title: Sensitivity to violence measured by ratings of severity increases after nonviolence training.
abstract: It was hypothesized that training in nonviolence would increase participants' sensitivity to violence because such training emphasizes both the harm and the avoidability of many kinds of violence. This research built upon earlier studies, which had proposed that ratings of the severity of violent behaviors (e.g., murder, bullying, cursing) can be interpreted as measuring sensitivity to violence. Two quasi-experiments examined changes in ratings of severity obtained before and after nonviolence training. In Study 1, 28 college-age traffic offenders who received nonviolence training judged stimulus behaviors ranging from life-threatening physical harm to verbal disrespect as more violent after their training. An untrained comparison group did not show this change. In Study 2, 30 student teachers who received instruction in nonviolence also rated behaviors as more violent after training; an untrained comparison group did not. Results are interpreted as showing increased sensitivity to violence following exposure to nonviolence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA. collyer@uri.edu
authors.forename: Charles E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Collyer
authors.forename: Kathryn L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Paul Bueno
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: de Mesquita
authors.forename: Linda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Palazzo
authors.forename: Dustin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jordan
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D000293:Adolescent; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006708:Homicide / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D011340:Problem Solving; D012237:Rhode Island; D012681:Sensitivity Training Groups; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult