Popova O.V. Social and Psychological Factors of Distribution of Violence (Analysis of Hazing in the Army)

Abstract: Being a widely occuring form of extremism in the modern army, the phenomenon of dedovshchina or hazing is characterized by the non-statutory (violent) relations humiliating human dignity among the military personnel of conscription service. In her article Popova examines qualitative levels and hazing modalities (such as sociocultural, philosophical and psychological, ethical modalities ) demonstrating a variety of the factors influencing aggression and distribution of violence in the army environment. The psychological mechanisms ensuring psychological safety and moral complacency are also considered. These include moral justification, substitution of notions, favorable comparison, responsibility rearrangement, distribution of responsibility, ignoring or distortion of consequences, dehumanization, and attributing of fault. The author is guided by the conceptual provisions of A. Bandura's psyhology who defined the most typical justificatory mechanisms allowing to deviate from strict moral claims without feelings self-disrespect. Analysing the philosophical and psychological factors of "dedovshchina" as some kind of justificatory mechanisms of this phenomenon, the author comes to the conclusion that they act as patterns of avoidance of self-punishment and loss of self-esteem owing to commission of reprehensible actions. They can not be articulated at the time of commission of an act of violence, but, as a rule, are present at the subsequent reflection over the behavior when there is a conflict of the values created by the army environment and social values where the idea of violence is either disadvantaged or hidden. 

Keywords: