Social Relevance in the Ivory Tower

Reviews the book, More About Justifying Violence: Methodological Studies of Attitudes and Behavior by Monica D. Blumenthal, Letha B. Chadiha, Gerald A. Cole, and Toby Epstein Jayaratne (see record 1977-03019-000). This book would in all likelihood not have been published, and the research it reports not been supported, were it not for the dramatic timeliness of its emphasis on violence and the universal desire to be able ultimately to rid our society of the causes and consequences of violent behavior. Yet this book is in no meaningful sense about violence. It is instead about what the small print of the subtitle describes it as: Methodological Studies of Attitudes and Behavior. The book is most seriously faulted by the uncertainty and ambivalence of the authors in relation to its central purpose. For the student of methodology, this makes the book a rare treat and an exemplar of academic precision. For the student of violence, it provides little satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)