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Without mercy: The immediate impact of group size on lynch mob atrocity

Leader, Tirza, Mullen, Brian, Abrams, Dominic (2007) Without mercy: The immediate impact of group size on lynch mob atrocity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33 (10). pp. 1340-1352. ISSN 0146-1672. (doi:10.1177/0146167207303951) (KAR id:2185)

Abstract

Two independent research traditions have focused on social contributions to lynching. The sociological power threat hypothesis has argued that lynching atrocity will increase as a function of the relative number of African Americans. The psychological self-attention theory has argued that lynching atrocity will increase as a function of the relative number of mob members. Two series of analyses (one using newspaper reports and the second using photographic records) using different and nonoverlapping samples of lynching events rendered a consistent pattern of results: Lynch mob atrocity did not increase as a function of the relative numbers of African Americans in the county population but it did increase as a function of the relative numbers of mob members in the lynch mob. Discussion considers the implications of these results.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1177/0146167207303951
Uncontrolled keywords: self-attention; power threat; lynching; mob atrocity; intergroup relations
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User: Anna Thomas-4
Date Deposited: 19 Dec 2007 19:31 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:40 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/2185 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Leader, Tirza.

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Mullen, Brian.

Creator's ORCID:
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Abrams, Dominic.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2113-4572
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