White Supremacist Behavior: Toward an Integrated Social Psychological Model
Author(s)
Arena, Michael P; Arrigo, Bruce A.
Abstract
This paper notes that the literature conceptually exploring the deviant behavior of White supremacists is somewhat limited. One approach to organizing the extant literature comes from social psychology. The present study examines the behavior of White supremacists utilizing a social psychological model. The model emphasizes the intrapsychic, the interpersonal, and the situational dynamics at work in the daily practices of White supremacists. In order to assess how these prisms operate, four thematic categories, essential to the organization of White supremacists, are systematically investigated. These categories include the role of power, identity, sexuality, and the definition of the situation. The authors contend that their social psychological approach represents something of an integrated model for understanding the deviant attitudes, thought processes, and ritualized activities of White supremacists. The authors conclude by suggesting that the proposed interpretive schema may have utility in other, similar areas of social scientific inquiry.
