Temperature, Cultural Masculinity, and Domestic Political Violence

Abstract

JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY Van de Vliert et al. / TEMPERATURE, MASCULINITY, AND VIOLENCECross-national data sets were used to examine the association between ambient temperature and internal political violence in 136 countries between 1948 and 1977. Political riots and armed attacks occur more frequently in warm countries than in both cold and hot countries, after controlling for effects of population size and density and levels of socioeconomic development and democracy. National differences on the cultural masculinity dimension, however, do account for this curvilinear temperature-violence association, in a subsample of 53 countries, suggesting that culture mediates the association. An explanation for this mediation in terms of Paternal Investment Theory is proposed. TEMPERATURE, CULTURAL MASCULINITY SERGE DAAN University of GroningenViolence against and by the government is a major problem for many nations but rarely if ever occurs in others. Taylor and Jodice (1983) reported numbers of deaths from domestic political violence in many countries between 1948 and 1977. They cited large numbers in countries that have been plagued by civil or secession wars: about 2 million in Nigeria, 1.6 million in Vietnam, 600,000 in Indonesia, 300,000 in Pakistan, and 80,000 in Burundi. In contrast, no victims were reported from 13 other countries, including Ice- We would like to thank Aukje Nauta and two anonymous JCCP reviewers for their helpful contributions. Direct correspondence to Evert Van de Vliert, Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands; telefax: 31-503-636-304; e-mail: E. Van land, Mongolia, Upper Volta, and Australia. One can debate the accuracy of these figures, as well as the extent to which conflicts in states still in a process of formation are domestic. But there no doubt are enduring differences between countries in regard to massive violence.The literature provides no convincing explanation for the cross-national differences in the incidence of domestic political violence. This article focuses on ambient temperature as a potential determinant of politically instigated violence. In both laboratory experiments and field studies within nations, a general temperature-aggression link is well-documented (e.g., Anderson, 1987;Anderson & Anderson, 1996;Geen, 1990; Goldstein, 1994;Rotton, 1986), although there is an ongoing debate about whether the relation is rectilinear (Anderson, 1989;Anderson & DeNeve, 1992;Anderson, Deuser, & DeNeve, 1995) or curvilinear in the shape of an inverted U (Baron & Bell, 1976;Bell, 1992). However, because this literature primarily applies to affect-based, spontaneous aggression at the individual level (Anderson, 1989;Anderson & DeNeve, 1992), it does not provide potential explanations for mass violence that is primarily government-related, society-based, and planned.The evidence for a specific association between ambient temperature and organized political violence rests solely on...

An Operative Measure of Workplace Bullying: The Negative Acts Questionnaire Across Italian Companies

“…According to Einarsen 42) , by relating these results to Hofstede's Model of Cultural Dimensions 43) it seems reasonable to infer that in Italy, being a masculine society with high power distance, a higher occurrence of negative acts should be reported since conflicts are more likely to be solved through fight and harassment rather than negotiation 44) .…”

Leader reliance on subordinates across nations that differ in development and climate

“…This general tendency gains momentum in societies living in more demanding climates and not yet or not anymore undergoing the destabilizing transition from tradition to modernity. Compatible with modernization theory (e.g., LaFree, 1999;Moaddel, 1994;Shichor, 1990;Van de Vliert et al, 1999), members of medium-development societies and cultures in more demanding climates expect and accept more uncertainty avoidance, which, while leaving information reliance unaffected, incites leaders to rely less on subordinates as targets of delegation.…”

“…181 and 201). A more fully developed view of the development-uncertainty link can be drawn from modernization or social disorganization theory (Moaddel, 1994;Shichor, 1990;Van de Vliert, Schwartz, Huismans, Hofstede, & Daan, 1999).…”

Cooperation and Competition as Partners

“…Evolutionary theories summarized elsewhere (Bjorklund & Kipp, 1996;Kenrick, 1994;Miller, 1994;Van de Vliert & Van Yperen, 1996;Van de Vliert, Schwartz, Huismans, Hofstede, & Daan, 1999b) state that, over many generations, colder climates evolved more positive goal interdependence and a more cooperative culture because meeting basic needs for food, safety, and security is much more demanding. Similarly, survival in very hot climates might well require much cooperation to protect primary groups against the hardships of nature and to prevent shortages of water and food.…”