Police Work

2019 ◽  
pp. 98-129
Author(s):  
Marie Muschalek
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Violent Behavior ◽  
Police Work ◽  
Daily Routines ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Willed Action ◽  
Southwest Africa

This chapter investigates the nature of police work. It reconstructs the minutiae of policing in German Southwest Africa. Most of the policeman's day was filled with a series of established, unspectacular routines. Often, policemen appropriated the tasks at hand in a way that neither contradicted nor ignored given orders, but that executed them in a manner that would add distraction or excitement, or at least a sense of self-willed action to the task. In the field, policemen proceeded according to what can best be described as a tactic of making do. Policemen frequently improvised; they mixed duty and sociability, and they deployed both formal and informal techniques. Trickery paired with bureaucratic rationalization featured prominently. As a result, an organizational culture emerged in which policemen insisted on the primacy of their own experience and established a “commonsensical” course of action. More often than not, making “short shrift,” that is, resorting to the quick solution of violence, was the outcome. Integrated into daily routines, such violent behavior acquired ritualized features.

Group Processes Within Gangs

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy R. Lauger
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Violent Behavior ◽  
Group Processes ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Gang Member ◽  
Interaction Patterns ◽  
Gang Members

Street gangs are, by definition, social groups that contain patterns of interactions between gang members, associates, and other gangs in their social environment. The structure and content of these interaction patterns, or group processes, are essential for both understanding gang life and explaining collective and individual behavior. For example, variations in organizational sophistication, internal cohesion, and individual-level social integration influence the day-to-day experiences of gang members and can affect criminal behavior. Social ties between gang members are also mediums for street socialization and the development and/or transmission of gang culture. As prospective gang members age and become exposed to street life, they gravitate to peers and collectively learn about how to negotiate their social environment. They connect to other gang members and model the gang’s ideals to become accepted by the group. Routine interactions in the gang communicate the nuances of gang culture and explain the group’s expectations for violent behavior. These lessons are reinforced when conflicts with other groups arise and contentious interactions escalate into serious threats or actual violence. Cultural meanings developed in the gang can alter how a member perceives social situations, various social roles (e.g., gender roles), and his or her sense of self. Interactions within the gang develop the gang’s collective identity, which becomes an ideal standard for members to pursue. Gang members perform this idealized notion of “gang member” in public settings, often acting as if they are capable of extreme violence. For some members these performances may be fleeting and largely disconnected from the ideals to which they truly aspire, while others may fully embrace the ideals of the gang. Such variation is contingent on social processes within the gang and how socially integrated an individual is to other members. Researching social processes within gangs provides a wealth of information about how life in the gang influences gang member behavior.

Assessed Danger-to-Others as a Reason for Psychiatric Hospitalization: An Investigation of Patients' Perspectives

2005 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Welches ◽  
Michael Pica
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Hospitalization ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Violent Behavior ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Humanistic Psychology ◽  
Existential Psychotherapy ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Threats To Self ◽  
Psychiatrically Hospitalized

AbstractThis study investigated subjective experiences of nine men who had been psychiatrically hospitalized upon being assessed as "dangerous-to-others-due-to-a-mental-illness." Using a phenomenological interviewing approach, researchers helped subjects construct narratives of their pre-hospitalization experiences. The research illuminated aspects of life-contexts that were shared among all or nearly all subjects: feeling ostracized and alone; struggling with longstanding and pervasive feelings of inadequacy; experiencing a sense or a fear of having little or no control or options in life; and feeling emotionally depressed, misunderstood, and uncared for. Situations immediately preceding hospitalization were characterized by subjects experiencing threats to their sense of self-esteem that were of heightened intensity. In five cases, subjects reported anxiety related to self-fragmentation or becoming "nothing." Perceived threats to self-worth and self-structure were accompanied by anger and aggressive acts or impulses. In all cases, aggressive impulses and threats, and violence appeared to be in the service of self-validation and self-empowerment. In cases of violent behavior, an apparent function of the subjects' behaviors was toward self-consolidation. Based on findings, the researchers discuss implications consistent with humanistic psychology and existential psychotherapy principles and practices.

scholarly journals Organizational Culture Beyond Consensus and Clarity: Narratives From Elite Sport

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 288-299
Author(s):  
Michael McDougall ◽  
Noora Ronkainen ◽  
David Richardson ◽  
Martin Littlewood ◽  
Mark Nesti
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Sport Psychology ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Elite Sport ◽  
Narrative Interviews ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Inclusive Concept ◽  
Cultural Content

In sport psychology, organizational culture is usually depicted as shared, consistent, and clear—the glue that holds people together so they can achieve success. There is, however, growing discontent in sport psychology with this idea of culture and extensive critiques in other academic domains that suggest this perspective is limited. Accordingly, the authors draw on narrative interviews with participants (n = 7) from different areas of sport and use Martin and Meyerson’s three perspective (integration, differentiation, and fragmentation) approach to culture alongside thematic analysis to reconstruct three “ideal cases” that exemplify each perspective. The findings emphasize a different pattern of meaning in each actors’ narrative and suggest the need to develop a broader, more inclusive concept of culture, so as not to minimize or dismiss cultural content that is not obviously shared, clear, or created by leadership; a course of action that can enhance both research and practice in the area.

