Category: High School

High School Classroom Observation Essay

Research Methodology

For my primary data, I’ve chosen to utilize a structured survey which, I handed out to 5 years 6 students at Auburn Public School and 10 years 7 students at Auburn Girls High School and conducted an observation of my siblings. Survey undertakers were notified that the survey would be completely confidential and that their privacy would be conserved. With this promise, the children were able to respond with more forthright and valid answers. The surveys enabled students to explore an avenue of more truthful and unambiguous answers and by expressing themselves in their responses when encouraged that their information would only be used for research intentions. The data gathered enabled me to conduct realistic and accurate tables and graphs to exemplify my findings. However, there are some disadvantages to collecting data by conducting a survey rather than using other research methodologies. For example, respondents may not feel encouraged to provide accurate and honest answers however, much reassured that their anonymity will be sealed. This can disintegrate my results and findings. On the other hand, my observation as my second research methodology, I decided to observe my two siblings ranging from 8 to 11 years of age for two days continuously. While conducting this observation, to have accurate data, I had to make sure that my siblings did not notice what I was doing, and thus my research was not compromised. My siblings spend more than half the day utilizing their technological devices. Observing my siblings was fascinating in that I was able to comprehend the amount of technology being used in my household. The reason why I chose to conduct an observation as one of my research methodologies is that I was able to collect first-hand data which also enabled me to see primarily from each subject their day-to-day activities with technology. This aided me in reassuring me that my collected information was accurate and that the subjects did not exaggerate or respond to the question the way they felt it should be answered. With the second and third opinions both my research methodologies did not raise any moral or ethical issues. My survey questions were structured in a way that was appropriate and suitable for the age of the students that were undertaking it, and observations did not impose on my subjects and inflict extensively on their private lives. Overall, my options for first-hand research approaches were very effective in accumulating the data I needed to complete my Independent Research Methodology.

‘Technology is the ultimate reason, as to why children don’t recognize life beyond the screen’. Children have suffered significantly from the vast influences of technology. My hypothesis refers to how my independent research project will validate the use of technology and its influence on children as individuals and in group situations. Children in contemporary societies struggle to last a day without the constant use of technological devices and feel the need to interact with anything remotely similar to a gadget such as an iPhone, iPad, etc. The main objective of my research project is to demonstrate both the negative and positive implications technology has on children. My project focuses on the impacts it has on an individual and their family setting. Through personal experience and observation of children, I have chosen this topic to determine the instantaneous need for technology. Whether children are better off without the use of technology or if it is required for adequate development. Children learn and develop more effectively through individual experiences and communication with others. Technology is a major cause of why children lack interpersonal skills which, can lead to them being inactive members of society. Nevertheless, it could be argued that children can miss out on numerous resources that influence every aspect of an individual and their surroundings if left without technology. Early childhood years for children are crucial for their future. If a child is brought up in a technology-driven family setting, their perception of a social norm would be relentlessly staring at a screen, for entertainment, stimulation, and even education. Other resources would not be used commendably, therefore, children fail to recognize life beyond the screen. Technology has become a dominant resource in contemporary societies. My research task builds strong ties to the research methodology section of the syllabus, which is to conduct a survey and an observation of my siblings as my primary sources of data. Connections to the syllabus are also shown through my added resource management and the well-being of individuals/families influenced by both the positive and negative technological use.

