Graffiti – For Joy and Confirmation. Motivational aspects, triggering and inhibiting factors, and emotional satisfactions in graffiti: The creative-interactive dimension of vandalism
Abstract
The purpose of the present dissertation is to achieve a deeper understanding about what motivates young people to commit vandalism in general and scrawl-graffiti in particular, and what this propensity provides in the form of satisfaction and/or further motivation. The present thesis consists of two experimental studies, one questionnaire study, and one interview study, of a total of 515 participants (287 male, 219 female, 9 missing gender). The experimental studies show that alcohol and frustration in combination increases the risk for vandalism to occur, and also the degree of vandalism, destructivity and aggression. The questionnaire study demonstrated that impulsiveness presents a significant personality trait related to vandalism in general, as well as to scrawl-graffiti, but whereas vandalism is predicted by non-planning impulsiveness, scrawl-graffiti is predicted by motor impulsiveness. Further, the interview study indicated that there are distinctions between vandalism, graffiti and scrawl, where vandalism is assessed as destructive behavior, often conducted in an affective and destructive mood, while graffiti is interactive and creative, conducted in a creative mood. Scrawl might be destructive or creative, depending on the context, how it expresses itself, and whether or not it is created in a vandalism mood or in a graffiti mood.
Additionally, The Equity Control Model of Vandalism (Baron & Fisher, 1984) was used as an explanatory model to understand the complexity of vandalism. The model was complemented with two new primary moderators; Personality traits and Emotional state, and a new dimension of vandalism; the Creative-Interactive dimension of Vandalism, and finally resulted in an extended Equity Control Model of Vandalism (e-ECM 2016).
Parts of work
I. Norlander, T., Nordmarker, A., & Archer, T. (1998). Effects of alcohol and frustration on experimental graffiti. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 39, 201-207. ::doi::10.1111/1467-9450.00080 II. Nordmarker, A., Norlander T., & Archer, T. (2000). The effects of alcohol intake and induced frustration upon art vandalism. Social Behavior and Personality, 28 (1), 15-28. ::doi::10.2224/sbp.2000.28.1.15 III. Nordmarker, A., Hjärthag, F., Perrin-Wallqvist, R., & Archer. T. (2016). The roles of gender and personality factors in vandalism and scrawl-graffiti among Swedish adolescents. PsyCh Journal 5, 180-190. ::doi::10.1002/pchj.133 IV. Nordmarker, A., Perrin-Wallqvist, R., & Archer, T. (manuscript). Graffiti in adolescence – joy and confirmation. An interview study with young graffitists. Submitted
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
University
Göteborgs universitet. Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten
University of Gothenburg. Faculty of Social Sciences
Institution
Department of Psychology ; Psykologiska institutionen
Disputation
2016-12-02, kl 13:00. Psykologiska institutionen, Göteborgs universitet
Date of defence
2016-12-02
Date
2016-11-03Author
Nordmarker, Anki
Keywords
vandalism
scrawl
graffiti
personality traits
frustration
motivation
joy
flow
satisfaction
the extended Eguity Control Model of Vandalism
(e-ECM 2016)
Publication type
Doctoral thesis
ISBN
978-91-628-9997-4 (PDF)
978-91-628-9998-1 (Print)
ISSN
1101-718X
Series/Report no.
Doctoral Dissertation
Language
eng