Amok: Relevance of School Attacks Exploring, Causes, and Primary Prevention Possibilities

• Main Author: Knizhnikova S.V.
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Moscow State University of Psychology and Education 2019-03-01
• Series: Социальная психология и общество
• Online Access: http://psyjournals.ru/en/social_psy/2019/n1/Knizhnikova.shtml

The article is devoted to the phenomenon of amok — towering rage, hatred leading to mass violence against people in public places. The study of amok in our country is updated because violence committed by students in educational institutions are becoming more frequent over the last years. It is established that amok has sociocultural and individual psychological dependence. Amok is characterized by symptoms, stages, varieties and causes of occurrence and distribution. As the relevant methodological foundation of amok study we offer a domestic conception of affect that disrupt the psyche. It is proved that the study of amok cases requires the identification of possible psyche pathologies of a person who committed an attack, his individual properties of mental processes which are responsible for self-regulation, as well as specifics of personal orientation and social experience. Such amok factors as social exclusion (shut-out from the reference group) and media violence are considered. The article describes some directions to minimize the damage and potential areas of primary psychological-pedagogical amok prevention.