Volume 94, May 2016, Pages 7–15
- Kansas State University, 492 Bluemont Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506-5302, United States,
- Received 14 December 2015, Accepted 30 December 2015, Available online 11 January 2016
Highlights
- •
- The Southern culture of honor centers on the belief that male aggression is sometimes justifiable and necessary.
- •
- We developed a measure of masculine honor beliefs (MHBS) inspired by research on the Southern culture of honor.
- •
- The MHBS can be used to assess both men's and women's beliefs about men's behavior.
- •
- The MHBS assesses the various components that comprise masculine honor beliefs more comprehensively than previous measures.
- •
- The MHBS was found to be related to endorsement of aggressive behavior, particularly in response to provocation.
Abstract
Masculine
honor, particularly as defined by the Southern culture of honor,
centers on the belief that aggression is sometimes justifiable and
necessary, such as in response to insult or threat. While masculine
honor has been examined in terms of cultural differences, it has been
less often examined in terms of individual differences. We developed a
measure of masculine honor beliefs (MHBS) inspired by research on the
Southern culture of honor. Four studies showed that the MHBS
demonstrated internal consistency, test–retest reliability, convergent
validity with measures of trait aggression and sexism, discriminant
validity from measures of social desirability, conservatism and
self-esteem, and predictive and incremental validity in predicting
reactions to honor-related provocation above and beyond participants'
sex and other measures of honor beliefs. The MHBS allows masculine honor
beliefs to be examined as an important factor in understanding men's
motivations for aggressive behavior, particularly in response to
provocation.
Keywords
- Masculine honor;
- Culture of honor;
- Individual differences;
- Aggression
Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
