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Group displays of aggression

Group displays of aggression. Sports events. 2 or more teams and their spectators Aggression may be in group display – e.g. chanting, taunting, throwing Little serious violence BUT heavy police presence Football clubs have ‘firms’ (highly organised and discrete). Lynch mobs.

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Group displays of aggression

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  1. Group displays of aggression

  2. Sports events • 2 or more teams and their spectators • Aggression may be in group display – e.g. chanting, taunting, throwing • Little serious violence BUT heavy police presence • Football clubs have ‘firms’ (highly organised and discrete)

  3. Lynch mobs • Mob administers death penalty independently of law • Common after abolition of slavery after World War I • Lynching ends in murder but associated with larger display if group aggression • Lynching of black Americans attracted crowds of thousands with party atmosphere

  4. Group display of aggression in humans

  5. Name the theory • People cannot be identified within a lynch mob and do not have the ability to judge their own behaviour. • Hierarchies of groups within society are kept in place by legitimising beliefs that justify our attitudes. • It is based on evolutionary theory. • We are more conformist to group norms in a crowd and less able to regulate our individual behaviour. • This is measured using a scale. • The theory predicts that social change in favour of a low status group can lead to lynching. • Lynching is normally carried out by a dominant group against a group lower in the hierarchy. • This theory can help development of police practices at football matches. • Large crowds produce more aggression than small crowds, especially if a crowd has a collective mind. • The bigger the difference between groups, the more difference will be seen between the status, so the more aggression will occur.

  6. Synoptic evaluation points: • Perhaps one single theory alone is too simplistic in explaining aggression at a group level at sports events/lynch mobs • Guttman (1986) – no single theory can explain behaviour and aggression of sports crowds; an explanation comprising ideas from all theories seems most logical (introduce biological explanations here as dispositional theory)

  7. The explanations focus on a ‘Western industrialised’ view of humans behaviour and so may not account for cultural differences (ethnocentrism) • Groups of humans are not always aggressive: crowds do not always lead to aggression; Cassidy et al (2007) investigated Mela (large Hindu festival) with 50 million people. Crowds behaved well and showed increased pro-social behaviour, showing crowd behaviour and collective living promote non-aggressive behaviour

  8. Practical applications of theories explaining aggression in groups to help understanding of real life situations – give examples from real life events • Compare and contrast the two theories – one is situational and one dispositional

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