Chapter 1 Short Answer.pdf - Short Answer/Essay Instructor...

Short Answer/Essay
Instructor Resource Alvarez & Bachman, Violence: The Enduring Problem, 3 rd Edition SAGE Publishing, 2017
21. Explain why defining violence is so difficult. Ans:
• • Our understanding of its nature is so subjective and varied
• • People perceive and understand violence in their own way, based on their individual history, and
the context of their life
• • Violence encompasses many different kinds of behaviors in many different kinds of situations.
• • Many people only use the term in reference to physical acts of aggression and harm, while others
include emotional or psychological acts as well.
• • It is important to consider that an action may not be violent in and of itself, but the consequences
of the action may be violent.
• • For some, violence refers solely to human-perpetrated acts, while others include destructive
natural forces.
• • Perceived accidental acts versus intentional acts of harm affect whether actions are defined as
violence.
• • Perceived legitimacy of aggressive acts also affects whether they are defined as violence.