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Comm 324 Chapter 5 Notes

Articulated by Wolfgang and Ferracuti,4the culture of violence theory argues that in large societies
such as the United States, people form subgroups that develop values and norms justifying the use of
physical force that exceeds the level that the larger culture might tolerate. Gang violence, for example,
occurs due to subgroups that have come to see violence as the primary alternative when faced with an
opponent. Commentary surrounding the Trayvon Martin case in Florida, where an older, heavier white
male (George Zimmerman) killed a younger, smaller black male (Martin), has included many voices
that justified the use of deadly force by Zimmerman. Advocates of the culture of violence theory could
claim that Florida’s law that allows a person who feels threatened “to stand his or her ground” even
when retreat is possible is creating a culture of violence in that state. (p. 109)
A second theory that attempts to explain violence is the general aggression model,5 which adds to our
understanding of the prelude stage of the conflict process (see Chapter 1) by calling attention to the
inclinations of the participants who later engage in conflict. The model argues that violence is chosen,
or not chosen, based on the way the following factors interact:
• personal and situation variables,
◦ Personal variables include personality qualities such as trait anger, past experiences of
violence, and attitudes toward violence.
◦ Situational variables include alcohol use and physical or mental exhaustion
• the present internal state of the actor
◦ The present internal state of the actor may depend on recently experienced negative
emotions such as anger, frustration, and disappointment.
• and the appraisal and decision process.
◦ The appraisal and decision process requires the actor to have the mental resources available
for reflection on potential anger. Thus, if a person is inclined to be angry, thinks of violence
as an acceptable alternative, has recently experienced an emotional conflict with someone,
and is mentally exhausted, he or she is much more likely to automatically choose violence
than resist using it.
▪ (p. 110)
Interpersonal violence is not difficult to recognize; it occurs when a person imposes his or her will (i.e.,
wants, needs, or desires) on a friend, romantic partner, family member, or work colleague through
verbal or physical intimidation.6Violence has physical, emotional, and mental effects. (p. 111)
Verbal abuse is defined as attacking the self‐concept of another person in order to cause psychological
pain for the other.9Verbal abuse is a form of psychological intimidation and takes the form of character
attacks, insults, ridicule, profanity, and threats. It can also include making stereotypical and prejudicial
comments (p. 111)
A study of health workers found that incidents of verbal abuse caused as much or more stress on the job
as incidents of physical aggression. (p. 111)
Physical aggression usually starts early in life. It consists of physical harm to others. A study of sixth‐
grade schoolchildren found that physical aggression is seen as a natural response to certain kinds of
verbal abuse, particularly those associated with attacks on physical characteristics, ethnicity, or
race.16Studies by Infante and his colleagues established that physically abusive husbands are more
verbally abusive than non‐physically abusive spouses. They are also less argumentative, in that they are
less able to verbally defend their position and refute the positions that others take. The inability to
argue verbally to establish and support different positions is a major contributor to physical and verbal
violence (p. 112)

Figure 5.1 The Interpersonal Violence Cycle.


1. Violence cycles begin with perceptions of unresolved conflict that color the perception of a
current triggering event.
2. The cycle may begin in disagreement, but escalate into verbal abuse.
3. The conflict may end here, unresolved, and leaving a bad memory.
4. In some cases, verbal abuse may escalate into physical aggression, when one or both parties
physically attack the other.
5. At some point, physical aggression stops, either by the participants themselves or by a third
party.
6. Such behavior results in the individual feeling victimized
– (p. 114)
The violence cycle shows how an unsuccessful conflict may become mired down in one of the first
four stages of a successful conflict cycle (see Chapter 1), namely at stage four—differentiation. Here,
the conflict has a prelude stage (e.g., one or more of the participants has a past history of poorly
managing conflicts), followed by a stage two triggering event (e.g., one person does something that the
partner objects to). The conflict moves through stage three, initiation, where the abuser threatens or
takes abusive or aggressive action, but gets mired down in stage four, differentiation, which may be an
exchange of verbal abuse leading to physical fighting instead of progressing to the final stage,
resolution, where both parties would have been satisfied with the outcome. (p. 114)

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