Individual differences in interpretations of justified and unjustified violence.

Abstract

This study examines the impact and interaction of individual differences in personality, empathic style, ethical position, and trait violence sensitivity on perceptions of violence in a "justified" or "unjustified" video clip. Undergraduate students (n=229) enrolled in an introductory psychology course participated in an online survey where they were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 groups (Video Order x Justification). As found in previous studies, in general, participants rated the justified clip as less violent, even though both videos depicted the same scene.When rating the unjustified violence, individual differences did not seem to impact severity ratings but when participants were told the violence was justified, those who scored higher in Idealistic ethical position and higher in Violence Sensitivity actually rated it as more violent, which may be a reactive decision. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Editorial.

“…The first six Brief Research Reports reflect on various forms of militancy and its aftermath. Marcotte (2016) explores the highly interesting concept of a “set point” for violence sensitivity and some contextual and dispositional factors associated with altering the set point. This raises the question of the larger role of culture in raising or lowering such a set point.…”