IFAS paper: a qualitative investigation into beliefs about aggression in an Indian sample

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate Western studies on beliefs about aggression which have found that men typically hold instrumental beliefs and women hold expressive beliefs.

Design/methodology/approach

To investigate whether beliefs about aggression are qualitatively different in an Indian sample, interviews were undertaken with focus groups of 16 and 26‐year‐olds from north‐east India.

Findings

IPA analysis indicated that respondents viewed their aggression in terms of: how they might appear; honour or shame; gender roles; and as a loss of self‐control. These findings indicate that beliefs about aggression held in this Indian sample are more complex than can be characterised by the instrumental/expressive dimension.

Practical implications

Implications of these findings for developing more culture‐specific measures of beliefs about aggression are discussed.

Citation

Thanzami, V., Archer, J. and Sullivan, C. (2011), "IFAS paper: a qualitative investigation into beliefs about aggression in an Indian sample", Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, Vol. 3 No. 4, pp. 199-209. https://doi.org/10.1108/17596591111187729