Normal Violence: The Case of Fighting on a College Campus

ABSTRACT

This study examines the normalization of violence using the case of fighting on a college campus. Undergraduate participant observers witnessed 150 physical altercations (fights), and gave detailed descriptions of them. They also described their thoughts and feelings as they witnessed the fights. We identified seven distinct reactions to fighting. We then classified these reactions into one of three categories (normal, disturbed and other) and carried out a quantitative analysis. The results revealed the conditions under which some observers reported negative reactions to the fights (disturbed), while others offered non-negative responses (normal).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joshua Woods

JOSHUA WOODS is an Associate Professor of sociology at West Virginia University. His research areas include social psychology, media studies, risk and threat perception, violence, and political sociology. He is the author of Freaking Out: A Decade of Living with Terrorism.

Karen G. Weiss

KAREN G. WEISS is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at West Virginia University. Her current research focuses on alcohol-related violence, mandatory reporting, and witness responses to crime. She is author of Party School: Crime, Campus and Community (Northeastern University Press, 2013) and has several published journal articles on college crime and sexual victimization.

Brent Boyd

BRENT BOYD was a graduate student in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at West Virginia University.