As a psychology major at the University of Rochester I have learned that authors of scholarly texts will often "doctor" the facts to make their subject matter a little more exciting. And when I say "doctor" I'm not so much referring to the skilled surgeon kind of doctor, but more to the 5-year-old playing
operation kind of doctor, who picks out little plastic parts one by one with hopes of not making a buzz.
Prime example: 'Gender Differences in Partner Violence', as portrayed in my Intimate Relationships text.
Opening Statement: "Stereotypes may suggest that women engage in less intimate violence than men do, but if anything, it's the other way around; women are actually slightly more likely to use physical aggression against their partners than men are."This is then followed by the admission that there has been some "controversy" surrounding this conclusion.
Some Controversy:
"For one thing, most studies of couple violence do not determine whether a person's actions were offensive or defensive in nature; if, in an episode of situational couple violence, a man initiates a physical assault and his female partner responds in kind, each would have recently done some violence but for different reasons."
"...when an episode of situational couple violence occurs, men tend to engage in more acts of violence than women do, and many surveys do not keep track of such subtleties."
"Men and women also tend to exhibit violent behavior of different severity. Women are more likely to throw something, kick, bite, or punch their partners, whereas men are more likely to choke or strangle, or beat up theirs... When couple violence occurs, 62% of those who are injured are women.
"Moreover, men are much more likely than women to rape or murder their partners. These brutal acts are usually not assessed by studies of couple violence..."
Text Conclusion: "Add this all up, and it appears that women can be just as violent as men, but they are less likely to cause injuries and less likely to use violence as a tool in an ongoing pattern of domination and influence."
My Conclusion: Women are nowhere near as violent in men, and my text is so stuck on disproving stereotypes that it has actually become a chauvinistic pig. Word up to getting a solid liberal arts education!
The wise Arnold Schwarzenegger (actor, body builder, governor of California) declares in the first of copious Terminator films, "I'll be back." In the third film, upon his promised return, he proudly proclaims "I'm back!"; and the people rejoice.
I, like the Governator, am back. And the people rejoice?