In my independent research task, I have chosen to investigate the hypothesis “Technology is the ultimate reason, why children don’t recognize life beyond the screen”. My research project is intended to explain the positive and negative impact technology has on the mindset of children in contemporary societies. My independent research project is mainly focused on the negative impacts of technology, as research and observations conducted make it evident that the negative outweighs the positive. The reason why I have chosen to further explore this topic is due to the need for this issue to be addressed. In today’s society, children are born into a world of technology and can understand the impacts it has on all aspects of their well-being and physical development. Numerous health side effects can slowly develop in individuals such as obesity, due to the constant use of technology and less active play. Without constant supervision and control of use, children may fall into the dark corners of technology where major threats lie. My objective upon the completion of this project is to demonstrate with evidence the impact that technology has on children in this era. The use of primary research methodology such as a survey distributed to 5 years 6 students at Auburn Public School and 10 years 7 students at Auburn Girls High School and completed a two-day observation with three subjects under 12 years of age. By conducting research through different methodologies, I was able to validate my theory on children’s constant dependence on technology. My results collected were as expected. For example, students were given two options, if they wanted to buy a yoyo or a technological device e.g. laptop, iPhone, etc. A unanimous amount of consensus shows that all survey undertakers would purchase a technological device of any sort rather than a yoyo. This effectively explains that students can comprehend the distinction between the two options. Also, the results illustrate that when students were asked how many hours of their day are spent using technology, more than 20% of children answered with 4-5 hours. This was concerning in that studies in this field show that children of that age should be getting more than 2-3 hours of active play outside on a day-to-day basis, to aid in maintaining a healthy and adequate lifestyle. With those who answered with 4-5 hours of utilizing technology, the required active play is nearly impossible to achieve due to school and other multiple commitments. My independent research project lays out these results and acknowledges the issues raised by the overuse of technological devices by children in contemporary societies.

The Problem Of High School Shooting

For a school shooting to be defined as such, it must be an act or attempt at first-degree murder involving two or more victims on a school’s campus. The horrible and tragic event is something we sadly experience in our life. It really is a shame that something like this happens and young lives are lost because one felt the need to end their lives via a school shooting. School shooters can and have been carried out by many different races, ages, and genders all across the world. A school shooter is not just one categorization, it is made up of all sorts of individuals who feel it is necessary to shoot and kill their peers. It’s a sensitive topic to talk about and a tragedy to even report. Young and innocent lives are taken by those fueled by hate, those who have been bullied by their pears and those on a mission to make this world we live in a living hell. A lot of research and studying have gone into this topic, trying to figure out what goes through the shooters head, why did the shooter take out those that he did,

There are different locations and places that a school shooting can occur at. Secondary school, college and adult shooters. School shooters all have different mindsets; traumatized shooters typically were abused as children, psychotic shooters tend to suffer from a mental disorder, and psychopathic shooters feel justified with their actions and feel like they are doing society a favor by doing the actions that they did. (space .M, 2016)

Olweus defines bullying as being victimized when one or more students expose him or her over time to negative actions. Trying to identify adolescent males at risk peer bullying will require time, more attention to detail, and being educated more on signs shown when an adolescent male is being bullied. Studies conducted within the article written by Reuter-Rice reported that those who were victims of bullying shows a lack of social and emotional adjustment to society and oftentimes have difficulty making friends and experience a greater loneliness than most others would. One reason why some students are victims of bullying is due to their sexuality. Back in 2002 the National Mental Health Association conducted a survey 760 adolescents from the ages of 12 to 17 and 78% of those teens who believed gay were teased and bullied at school because of that. Not a lot of research has gone into the study of the family of the bully and the victim of bullying in terms of understanding the potential causes of male violence (school shootings). The male adolescents who were victims of peer bullying had a close, positive relationship with their mother. There are four commonalities that might contribute to bullying behavior in boys; attitude towards the boy by whoever is the caretaker, open-mindedness towards aggressive behavior, emotional outbursts and the young boy seeing a bad relationship between both of his parents. Based upon multiple surveys that have been taken, students do not feel like school is really a safe environment to be in. (reuter-rice, K 2008)

School shootings rarely ever get ‘studied’ due to how rare and powerful the events are. Since that is the case, prior studies of school shootings are all based on and around the perpetrators motivation, their relationship to the victim(s), and the total number of victims that they have killed.

