When the response does not match the threat: The relationship between threat assessment and behavioural response in ambiguous lethal force decision-making

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182098581
Author(s):  
Adam T Biggs ◽  
Kyle A Pettijohn ◽  
Aaron L Gardony
Keyword(s):  
Threat Assessment ◽  
Behavioural Response ◽  
Perceived Threat ◽  
Omnibus Test ◽  
Lethal Force ◽  
Poor Predictor ◽  
Ambiguous Situation ◽  
Multiple Tasks ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Perceptual Factors

Deciding when to use lethal force inherently depends on assessing threat, a process that itself incorporates numerous perceptual factors. This study assessed this relationship between perception-based threat assessment and behaviour-based threat response. Specifically, participants completed multiple tasks designed to elicit either a threat rating (e.g., perception-informed threat assessment) or a binary behavioural response (e.g., shoot/don’t-shoot). Actor posture and weapon presence significantly affected the threat assessment, which was an extremely powerful omnibus predictor of threat response. However, for ambiguous threat stimuli, perceived threat became a poor predictor for threat response relative to the omnibus test. Participants appeared to adopt additional rules to inform behaviour independent of the threat assessment when faced with an ambiguous situation. These results demonstrate an intriguing disparity between subjective threat assessment and the behavioural response to use force that does not apply well to ambiguous cases or adequately explain errors in lethal force decisions.

scholarly journals Serotonin and Tryptophan Serum Concentrations in Shelter Dogs Showing Different Behavioural Responses to a Potentially Stressful Procedure

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Giacomo Riggio ◽  
Chiara Mariti ◽  
Valeria Sergi ◽  
Silvana Diverio ◽  
Angelo Gazzano
Keyword(s):  
Behavioural Response ◽  
Blood Collection ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Serum Concentrations ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Relaxation Stress ◽  
Shelter Dogs ◽  
Stress Signals ◽  
The Relationship

In mammals, serotonin (5-HT) levels depend on the availability of tryptophan (TRP). Low 5-HT concentrations have been linked to behavioural disorders in dogs. This study aimed at investigating possible differences in dogs’ serum TRP and 5-HT concentrations according to their behavioural response to a potentially stressful procedure. Thirty-nine physically healthy shelter dogs, 15 females and 24 males, mean age = 5.6 years, were categorized by a certified veterinary behaviourist according to their behavioural response to medical examination and blood collection, in: relaxation, stress signals, tension without growling, tension with growling, escape attempts, and aggression attempts. Extraction and quantification of 5-HT and TRP were performed using a HLPC method. Data were statistically analysed, applying Chi-square and Spearman tests. Results showed no significant difference in TRP (χ2 = 2.084, p = 0.555) nor 5-HT (χ2 = 0.972, p = 0.808) serum concentrations among different categories of dogs; however, some categories were underrepresented (relaxation = 20.5%, stress signals = 30.8%, tension without growling = 43.6%, tension with growling = 5.1%, escape attempts = 0%, aggression attempts = 0%). No correlation between serum TRP and 5-HT concentrations was found (ρ = 0.086, p = 0.602). Serum 5-HT levels do not seem to be associated with dogs’ behavioural response to a stressful situation nor with serum TRP concentrations. The relationship between serum TRP and 5-HT concentrations and behaviour needs further research.

From ‘filth’ and ‘insanity’ to ‘peaceful moral watchdogs’: Police, news media, and the gang label

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis Linnemann ◽  
Bill McClanahan
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Politics ◽  
News Media ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Threat Assessment ◽  
Straight Edge ◽  
Police Power ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Relationship

This paper engages the cultural politics of criminal classifications by aiming at one of the state’s most powerful, yet ambiguous markers—the ‘gang.’ Focusing on the unique cases of ‘crews’ and collectives within the ‘straight edge’ and ‘Juggalo’ subcultures, this paper considers what leads members of the media and police to construct—or fail to construct—these street collectives as gangs in a seemingly haphazard and disparate fashion. Juxtaposing media, cultural, and police representations of straight edge ‘crews’ and Juggalo collectives with the FBI’s Gang Threat Assessment, we detail how cultural politics and ideology underpin the social reality of gangs and thus the application of the police power. This paper, furthermore, considers critical conceptualizations of the relationship between police and criminal gangs.

scholarly journals Why is right-wing media consumption associated with lower compliance with COVID-19 measures?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Ponizovskiy ◽  
Lusine Grigoryan ◽  
Wilhelm Hofmann
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Perceived Threat ◽  
Media Consumption ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Media Messages ◽  
Prophylactic Measures ◽  
Perceived Consequences ◽  
The Relationship

Exposure to right-wing media has been shown to relate to lower perceived threat from COVID-19, lower compliance with prophylactic measures against it, and higher incidence of infection and death. What features of right-wing media messages account for these effects? In a preregistered cross-sectional study (N = 554) we test a model that differentiates perceived consequences of two CDC recommendations—washing hands and staying home—for basic human values. People who consumed more right-wing media perceived these behaviors as less beneficial for their personal security, for the well-being of close ones, and the well-being of society at large. Perceived consequences of following the CDC recommendations mediated the relationship between media consumption and compliance with recommendations. Implications for public health messaging are discussed.

