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The Catalytic Situation in the Violence Equation 1
Author(s) -
Toch Hans
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1985.tb02338.x
Subject(s) - situational ethics , aggression , corollary , perspective (graphical) , psychology , social psychology , determinism , interpersonal communication , database transaction , interpersonal violence , criminology , poison control , human factors and ergonomics , epistemology , computer science , medical emergency , mathematics , philosophy , artificial intelligence , medicine , pure mathematics , programming language
This paper discusses views of violence that point to situational impingements on the aggressor as precipitants of his or her aggression. The view (situational determinism) is illustrated through excerpts from a trial that was concerned with police responsibility for incidents of police‐citizen violence. The excerpts high‐light the exonerating and antipsychological corollaries of the situational view and its emphasis on victim‐related variables. This deterministic scenario (violence situation) is contrasted with an interpersonal emphasis (violence transaction) and an offender‐centered perspective (violence opportunity). In contrast to the latter's emphasis on aggressor motivation, situational determinism implies the generic motivation (“normalcy”) of aggression. As a corollary, the view rejects the possibility of introducing deescalating options into evolving violence transactions.