Violence, bullying and alienation that happen while at school have gotten widespread attention of reasons why the perpetrator feels like it is necessary to start opening fire on school grounds. Violent media, examples such as raging in movies and first person shooter video games have been ‘linked’ to possible reasons as to why a school shooting would occur. But, since 1980 the amount of violent media has gone up and the amount of school shootings has actually decreased since then. Although the amount of school shootings has gone down with the amount of violent media going up since the 1980’s, there has been a sharp increase in multiple victim homicides on school grounds (Agnich, L. E. (2015)).

Once a school shooting has occurred, the aftermath of one tends to raise a lot of concerns as to the motivation and the causes as to why this happened. Once the media has heard that a school shooting has occurred they are quick to cover the news, which although can be a good thing to get the news out there, it can sometimes lead to false assumptions as well as falsely stereotyping who a ‘school shooting perpetrator’ is or could be. Fritzon and Brun have conducted studies on factors that potentially lead up to school shootings such as the family environment at home, behavior aspects that caused them to ‘lash out’ and finally, the school environment that surrounds the perpetrator.

Leary (Leary et al. (2003)) believes that School shootings can be provoked by a real or imagined rejection or a relationship coming to an end. The three forms of rejection include teasing, ostracism (exclusion from society or group) and romantic rejection. A tragedy such as a rejection can spark an increase in aggression in those who feel like they are in a hostile environment.

Mental disorders have commonly been associated with offenders of school shootings. Mental disorders that have been associated with school shooting offenders are depression, personality disorder, lack of empathy, and suicidal. A school shooter dealing with depression is labeled as one who is hypersensitive to criticism, they are likely to anticipate rejection and they always seem suspicious to those around them. 28 school shooting perpetrators were conducted in a study and according to that study conducted by Gerard et al. (2015), 71 percent of the of the school shooters convicted of the act have been diagnosed with depression.

A study conducted by pellegrini (pellegrini et. al. 1999) has linked bullying victimization as well as violence in general to the perpetrator and the offender is often subjected to teasing, bullying and victimization at some point prior to the incident. School shooting offenders are often considered as ‘loners’. They have the feeling of sadness and loneliness along with that they feel like they do not fit in or belong anywhere (Ioannou, M., Hammond, L., & Simpson, O. (2015)).

Often times the child who pulls the trigger that ends the lives of his fellow teachers and/or classmates live a dark life and endures painful events long before the shootings occur. In 1992, a school shooting that occurred involved a 17-year-old high school student took the life of one of his teachers and a custodian who worked at that school. The 17 year old had a dark home life with his father having random episodes of physical violence and his mother was deemed as a mentally ill woman.

That same year another high school student, Eric Houston; killed his teacher and three of his classmates. Eric had endured painful home life from his abusive father. Eric’s father had become so violent with him that Eric suffered from organic brain damage. In 1997 Evan Ramsey shot and killed his principle and a fellow student. Evan had a father in prison as well as a neglectful, alcoholic mother. As a child Evan bounced around from foster home to foster home. Evan also got harassed by his fellow classmates; who loved to see him angry and rage. The three teenagers all suffered from a commonality of abusiveness and bullying which led them to make the decisions that they did which led to innocent lives being ended shorter than expected (Warnick, B. R., Johnson, B. A., & Rocha, S. (2010)).

Peer pressure can play a significant role in becoming a school shooter. Klebold and Harris were the two Columbine shooters who both had a negative impact upon one another. Together, those two threatened classmates, wore shirts to school that said ‘serial killer’, and together they spent over a year planning the deadly shooting at Columbine. Klebold and Harris were considered rejects by those who went to school with them, a Classmate of theirs described the Columbine as a ‘clean and good place minus those rejects (Klebold and Harris) most students did not want them here’ (Thompson S., & Kyle K., 2005).