Workplace incivility and bystanders’ helping intentions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Jungert ◽  
Kristoffer Holm
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Behavioural Response ◽  
Workplace Incivility ◽  
Power Relation ◽  
Experimental Designs ◽  
Prosocial Behaviour ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Severity ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Using observational and experimental designs, the purpose of this study was to explore if the power relation between the offender and the victim of incivility and the level of perceived severity of the incivility were associated with bystanders’ intentions to help when witnessing workplace incivility. Design/methodology/approach In Study 1, 160 participants completed a questionnaire where they described a recent uncivil incident they had witnessed, and completed measures of perceived severity and measures of their behavioural response as bystanders. In Study 2, 183 participants were randomised to read one of two vignettes (a manager being uncivil towards a subordinate or vice versa), and completed measures of perceived severity and of their motivation to intervene. The authors investigated whether the power relation between perpetrator and victim, and the perceived severity of the uncivil exchange, were associated with prosocial bystander behaviours in Study 1 and with motivation to defend the victim of incivility in Study 2. Findings Higher perpetrator power was significantly associated with the incident being perceived as more severe, and higher perpetrator power was directly related to greater tendency to confront, and lower tendency to avoid, the perpetrator. Perpetrator power was indirectly associated with social support according to the perceived severity. A supervisor acting in an uncivil manner was rated as more severe than a subordinate acting in such a way. Perceived severity mediated the relationship between perpetrator power and the witness’s introjected, identified and intrinsic motivation to intervene. Originality/value This study extends previous work by investigating how the perpetrator’s power influences both the bystander’s prosocial behaviour and their motivation to defend the victim. Furthermore, previous research has not considered how perceptions of severity might mediate the relationship between power, behaviour and motivation.

Threat Triage

2021 ◽  
pp. 507-521
Author(s):  
Sharon S. Smith ◽  
Michael D. Young
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Model ◽  
Predictive Factors ◽  
Threat Assessment ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Initial Evaluation ◽  
Violence Risk ◽  
The Relationship

A significant minority of threateners stalk, approach, or become violent after threatening. Violence risk and threat assessment have traditionally relied on evaluating the threatener’s behavior, disposition, and membership in violent groups. However, the identity of the threatener is often unknown, and the assessor must make an initial evaluation using only the language in the threat. By combining predictive factors and their ratios to one another, our predictive model can assess linguistic characteristics of the threat without any information about the threatener, the target, or the relationship between the two. This model assesses predatory thinking, which has a strong relationship with eventual action. The language in both single threat cases and the first threats in cases with multiple threats can be used to promptly assess the likelihood that a threatener will act, enabling assessors to effectively manage cases and mitigate harm.

scholarly journals Timing of Preharvest Infection of Pear Fruit by Botrytis cinerea and the Relationship to Postharvest Decay

Plant Disease ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 88 (5) ◽  
pp. 468-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Lennox ◽  
R. A. Spotts
Keyword(s):  
Botrytis Cinerea ◽  
Gray Mold ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Pear Fruit ◽  
Full Bloom ◽  
Postharvest Decay ◽  
Poor Predictor ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
The Relationship

Botrytis cinerea causes significant levels of postharvest decay in the winter pear cultivar d'Anjou. The objectives of this study were to determine the timing of B. cinerea infection of pear stems and calyxes in the orchard during the growing season, to investigate the development of gray mold in storage, and to determine whether preharvest levels of B. cinerea in pear stems and calyxes can be used as predictors of gray mold levels observed in storage. Very low levels of B. cinerea were isolated from stem tissue prior to harvest. In a single year repeat experiment, stems sampled at harvest had higher levels of infection than those sampled earlier in the season. Little or no stem end gray mold was detected in fruit after 3 months in air-storage; however, incidence increased between 6 and 8 months. Calyx end gray mold was detected at low levels in fruit stored for up to 8 months. The mean incidence of stem end gray mold was 3.6 and 2.0%, and incidence of calyx end gray mold was 1.2 and 0.2%, in 1996 and 1997, respectively. Calyxes were susceptible to infection soon after full bloom; however, inoculation of calyxes in April or May did not result in higher levels of calyx end gray mold in storage. Therefore, preharvest level of calyx infection is a poor predictor of calyx end gray mold in storage. In addition, application of benomyl in the orchard reduced the level of B. cinerea in blossoms but had no effect on levels of calyx end gray mold of fruit in storage. Packing and shipping fruit within 3 to 6 months of harvest may mitigate economic losses due to gray mold.

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