NCJ Number
51389
Date Published
1978
Length
15 pages
Annotation
THE FINDINGS OF RESEARCH STUDIES EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AESTHETIC STIMULI AND THE URGE TO VANDALIZE ARE REPORTED AND DISCUSSED.
Abstract
FREQUENT COMMENTS BY VANDALS THAT THE VANDALIZING PROCESS IS AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE LED TO THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THE URGE TO VANDALIZE MAY BE RELATED TO PATTERNS OF RESPONSE TO AESTHETIC STIMULI. THE RESULTS OF RECENT PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON AESTHETICS AND RELATED AREAS HAS IDENTIFIED SEVERAL VARIABLES WHICH APPEAR TO DETEMINE AFFECTIVE RESPONSES TO OBJECTS. THE MOST IMPORTANT STIMULUS FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO POSITIVE HEDONIC VALUE ARE COMPLEXITY, EXPECTATION, AND NOVELTY, TOGETHER WITH ORGANIZATION AND PSYCHOPHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. TO TEST THE AESTHETIC THEORY OF VANDALISM, A SERIES OF STUDIES WAS UNDERTAKEN INVOLVING LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS, ARCHIVAL DATA AND PERSONAL INTERVIEWS. SEVEN LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS WERE CONDUCTED TO EXAMINE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPLEXITY BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER DESTRUCTION AND THE INCLINATION TO DAMAGE OR DESTROY AN OBJECT; THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXPECTATION AND ENJOYMENT OF DESTRUCTION; AND THE EFFECTS OF MATERIAL TYPE AND ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS ON SELECTION FOR DESTRUCTION. ARCHIVAL DATA WERE USED IN EXAMINING ALL INCIDENTS OF VANDALISM IN MADISON, WIS., PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND PERSONAL INTERVIEWS WERE EMPLOYED TO OBTAIN FIRSTHAND INFORMATION ABOUT THE MOTIVATIONS FOR AND EXPERIENCES OF DESTRUCTIVE ACTS. ALL OF THESE STUDIES LEND SUPPORT TO THE AESTHETIC THEORY OF VANDALISM. VARIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION ARE OFFERED ON THE BASIS OF THE STUDY. SUBJECTS RELATED TO THE TOPIC DISCUSSED REQUIRING RESEARCH ARE IDENTIFIED. (RCB)