Since 1998 school shootings in the United States have really gotten national media attention in regards to the increase of violence within our youth. With the increase of youth related violence that leads to school shootings; parents, teachers, and students all have a slight fear of showing up to school one day and a shooting breakout on their campus. The FBI started up what is called a threat assessment. With all the information gathered on male adolescents there are too many individual variations to truly get a distinct profile of who and what a school shooter is and can be. 71% of those who were convicted of a school shooting admitted to being bullied, threatened or injured prior to them lashing out and shooting up the school. (Reuter-Rice, K.2008)

Students are becoming more and more scared to be on campus with the amount of national media attention that school shootings get and how the next school shooting could happen on their campus. A quote from the Washington post ‘more than 187,000 students attending at least 193 primary or secondary schools have experienced a shooting on campus during school hours,’ those numbers alone are scary to think about, especially since this article was published in 2018 and many more shootings have happened since then. (Metuchen Vol. 58, Iss. 4, 2018)

Although crime rates in the United States are declining, it seems to most Americans that school shootings are becoming more of an occurrence than they actually are, on average only about 10 school shootings occur per year, which is higher than it ever should be to begin with. One factor that makes Americans believe that school shootings happen more than they do is the amount of time the media covers the event. School shootings, on average, last about 10 minutes, but media coverage on the shooting can go on for days, weeks, even months after the shooting. Researchers studied the effects of media coverage of school shootings on college campuses and it shows that the more media attention one pays attention to regarding a shooting, the more fearful they become and the more likely they will think that an event like that will happen again. (Jaymi Elsass, H., Schildkraut, J., & Stafford, M. C.2016).

The United States has a much higher school-shooting rate than any of the other countries. Between 1966 and 2008, 44 school shootings occurred in the United States whereas during those same years only 7 school shootings occurred in Canada and 7 school shootings happened all across Europe. Between the years 2013 and 2015 20,25, and 31 out of the 50 states had a school shooting occur, which sadly had increased every year within those three years. During that same three-year period the amount of school shootings increased, just like the amount of states a school shooting occurred in increased as well. From 2013 to 2015 there were a total of 154 incidents of a school shooting; 35 in 2013, 55 in 2014 and 64 in 2013. Male perpetrators did the majority of the school shootings that occurred during 2013 and 2015. (Kalesan, B et. Al. 2017)

Since the 1970’s shooting ranges have been put on notice as a place with a high risk of lead exposure. You can be exposed to lead at shooting ranges from when you fire a gun and airborne pieces from gun are released to the air and you inhale them. Exposure to lead primarily targets the nervous system and has been linked to disorders such as behavioral changes. A study conducted of 118 people (87 shooters and 31 archers) was conducted and it shows that the shooters had a significantly higher blood lead level (79.8%) compared to the archers (22.6%). This study also shows that blood lead levels were significantly higher in those who went to the shooting range compared to those who use archery ranges (Naicker, N et. Al. 2018).

On April 26th, 2002, armed with a pistol and a shotgun; Robert Steinhauser, a 19 year old student from Erfurt, Germany went back to the high school he was just recently kicked out of and killed twelve of the teachers who worked at the high school, two students, a school secretary and a policeman before he decided to take his own life. Violent video games such as “quake” and “Soldier of Fortune” as well as a collection of violent films were discovered in Steinhauser’s room following investigations in relation to the school shooting. Prior to the occurrence of the school shooting; Steinhauser’s academic performance started to get worse and worse along with becoming a member of a local shooting club, he even started to assemble his own personal weapons arsenal. Steinhauser’s devotion and interest in the first person shooting video games have been linked to the reasons Steinhauser’s troubles at school had started to increase.

Just about three years after Steinhauser’s school shooting in Germany; another teenager, this time armed with guns, knives, and homemade explosives killed one student, himself wounded 37 others at his former high school in Emsdetten, Germany. The student; 18 year old Sebastian B, was described by the media as a loner and ultimately did what he did to destroy as many lives as he could and take as many of those lives with him, the description composed by the media were compiled by writings that they found in Sebastian’s journals and internet postings. Sebastian described himself as having a happy life until he started school, as well as he felt like the only thing that he learned while in school was that he was a loser. Just like Steinahuser, Sebastian was linked to similar first shooter video games following investigations of his actions at his old high school.

