Weapons and Eye Contact as Instigators or Inhibitors of Aggressive Arousal in Police‐Citizen Interaction¹

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted with police officers during the normal course of their traffic patrol duties. The purpose was to determine whether the presence of holstered weapons and mirror sunglasses affected the degree of aggressiveness expressed nonverbally, and reported on a mood scale by citizens halted for an information check (neutral condition) or in order to be given a traffic ticket (negative condition). Results indicated that subjects in the negative condition both expressed and reported more aggressivity when the police officer wore a weapon than when no weapon was visible. The use of sunglasses had no effect on aggressivity but resulted in the officer's being perceived more negatively, though he was not perceived more negatively when he wore a weapon. No sex differences in expressed or reported aggressivity were obtained, although some sex differences on measures of secondary interest did occur. The implications of these findings for research on the “weapons effect” and on policy regarding the visibility of police weapons and the wearing of sunglasses by police officers are discussed.

Effects of situational aggression cues: A quantitative review.

“…The notion that incidentally present negative or aggression cues generally enhance aggressiveness among individuals already experiencing negative affect was strongly supported. Both the median and mean effect size (.50 and .38, respectively) fell within the range of what Cohen (1977) de- " Loew, 1967" c Turner & Simons, 1974" Turner & Simons, 1974 Turner & Simons, 1974 Turner & Simons, 1974 Turner & Simons, 1974 Turner & Simons, 1974Boyanowski & Griffiths, 1982 scribed as a medium degree of effect. The aggression-enhancing tendency of cues is highly reliable (p < .0001), and the resulting fail-safe n of 628 is clearly large enough to rule out publication bias as an explanation of the overall result.…”

The Social Psychology of Sport

“…Moreover, those who associate with people having such interests should also be mindful of the implications of this research. It has rn!en shown that people who are merely in the presence of weapons exhibit increased aggression (e.g., Berkowitz, 1981;Berkowitz & LePage, 1967;Boyanowsky & Griffiths, 1982;C.W Turner, Simons, Berkowitz, & Frodi, 1977). The original experiment on the topic (Berkowitz & LePage, 1967) provided subjects with the opportunity to aggress (shock) against an experimental confederate in a setting in which a gun had been "carelessly" left lying nearby.…”

Underlying dimensions in young people's attitudes towards police weaponry in England: Some experiential influences from criminal victimization and police contact

“…possession of a weapon). Boyanowsky and GriYths (1982) con rmed that the presence of visible holstered weapons resulted in more aggressive behaviour than when the weapon was not visible. The issue of whether guns may be carried 'concealed' or 'unconcealed' (controversial in some American states) has no real equivalent as yet in the UK.…”