Dissecting the Role of Dominance in Robberies: An Analysis and Implications for Micro-Sociology of Violence

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The influential microsociological theory of violence advanced by Randall Collins suggests that emotional dominance preconditions physical violence. Here, we examine robbery incidents as counterevidence of this proposition. Using 50 video clips of real-life commercial robberies recorded by surveillance cameras, we observed, coded, and analyzed the interpersonal behaviors of offenders and victims in microdetail. We found no support for Collins’s hypothesized link between dominance and violence, but evidence against it instead. It is the absence, not the presence, of emotional offender dominance that promotes offender violence. We consider these results in the light of criminological research on robbery violence and suggest that Collins’s strong situational stance would benefit from a greater appreciation of instrumental motivation and cold-headed premeditation.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Interpersonal Violence
Volume36
Issue number15-16
Pages (from-to)NP8668-NP8686
ISSN0886-2605
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

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