator to stay because victims are so often threatened that they are scared to see what will happen when they do leave. This could not only be fear for themselves, but for others they care about such as children, family, pets, or friends. Victims could have low self-esteem due to various mind games and "put downs" for lack of a better term that would make the victims feel as though the abuse was actually their fault. Financial issues always arise, and the victims may depend on the abuser for income, and if the victim decide to leave, then the victim will fear they will not be able to support themselves. This fear of not being able to leave because of financial reasons escalates when there are children involved. The website makes a point to state that when chidlren are involved in the situation is different from an abusive environment without children.
The website continues to state that victims may believe that if they do what the abuser wants then they will be able to control the situation, or victims even hope the abuser will change themselves. It is also hard when victims do not have the support they need from friends or families, and don't know that help is available.
This website helped me to understand a little more about WHY a person would stay in an abusive relationship. However I would be interested in finding out more scientific based research. For instance, is there biological factor that plays a role, or is it purely psychological? Also, from an advocate standpoint, is their enough news, or advertisement on these issues?


So, being the advocate myself, I will add some links that are available here in our community for anyone who may be in an abusive relationship, or for those of you who may know someone who is and are wanting to help them get some assistance.

Seeds of Hope Iowa
http://www.seedsofhopeiowa.com/

UNI's Violence and Intervention Services
http://www.uni.edu/wellrec/wellness/sexualabuse/

I was read this article in the Oprah Magazine by Susan Klebold- the mother of Dylan Klebold who, along side another, killed and injured many people at their high school.  The story itself is extremely interesting-- Susan goes into details about Dylans life before the shooting, starting with being a toddler.  She stated everything seemed to be pretty normal until high school when he started withdrawaling (something a lot of teenagers do).  There home never had any guns and the Susan quotes "In raising Dylan, I taught him how to protect himself from a host of dangers: lightning, snake bites, head injuries, skin cancer, smoking, drinking, sexually transmitted diseases... it never occurred to me that the gravest danger- to him and, as it turned out, to so many others- might come from within".  This article really gave me chills, because although this happened some time ago, its absolutely crazy to think that 2 people could have this much power to do something so horrible.  Susan also goes into the hurt of how the media mainly blamed Dylans family for raising him the wrong way.  This really quite frankly pissed me off.  I do believe nurture has an effect on people, but this was a normal family that the media started ripping apart.  Susan goes on to say even "Our elected officials stated publically that bad parenting was the cause of the massacre".  That may have been what people thought and they have the right to voice their own opinions, but they need to know background information before making a claim like that.  I really appreciate the article, becasue Susan covers many different things involving their family, their story during and after this tragedy, but also goes into how suicidal thoughts can affect a person and how she supports suicidal research and encouraging responsible prevention and awareness practices as well as support for survivors. 

The article states there are roughly 33,000 suicides in the US every year.  It's estimated 1-2% of those suicides involve the killing of an additional person/people. 

In chapter 15 of the text, it is mentioned that there are two kinds of definition one can have regarding themself.  Self-Definition and Social Definition.  Self Definition is as explained as someone who resists any external definitions of themselves and rely mainly on themselves.  Social Definition is defined as someone who accepts external definitions of themselves.  This can be connected with Dylan in many ways.  Susan explains what police found when they searched the house-- many pages of journals claiming how alienated he felt and out of place he was.  I think its VERY common among adolescents to socially define themselves, because that's what they know at that point.  Also in this chapter they discuss finding value systems, that if parents do not provide a child with this, they will find it elsewhere.  Dylans partner in crime, Eric, was said to have a bad influence on Dylan from the day they had met.  I dont believe it was the parents' fault, but I think this was a result from Dylan pushing away form his parents like normal teenagers do.  So he confided in Eric and came up with this plan of murder and suicide. 

The article was extremely interesting, some parts were sad but I believe the end of the article brought everything into perspective.  It's a really great article (although a little long) but it was still worth it.  Check it out!

http://www.oprah.com/world/Susan-Klebolds-O-Magazine-Essay-I-Will-Never-Know-Why

I have talked to my younger cousin about off the wall text messaging that younger teens are spreading through text messages within her school.  She says everyone knows who you have a crush on, or if you are mad at a friend, and with everyone knowing those kind of things; uncalled words are being said and the texting is getting out of hand.  I read one of her text messages that someone said to her and it said "____ said that you are too skinny and you should eat lol"  Now for a young girl in middle school that could harm her self-esteem and feel as thought no one likes her, and the way she is isn't good enough, even though she is a beautiful petite young girl who is only in 7th garde. 

When watching T.V. the commercial of teens getting abused by other teens via text messaging comes up a lot, especially on MTV. When is it becoming too of athinline for young teens with their text messaging?  The website (athinline.org) helps teens cope with abused text messaging, such as sexting, constant messaging, spying, digital disprespect, and cruelty.  This website definitely is taking a step to help out teens who feel as though they can't say anything to anyone, because if they do they will be called a nark or taddle tail.

It's very alarming how many teens are getting abused or are doing the abuse over text messaging.  When I was in middle school I was'nt allowed a cell phone, unless I went to a movie and needed to call for my parents to pick me up.  Now a days all I see is young kids with cell phones in their hands walking in the mall or down the street.  It's no wonder why the text messaging abuse is becoming so popular. 

Athinline.org is definitely a big step for helping teens with this abusive problem via text messaging.  Pass it along to friends and family who you know that have been abused or are the abuser. 

There have been a lot of different speculations as to why Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris committed the crimes at Columbine High School.  However, this is one of the first articles I have found outlining psychological reasoning behind their actions.  I actually wrote my book report on the motivation behind Columbine, however I did not focus on the boy's psychological problems.  I did find this very interesting, but I think it's important to remember that this is only one opinion and not necessarily fact.