When there is large-scale or widespread violence in a society, either cultural characteristics, societal conditions or, most likely, a combination of the two are exerting influence.

Genocidal violence is a societal process. To understand its origins and evolution, we must consider beyond individual psychology group psychological processes and their roots in culture, social conditions, and societal institutions (Fein, 1990; Staub, 1989). For the sake of simplicity in language, I will use the term genocidal violence to include both genocide – the attempt to eliminate a whole group of people, whether defined by race, religion, ethnicity, or political beliefs – and mass killing, in which there is no intention to eliminate a whole group. Genocides and mass killings often have fuzzy boundaries and shared determinants (Staub, 1989).

By considering only individual psychology, without the role of culture, social conditions, and group process, we will be unable to understand these phenomena and hampered in taking action to deal with them. My intention is to show the role of cultural characteristics and societal conditions in genocide or mass killing, including the way they generate and shape psychological processes and actions that contribute to violence.

Culture refers to the perspectives and meanings shared by members of a group: their views of the world and of themselves; their beliefs, values, and norms of conduct; their myths and conceptions of God and the spiritual; and so on. Social institutions, like schools, the legal system, religion, police, and the family, embody culture.