Hot weather causes higher violence risk?

[littleair]

Hi,

I have researched for a long time but have only found that weather indirectly causes higher violence, and the they said it is from people spending more time outside. I'm looking for a study that says hot weather directly effects the human mind and may increase violence risk.

Any input at all please is welcome.

Thanks.

[dimreepr]

Personally, I find heat to be soporific. The only link I can think of is alcohol, spare time and hot weather and all my friends and I start thinking of an ice cold larger.

[StringJunky]

It might be more fruitful to put the other way around and ask 'Does a colder climate and reduced daylight hours reduce violence?' In Greenland, where days extend to 24hours in the summer, violence increases. Or to put it another way, look at countries that have more extreme variations in environmental conditions in terms of light and temperature throughout the year to try and see patterns. It may just be that amenable weather and daylight hours encourages a higher rate of social interactions and, hence, potential for violence.

Edited December 18, 2017 by StringJunky

[Silvestru]

I think StringJunky has a point. It might not be weather but daylight.

Although I want to bring to your attention https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_Greenland.

Quote

Suicide in Greenland is a significant national social issue. According to government reports, between 20% and 25% of Greenlanders attempt to kill themselves at some point in their lifetime.^[1] Greenland also has by far the highest suicide rate in the world: reports between 1985 and 2012 showed that an average of 83 people in 100,000 committed suicide, more than twice the rate of the second placed country, Lithuania.^[2]

Greenland is a geographically and culturally isolated nation, as well as one of the coldest and least populous countries in the world. 

I consider suicide to also represent violence so I am bringing this to the table.

Also 1 out of 4 of Greenlanders attempt to kill themselves at one point. That blows my mind...

[StringJunky]

46 minutes ago, Silvestru said:

I think StringJunky has a point. It might not be weather but daylight.

Although I want to bring to your attention https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_Greenland.

I consider suicide to also represent violence so I am bringing this to the table.

Also 1 out of 4 of Greenlanders attempt to kill themselves at one point. That blows my mind...

Yes, it's suicide that is notable in Greenland; an error actually by me in terms of as a reference for the OP, your point is valid as well though if violence against the self qualifies. The suicide rate there blew my mind too. Coincidentally, I was reading about a Russian place in the Arctic Circle and this line put into perspective how harsh it is:

“I always loved those winter evenings when the temperature rose to -30C, and it felt warm enough for everyone to come out for a walk on our main pedestrian street – we called it Broadway.” (my underline)

Edited December 18, 2017 by StringJunky

[Silvestru]

14 minutes ago, StringJunky said:

“I always loved those winter evenings when the temperature rose to -30C, and it felt warm enough for everyone to come out for a walk on our main pedestrian street – we called it Broadway.” (my underline)

Makes me appreciate my small rented apartment a lot more.

[iNow]

My recollection is that hotter climates have higher murder rates and higher rates of physical violence. My recollection is that this controls for sunlight exposure and accounts for similar seasonal affective disorders. Unfortunately, my recollection doesn't extend to finding studies quickly to share here via URL.

[Silvestru]

23 minutes ago, iNow said:

My recollection is that hotter climates have higher murder rates and higher rates of physical violence. My recollection is that this controls for sunlight exposure and accounts for similar seasonal affective disorders. Unfortunately, my recollection doesn't extend to finding studies quickly to share here via URL.

I am not prone to physical violence but If I were to kick someones ass I would rather do it in the summer when it's nice outside and go for ice cream after than to go to all the hassle of getting dressed up in winter gear and crawl through the snow to find this guy/girl and administer justice. On  a serious not though, I think people just stay way more in the house in the winter. Less chance to get axed. 

[Strange]

Not helpful, but the title reminds me of the opening lines of Chandler's Red Wind:

"There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Ana's that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge."

I can well imagine that the heat makes people impatient and short tempered. But haven't seen any studies.

[iNow]

Anderson, C. A., Anderson, K. B., Dorr, N., DeNeve, K. M., & Flanagan, M. (2000). Temperature and aggression. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 32, pp. 63–133). New York: Academic Press.

Anderson, C. A., Bushman, B. J., & Groom, R. W. (1997). Hot years and serious and deadly assault: Empirical tests of the heat hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1213-1223. 

Reifman, A. S., Larrick, R. P., & Fein, S. (1991). Temper and temperature on the diamond: The heat-aggression relationship in major league baseball. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 580–585.

DeWall, C, N., & Bushman, B. J. (2009). Hot under the collar in a lukewarm environment:  Hot temperature primes increase aggressive thoughts and hostile perceptions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,45(4), 1045-1047.

Anderson, C.A, Deuser, W.E., DeNeve, K. (1995). Hot temperatures, hostile affect, hostile cognition, and arousal: Tests of a general model of affective aggression. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 434-448.