NCJ Number
141263
Journal
Criminal Justice Research Bulletin Volume: 7 Issue: 5 Dated: (1992) Pages: 1-8
Date Published
1992
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This discussion of "politically correct" approaches to violence and aggression charges that approaches which ought to be regarded as controversial are instead held to be noncontroversial.
Abstract
A review of the "politically correct" approaches to violence and aggression identifies the movement of the dominant view of violence causation from norms to genes, considers the perspective of the politically correct violence research-advocacy groups, and describes the way participants in violence can become politically correct research subjects and provide politically correct testimony. At the time of the Violence Commission, the subculture of violence perspective was the dominant view. This perspective shifted, and, currently, the dominant views favors individual differences, genes, and heritability. Violence research-advocacy groups, which tend to be politically correct, mostly are concerned about male aggressors and want to rescue and "empower" victims and to punish and/or retain aggressors. They perceive research as contributing to this effort and, to assist their advocacy role, frequently rely on methods of inquiry that are designed to encourage the recall of the types of victimization experiences that are of interest to their group. The article concludes with several possible explanations of the reasons why mainline violence theorists are reviving once discredited perspectives, particularly biomedical ones. 10 notes and 35 references