Felson, Richard B., and James T. Tedeschi: Social Interactionist Theory of Violence

Paul-Philippe Pare

Richard B. Felson and James T. Tedeschi met at the State University of New York at Albany, where Felson was a social psychologist in the sociology department and Tedeschi was a social psychologist in the psychology department. Both of them were interested in the study of self-presentation, aggression, and violence, but they were also dissatisfied with the compartmentalization of theories and research related to violence across the social sciences. Stimulated by each other's ideas, they developed a more general perspective during the 1980s that places rational individuals within their social contexts in which violence is understood as a means toward achieving desired outcomes. This perspective, known as the social interactionist theory of violence , posits that violence and aggression are goal-oriented behaviors and often involve influencing others, retribution against perceived injustice, status maintenance, and thrill-seeking as major motivations. The social interactionist theory of violence rests on three major assumptions. First, ...

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