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Stuck in the heat or stuck in the hierarchy? Power relations explain regional variations in violence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2017

Mario Weick ,
Milica Vasiljevic ,
Ayse K. Uskul  and
Chanki Moon
Mario Weick
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NP, United Kingdom m.weick@kent.ac.uk A.K.Uskul@kent.ac.uk cm666@kent.ac.uk https://www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/people/weickm/ https://www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/people/uskula/ https://www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/people/moonc/
Milica Vasiljevic
Affiliation:
Behaviour and Health Research Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SR, United Kingdom. milica.vasiljevic@medschl.cam.ac.uk http://www.phpc.cam.ac.uk/people/pcu-group/researchers/milica-vasiljevic/
Ayse K. Uskul
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NP, United Kingdom m.weick@kent.ac.uk A.K.Uskul@kent.ac.uk cm666@kent.ac.uk https://www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/people/weickm/ https://www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/people/uskula/ https://www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/people/moonc/
Chanki Moon
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NP, United Kingdom m.weick@kent.ac.uk A.K.Uskul@kent.ac.uk cm666@kent.ac.uk https://www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/people/weickm/ https://www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/people/uskula/ https://www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/people/moonc/
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Abstract

We contend that an ecological account of violence and aggression requires consideration of societal and cultural settings. Focusing on hierarchical relations, we argue countries with higher (vs. lower) power distance are, on average, located closer to the equator, have more challenging climates (e.g., higher temperature; lower temperature variation), and have a greater prevalence of violence and aggression (e.g., higher homicide rates).

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e102
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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