How members of the public account for the England Riots of summer 2011

Authors

  • Simon Goodman Coventry University
  • Shelley Price Coventry University
  • Charlotte Venables Coventry University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18552/aprj.v1i1.138

Keywords:

Riot, England Riots, Public Understanding, ESIM, Thematic Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to gain knowledge of how the general public viewed the England riots of 2011 in order to gain a fuller understanding of the riots and their impact on society. The study involved the thematic analysis of four semi-structured focus groups that were conducted with a total of eighteen participants from differing backgrounds. The analysis identified five themes: how participants draw on traditional theories of the crowd; the Police were deemed to be ‘damned if they do and damned if they don’t’; opportunism was used to account for looting; the media were viewed as aiding the spread of the riots but also as informative and as aiding the cleanup after the riots ended; and the riots were presented as being understandable, but in no way acceptable. This demonstrates how public understanding of the riots differs from the psychological literature. Practical recommendations are suggested including the need to give a platform to crowd psychologists.

Author Biographies

Simon Goodman, Coventry University

Dr Simon Goodman is a senior lecturer in psychology at Coventry University. His research explores the discursive construction of asylum seekers and refugees, and his interests include discourse analysis, the social construction of categories, boundaries and prejudice, particularly in relation to asylum seeking, social inequality, the far right and rioting behaviour.

Shelley Price, Coventry University

Dr Shelley Price is a lecturer in forensic psychology at Coventry University. The focus of her research is on the implicit assessment of sexual interest information in offending and non-offending groups using cognitive tasks and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Additional research interests include offender treatment efficacy, screening measures for working in positions of trust over children and offenders with addictions.

Charlotte Venables, Coventry University

Charlotte Venables is an undergraduate Psychology student at Coventry university. Her interests include social psychology and especially how it relates to politics.

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Published

2014-01-06

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2014): Inaugural Issue

Section

Original Research Articles

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