Culture Of Honor: The Psychology Of Violence In The South (New Directions in Social Psychology) [Paperback]

Richard E Nisbett (Author), Dov Cohen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0813319935 | ISBN-13: 978-0813319933 | Publication Date: March 15, 1996

In the United States, the homicide rate in the South is consistently higher than the rate in the North. In this brilliantly argued book, Richard Nisbett and Dov Cohen use this fact as a starting point for an exploration of the underlying reasons for violence.According to Nisbett and Cohen, the increased tendency of white southerners to commit certain kinds of violence is not due to socioeconomic class, population density, the legacy of slavery, or the heat of the South; it is the result of a culture of honor in which a man’s reputation is central to his economic survival. Working from historical, survey, social policy, and experimental data, the authors show that in the South it is more acceptable to be violent in response to an insult, in order to protect home and property, and to aid in socializing children. These values are reflected not only in what southerners say, but also in the institutional practices of the South, the actions of Southerners, and their physiological responses to perceived affronts.In this lively and intriguing account, the authors combine bold theory and careful methodology to reveal a set of central beliefs that can contribute to increased violence. More broadly, they show us the interaction between culture, economics, and individual behavior. This engaging study will be of interest to students, educated lay readers, and scholars.

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About the Author

Richard E. Nisbett is Theodore M. Newcomb Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and codirector of the Culture and Cognition Program at the University of Michigan. Dov Cohen is assistant professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Richard E. Nisbett is Theodore M. Newcomb Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and codirector of the Culture and Cognition Program at the University of Michigan. Dov Cohen is assistant professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Westview Press (March 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813319935
• ISBN-13: 978-0813319933
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #312,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Social Science at its best, May 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Culture Of Honor: The Psychology Of Violence In The South (New Directions in Social Psychology) (Paperback)

The culture of honor is a fascinating look at the role that cultural traditions can play in determining the incidence of homocide and other forms of violence. What I liked most about the book was the way Nisbett and Cohen used all the tools of social science, from survey and archival research to clever laboratory experiments to test their thesis. The way in which they "broke down" their data was particularly convincing. For instance they showed that where cultural influences were strongest(for example, in small towns rather than big cities)the North-South differences in homocide rates were greatest.While there were a lot of statistical tables and graphs, the book was easy and entertaining to read. I would especially recommend it for people who are interested in understanding about regional differences in American ideas about taking the law into your own hands, and for undergraduates who want to get a good look at the way social scientists can tackle complicated questions.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, unconventional look at the culture of the American South, January 24, 2009

By 

mianfei - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Culture Of Honor: The Psychology Of Violence In The South (New Directions in Social Psychology) (Paperback)

For all its great hospitality and unique literature and music, the American South has often been seen as having a much darker side in the form of higher levels of violence than found elsewhere in the country or in other developed nations.

In "Culture of Honor: The Psychology of Violence in the South", Richard Nisbett and Dov Cohen closely examine violence in the American South and show the extra violence in the South to lie in the culture of honour inherited from the original settlers of the South, who were herders from the mountainous regions of Scotland and northern Ireland. The culture of honour, in which people are expected to carry out revenge if their honour or ability to defend themselves is insulted, arises as a result of resources being easily stolen, so that in the absence of big government theft becomes a viable route to bounty. Such conditions are fulfilled by herders who are always in danger of losing their extremely portable animals to another herder. Nisbett and Cohen show that herding peoples have always been much more violent than farmers or hunter/gatherers.

Nisbett and Cohen use very well-selected data to show how the difference in violence between the South and the rest of the United States relates to violence committed as a result of arguments, which are seen as threats to the power of not only men but also women in the South. Many other uses of violence are supported no more or even less in the South than in other parts of the United States (for example violence as a means of achieving social change). They also refute arguments that income inequality or slavery is responsible for the violence in the South by showing its concentration in the mountain areas where slavery was very rare due to the cooler climate.

The book also gives a very good explanation for a number of important facts about honour cultures unrelated to herding or the American South. For example, they show that honour cultures can arise for the same reasons in slash-and-burn farming cultures (see Peggy Reeves Sanday for a description of the Yanomamo) and in certain urban societies. (An undiscussed case that I am curious about is forestry-based societies, where the portability of timber might easily produce honour cultures). Nisbett and Cohen also show how non-portability of resources precludes honour cultures in settled farming societies and among primitive foragers. They also take an extremely thoughtful look at the persistence of honour cultures even after the South has become totally divorced from a herding economy.

All in all, "Culture of Honor: The Psychology of Violence in the South" gives a good look at the American South with some surprising conclusions that few even among those with a good historical education understand.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars CULTURE OF HONOR, October 27, 2009

By 

William C. Keys "Retired teacher Keys" (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Culture Of Honor: The Psychology Of Violence In The South (New Directions in Social Psychology) (Paperback)

Frankly, although the title implies this is a book for the reader interested in history and sociology, it is really a book with academic tone, one that might serve for a masters or Phd thesis. It just doesn't flow like a good trade book by James McPherson (a wonderful historian on the Civil War) or Richard Dawkins (an expert on the sciences of biology and evolution) or Oliver Sacks (an expert on psychology and neurology.) These writers-- even one on the history of men in combat-- consider their audience. So apparently did the author of this book, and it appears the audience is not the reader of trade books. Simply put. I do not fault either the writer or the book. It just isn't what I thought it would be.