Overview
They are familiar scenes: sports fans turning on each other in acts of violence, and mobs of sports fans flooding onto the field or out into the streets. Is there something inherent in the competitive sport setting that produces this frequently dangerous behavior? Written in an engaging style, this volume addresses the question by exploring the wide range of influences at work, from a social psychological perspective. Topics range from a focus on the personality traits that predispose individuals to act aggressively, to a wider concern with who riots, why they riot, and situations that favor the occurrence of sports riots. Research on the equally disturbing phenomenon of crowd panics explores the underlying causes and peculiar behavior of people caught in the panics. Aggression is influenced and exacerbated by multiple factors: troublemakers who incite others to aggress, influence by the media, differing cultural backgrounds, blind obedience, and attempts by individuals to emulate unworthy personal heroes. Less obvious factors such as temperature, noise, and color also exert important effects on interpersonal aggression, and drugs such as alcohol and steroids further inflame the possibilities for violence. Russell examines all these factors in his international and interdisciplinary presentation of the best and most recent findings in the study of sports aggression, and provides a series of proposals intended to prevent or minimize the severity of riots and panics. Additionally, he explores the relationship between aggression and what is probably the most revered concept in sports: competition. Scholars, students, and sports savvy fans will find this book of interest.
Full Product Details
Author: Gordon W. Russell (Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada)
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 23.60cm
, Height: 3.60cm
, Length: 16.30cm
Weight: 0.542kg
ISBN: 9780195189599
ISBN 10: 0195189590
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 20 March 2008
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
For all those wanting a broad overview of aggression in and surrounding sport Russell's text is a valuable reference book for regular consultation. * Lise Joern, idrottsforum.org/recensioner *
For all those wanting a broad overview of aggression in and surrounding sport Russell's text is a valuable reference book for regular consultation. Lise Joern, idrottsforum.org/recensioner
Author Information
Gordon Russell is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta where he taught social psychology and conducted research on sports aggression for over 32 years. He is an active member of the International Society for Research on Aggression having served as its Treasurer and Executive Secretary prior to his retirement.