How Do Men Construct and Explain Men’s Violence?

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (15) ◽  
pp. 2275-2297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faedra Backus Dagirmanjian ◽  
James R. Mahalik ◽  
Justin Boland ◽  
Alexander Colbow ◽  
Joseph Dunn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Psychological Intervention ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Violent Behavior ◽  
Manual Labor ◽  
Consensual Qualitative Research ◽  
Adult Men ◽  
Qualitative Research Methodology ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Alternatives To Violence

In this study, we examine men’s constructions of violence and their explanations of their own violent behavior. Interviews were conducted with 12 adult men, employed in industrial and manual labor, regarding their associations with violence, their reasons for engaging in violent behavior, and their reasons for not engaging in violent behavior. Utilizing consensual qualitative research methodology, our findings indicated that men’s constructions of violence and their justifications for engaging in violence were linked to their constructions of masculinity and what it meant to them to be a man. Results are discussed through the lenses of multiple gender-based theories and ultimately, deemed to demonstrate the most support for the notion of precarious manhood. Specifically, violence was viewed as necessary in particular situations to assert or maintain one’s social status and sense of self as masculine when faced with threats to manhood status. Implications for psychological intervention and practice with men are discussed, including identifying positive alternatives to violence that preserve one’s sense of self as masculine.

Prevention of Psychological Abuse in Paediatric Populations

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-240
Author(s):  
Katelyn Rinker
Keyword(s):  
Child Abuse ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Violent Behavior ◽  
Family Values ◽  
Physical Assault ◽  
Self Image ◽  
The Social ◽  
Learned Behaviors ◽  
Close Relatives

There are times when neglect or verbal abuse can be nearly as traumatic as physical assault. The social problem of violence relies on the fields of psychology and criminal justice to gain a deeper understanding of aggressive behaviour. These issues are especially troubling in children, who may not have the power to defend themselves, along with other members of special populations. Experiences of trauma during human development can also come with new challenges, such as altered family values through learned behaviors. Aggression is can be learned from family members or close relatives through modeling acts of anger. The reasons underlying child abuse is explored to raise awareness on this serious issue in society. The cycle of violence is also discussed in detail. And the adverse effects of abuse and neglect are emphasized. These concepts include negative health risks, such insomnia, drug use, and nicotine dependence. Other detrimental effects include a poor sense of self-image and low self-esteem, which can increase feelings of self-loathing and disgust. The opinions of specialists in human development and behavioural medicine are voiced to understand violent behavior in individuals prone to criminal behaviours. Experts from a book known as the Societal Burden of Child Abuse explain the aspects of traumatization.

Gendered Power at Work: Constituting Moral Worth in a Hyper-Masculine Organizational Culture

2021 ◽  
pp. 174997552097603
Author(s):  
Tair Karazi-Presler
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Moral Worth ◽  
Gendered Politics ◽  
Social Expectation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Moral Boundaries ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Depth Interviews

How do powerful women in a hyper-masculine organization talk about power? To answer this question, we should explore both cultural contents and gendered politics that inform women’s discourse about social power. This article investigates how women morally evaluate their own and others’ power. Based on in-depth interviews with 34 women serving in senior military positions, I argue that they achieve a sense of self-worth and professional subjectivity through moral work. This symbolic work involves three main discursive strategies regrading power: (1) Drawing symbolic moral boundaries between themselves and the morally ‘degenerate’ military environment; (2) Using ‘performances of authenticity’ to constitute their moral worth; and (3) (Non-)apology to counter the accusation implicit in the social expectation that they must apologize for their power as women. These strategies allow these women to talk about power in moral terms, bring power closer to themselves, and at the same time claim moral subjectivity. By morally justifying the use of military power, they make the internalized ‘brass ceiling’ transparent. Thus, I argue that although women are agentic in constituting their worth, this is not necessarily done by way of ‘resistance’, but rather through discursive maneuvering that relies on the same oppressive discursive patterns designed to restrict their power. Accordingly, their efforts to constitute their selves and ‘do power’ are carried out within, rather than outside, the gendered moral logic of the organizational culture.

Ex ante coherence shifts

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Simon ◽  
Keith J. Holyoak
Keyword(s):  
Course Of Action ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Rational Reasoning

Abstract Cushman characterizes rationalization as the inverse of rational reasoning, but this distinction is psychologically questionable. Coherence-based reasoning highlights a subtler form of bidirectionality: By distorting task attributes to make one course of action appear superior to its rivals, a patina of rationality is bestowed on the choice. This mechanism drives choice and action, rather than just following in their wake.

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