Nonjustice System: a tool that may help reduce gun violence
December 14, 2020 2:30 PM Subscribe
James Kimmel and his colleagues at the Yale Collaborative for Motive Control Studies have developed the NonJustice System or "Miracle Court," a role-play exercise to help people manage their desires for revenge. A pilot study [...] showed that the Nonjustice System was effective in decreasing revenge desires among study subjects and increasing benevolence toward their transgressors—outcomes that could help prevent violence. Importantly, the findings held up weeks after the intervention. Kimmel and his colleagues hope that the project can be used to reduce grievance-focused gun violence. Kimmel speaks to Erin Schumacher about the childhood bullying that started him on this research path [warning, mention of pet death].
From the original article in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law: Violence is a serious public health problem in the United States, and a common risk factor for many forms of violence is the perpetrator's motivation to achieve personal justice for past wrongs and injustices. Using a fictional transgression scenario to stimulate revenge feelings, we studied the preliminary efficacy of an intervention designed to mitigate revenge desires among victims of perceived injustice. The intervention consisted of a guided role-play of key figures in the justice system (e.g., victim, prosecutor, defendant, judge, etc.) in an imaginary mock trial of the offender. Study participants' revenge desires toward the perpetrator decreased significantly immediately after the intervention and at a 2-week follow-up interview. Benevolence toward the offender increased immediately postintervention and at a 2-week follow-up interview. These results suggest that the intervention has promise to decrease revenge desires in people who have been victimized, and it potentially opens the door to behavioral health motive control approaches to violence prevention.
From the original article in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law: Violence is a serious public health problem in the United States, and a common risk factor for many forms of violence is the perpetrator's motivation to achieve personal justice for past wrongs and injustices. Using a fictional transgression scenario to stimulate revenge feelings, we studied the preliminary efficacy of an intervention designed to mitigate revenge desires among victims of perceived injustice. The intervention consisted of a guided role-play of key figures in the justice system (e.g., victim, prosecutor, defendant, judge, etc.) in an imaginary mock trial of the offender. Study participants' revenge desires toward the perpetrator decreased significantly immediately after the intervention and at a 2-week follow-up interview. Benevolence toward the offender increased immediately postintervention and at a 2-week follow-up interview. These results suggest that the intervention has promise to decrease revenge desires in people who have been victimized, and it potentially opens the door to behavioral health motive control approaches to violence prevention.
Fascinating. Seems like a distant relation to theater of memory.
posted by doctornemo at 5:44 PM on December 14, 2020
posted by doctornemo at 5:44 PM on December 14, 2020
I was thinking Theatre of the Oppressed.
posted by Miko at 9:32 PM on December 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Miko at 9:32 PM on December 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
I tried it in my mind (using the intro link) for what felt like 10 minutes, and I'm very impressed by the experience, I think I gained some new insights and perspectives already.
posted by polymodus at 3:42 AM on December 15, 2020
posted by polymodus at 3:42 AM on December 15, 2020
I was thinking Theatre of the Oppressed.
Yes, very much, that too.
posted by doctornemo at 6:44 AM on December 15, 2020
Yes, very much, that too.
posted by doctornemo at 6:44 AM on December 15, 2020
A couple of days ago I was driving. I was on an on-ramp that merged from two lanes to one, and just before the merge, some guy zoomed from behind me and flagrantly, dangerously cut me off, only to be limited from any further progress by the car in front of him. He did this ... why? It seemed to gain him nothing, except perhaps being in front of me "in line", whatever that might mean on the four-lane freeway we were about to get on.
So now I'm trying to apply this NonJustice System to that event, and running into trouble on step two, "the plea", when I try to step into this guy's mind. I still have no insight into his thinking and can't imagine a single decent reason for his action. I'm still having trouble conceiving of someone who both a) could choose to cut me off the way he did, and b) has anything positive to contribute to a society I'd like to be a part of. Basically I would still like him to be melted down for nutrients, along with all Trump voters.
Help! I think I'm doing it wrong.
posted by The Minotaur at 11:50 AM on December 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
So now I'm trying to apply this NonJustice System to that event, and running into trouble on step two, "the plea", when I try to step into this guy's mind. I still have no insight into his thinking and can't imagine a single decent reason for his action. I'm still having trouble conceiving of someone who both a) could choose to cut me off the way he did, and b) has anything positive to contribute to a society I'd like to be a part of. Basically I would still like him to be melted down for nutrients, along with all Trump voters.
Help! I think I'm doing it wrong.
posted by The Minotaur at 11:50 AM on December 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
With driving in particular I always remember a study that looked at motivation: we make mistakes, but other people are deliberate. In other words dude who cut you off made a mistake - maybe he was pissed off and did something stupid, maybe he misjudged and usually wouldn't have done that but did by accident, maybe he had a brain fart and didn't realise he was cutting you off. In other words, yeah there are egomaniacal bad drivers but mostly? People make mistakes, including emotional motivations that result in bad choices.
It can also be applied to other situations but I've found it helps with driving. "Oof bad choice mate" is a lot less angsty than "you don't deserve to be part of our community" and feels nicer on my brain.
posted by geek anachronism at 1:01 PM on December 15, 2020 [2 favorites]
It can also be applied to other situations but I've found it helps with driving. "Oof bad choice mate" is a lot less angsty than "you don't deserve to be part of our community" and feels nicer on my brain.
posted by geek anachronism at 1:01 PM on December 15, 2020 [2 favorites]
I remember a white woman who cut me in line at the snack queue in a small movie theater; when I looked her in the eye and flatly and simply stated that I was here before her, she was momentarily stunned and started apologizing, she just wanted to refill her coffee cup, etc., she looked like I had killed her dog a.k.a. definitely a White Fragility moment. I harbor no ill feelings toward her (the real problem was the racist manager at the counter who then literally blamed me for assertively confronting another customer's behavior). But motivation is ultimately inscrutable. Was she a racist or ageist, who chose to make a "mistake" and be blind than a young, Asian student was following social rules, while she didn't even need to say "excuse me" to get what she wanted? What level of benefit of doubt is the right level? Her action hurt me, and all people of color in America, in a scientifically definable way, regardless of her internal state of mind. Psychology that is devoid of sociology undermines itself.
posted by polymodus at 3:21 PM on December 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by polymodus at 3:21 PM on December 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
I am not 100% sure but in that case, polymodus, I think the outcome of your "miracle court" trial might be that even if she (in your imagined trial) entered a plea of not guilty because she "didn't mean it," you could still certainly find her guilty and play out the scene in your mind where you as the judge would explain to her how she had been engaging in a microaggression.
One of the things I actually like about this system is that it doesn't require you to forgive the person who wronged you. It just lets you work through what happened for yourself. Some of the time you are going to apply your sociological lens and say, this person was unaware of their white privilege (or deliberately using it) and that's not OK. Guilty!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:32 PM on December 15, 2020 [2 favorites]
One of the things I actually like about this system is that it doesn't require you to forgive the person who wronged you. It just lets you work through what happened for yourself. Some of the time you are going to apply your sociological lens and say, this person was unaware of their white privilege (or deliberately using it) and that's not OK. Guilty!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:32 PM on December 15, 2020 [2 favorites]
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing it.
posted by harriet vane at 7:33 PM on December 26, 2020
posted by harriet vane at 7:33 PM on December 26, 2020
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