Emergence Of Antisocial Behavior Research Articles

How to prevent destruction – On the malleability of anti-social behavior

Experimental evidence for anti-social preferences has been identified in studies employing economic destruction games; in these games, some subjects destroy other subjects’ incomes without receiving any material benefit, and they may even incur costs in doing so. Here, we study the robustness of this phenomenon. We introduce a four-player destruction game in which we vary the way the game is framed and the presence of an alternative task that is performed in parallel to the destruction game. In the baseline condition, where the game is framed in the spirit of previous destruction experiments and when no parallel activity is present, we observe a substantial amount of destruction. Our results indicate that including a parallel activity and framing the game to emphasize joint ownership of the item to be destroyed reduces destruction to almost zero. We conclude that the emergence of anti-social behavior can be prevented by appropriately changing the institutional environment.

Physical and situational inequality on airplanes predicts air rage

We posit that the modern airplane is a social microcosm of class-based society, and that the increasing incidence of "air rage" can be understood through the lens of inequality. Research on inequality typically examines the effects of relatively fixed, macrostructural forms of inequality, such as socioeconomic status; we examine how temporary exposure to both physical and situational inequality, induced by the design of environments, can foster antisocial behavior. We use a complete set of all onboard air rage incidents over several years from a large, international airline to test our predictions. Physical inequality on airplanes-that is, the presence of a first class cabin-is associated with more frequent air rage incidents in economy class. Situational inequality-boarding from the front (requiring walking through the first class cabin) versus the middle of the plane-also significantly increases the odds of air rage in both economy and first class. We show that physical design that highlights inequality can trigger antisocial behavior on airplanes. More broadly, these results point to the importance of considering the design of environments-from airplanes to office layouts to stadium seating-in understanding both the form and emergence of antisocial behavior.

Development and risk factors of juvenile antisocial behavior and delinquency

The prevalence of antisocial and delinquent behavior in juveniles has increased dramatically over the past decades, along with the prevalence of other health-endangering behaviors, such as substance use and suicide. These trends have been accompanied by increased levels of psychiatric admissions and special classroom placements in schools. It is posed that these changes reflect decreased levels of impulse control by children living in the U.S. This paper focuses on impulse control as it relates to antisocial and delinquent behavior in juveniles. It traces the development of these behaviors through their age-specific manifestations, and summarizes known social and biological risk factors. The paper examines how different risk factors impinge on the development of antisocial behavior at different points in the life cycle. Developmental sequences are reviewed leading to serious antisocial behavior or to assistance of the behavior. The interaction between developmental tasks and the emergence of antisocial behavior is considered. Critical, “sensitive” periods in development often intersect with the increased prevalence of risk factors at certain age periods of children, leading to the emergence or aggravation of antisocial behavior. The use of empirical developmental knowledge for screening of population of youngsters is highlighted. The paper closes by reviewing how treatment and preventive studies are affected by pre-existing risk factors, and then lists priority areas for future survey and process studies, and for improved intervention efforts.