What is the difference between school schooters and artists?
Shooter:
- Aritst:
Recent Mass Shooting in the U.S.
- "Recent": 1966 to present
- "Mass Shootings" or "Rampage Killings": The use of a lethal weapon to attempt to kill more than one person.
- "U.S.": American schools (elementary, secondary, & higher education) and the shooter is or was a part of the school.
- There was a dramatic increase in the 1990's
- All individualistic countries
-Typically white males in their 20's from rural or suburbam communities. Low percentage from urban (city).
Deadliest Rampage Killings
- 1927 Bath School Disaster (most deadly)
- 1966 Texas Tower Shooting
- 1999 Columbine School Shooting
- 2005 Red Lake High School Shooting
- 2007 Virginia Tech University Shooting
- 2012 Sandy Hook School Shooting
Probability of a child or adolescence being killed in a school shooting in the U.S.
- Less than 1 in 2 million
Biological Approach to Recent Mass Shootings
Shooters that had problems with their brains
- Charles Whitman: responsible for the Texas Tower Shooting in July 3, 1966.
- Eric Houston (1972-present)
- Brenda Spencer (1962-present)
Learning/Cognitive Approach to Recent Mass Shootings
- Learn through media, mental scripts, and can be influenced by movies.
-Movie: Basketball Diaries- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Book: Rage (1977) by Stephan King (Richard Brachman): High school student talking back and gets kicked out so he shoots his teacher.
- Barry Loukaitis (1981-present)
- Movie: Natural Born Killers (NBK) 1994
Cognitive Scripts
- Stored in memory and can be used as a mental guide for behavior and problem solving. Help control and regulate behavior. We learn them.
- Killers plan a script like a choreography (picture)
Cognitive Scripts and Shooters
- It is likely that school shooters have limited successful cognitive scripts to draw on.
- School shooters have greater than average violent fantasies.
Anderson Study
- Draw cartoon scripts of particular activities (ex: taking a trip over spring break, blood donation)
- Independent Variable1: Self vs. Best Friend vs. Disliked Person (who's the main characterin the cartoon?)
- Independent Variable 2: Positive (character did do the activity in the end) vs. Negative (didn't do activity in the end)
- Independent Variable 3: 3 vs. 2 vs. 1
- Dependent Variable: Change in behavioral intention (would you perform in these activities?)
- Picture: Focus on the "Self" line. r=.123. Most likely to engage in these activities.
Social Approach to Recent Mass Shootings
Bullying
- Bullying undermines a fundemental human motive.
- Study: Ostracism (being excluded) by Williams (2000)
- 2nd Picture: Is there any evidence that school shooters were bullied?
Interview with Marilyn Manson
- About the Columbine Shooters
- Society was blaming Marilyn Manson
- There was evidence that Eric Harris was the leader, more nacissistic.
Terror Management Theory and Fame
- Greenberg (2010)
- Symbolic Immortality: will leave a mark on society after death
- Independent Variable: Mortality Salience (thinking about death) vs. Control Condition (not thinking about death)
- Dependent Variable: "How much would you like to become a famous person?"
- Fame is indeed a motive for a number of the shooters.
Alex Teves & Conclusion
- Was a friend of Professor Weise
- Was killed by James Holmes in a Colorado movie theatre shooting. 12 people killed.
- His parents said to not show the shooter's name or pictures in the media.
- Conclusion: It takes a lot of things to make school shooters. Shooters are rare.