Following the tragic school shootings sprees that occurred in Germany, the German government started to turn their focus towards violent first person shooter video games and their connection to the shootings caused by Steinahuser and Sebastian. Kretschmer both reportedly but an extensive amount of time playing the first person shooter video games and that suggests that these games had played a role in the actions that these men did. The perpetrators trouble life at home and the school induce violence plus the violent video games played is a recipe for disaster when it comes to a potential school shooter similar to Steinhauser and Sebastian. But, although Steinhauser and Sebastian both played the violent video games, they both could have been provoked for different reasons to make them want to shoot up their schools.

The German government has started to decrease the promotion violent video and computer games. An example of ways the German government has cracked down on promotion of violent video and computer games is that they have started to restrict the sales of violent games to minors and the goal is to completely ban the sale of violent games. German legislators created the protection of young persons act, which allows them to place restrictions on the selling of video games that can be deemed as harmful.

Despite how graphic and how realistic the first person shooter video games seem, psychologists and social scientists are split in regards to whether video games are responsible for violent actions that occur in real life. German government officials, political party members and some interest groups all noticed a similarity between the German school shooters and their love for first person shooter video games and claim that by them playing the first person violent video games caused an increase in aggressiveness when not playing violent video games. (Diamond, N. 2013). The case of Germany attempting to restrict access to online killing games is a step in the right direction.

Further research that needs to take place in regards to school shootings is ways to prevent any more of these from happening. There has been way too many school shootings that have not only happened in the United States, but all across the world.

Psychology Behind the Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting: Critical Essay

On the afternoon of February 14th, 2018, Nikolas Cruz took an Uber to his old high school. After entering the school, he removed an automatic weapon from his bag and began shooting both students and teachers, leaving 17 dead. When his gun stopped working Nikolas ran with the other students out of the school and headed to the local Subway store to buy a soda and waited in a McDonald’s restaurant before heading home, where he was arrested. Nikolas made a full confession to the police and discussed how a voice in his head was telling him to commit acts of violence. Being unable to ignore the voice any longer, Nikolas confessed to planning a mass shooting at his old school. In this essay, this event will be analyzed from a psychological point of view. This paper will look at the life experiences that led up to this event and, using theories in the field of social psychology, stress, learning and driving motivations, will aim to explore the reasons behind this attack. The primary piece of research in this paper is a recorded video interview between a detective and Nikolas Cruz, in which he confesses to the shooting and explains his motivations.

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

During his police interrogation, Nikolas explained that he heard a voice that regularly told him to “Burn. Kill. Destroy” when asked what this was in relation to his first response was ‘everything’, although later explained in more detail. The voice had first told him to set fires, for which he used a fire pit, and to kill animals, so he shot birds. The detective in the interview pointed out that fire pits and hunting are both considered normal behaviors and are not necessarily illegal or destructive. Nikolas seemed to believe different. By complying with these initial requests, it made it easier for Nikolas to escalate. By using a fire pit, he was not causing any harm, but was still complying with the request, keeping both the voice and his morals happy. As his requests got more violent, he was more likely to comply. This behavior is often referred to as the foot-in-the-door phenomenon. The initial requests were small and did not cause anyone any harm or risk Nikolas getting into too much trouble. These small requests escalated and resulted in Nikolas shooting and killing 17 people. It is unlikely that he would have done this had this been the first request the voice gave him. Nikolas believed that the small actions were criminal and aggressive, and therefore was able to transition to extreme violence more easily. Had he considered that a fire pit and bird hunting are accepted behaviors within society, he may not have been able to escalate to the school shooting as easily.

Cognitive Dissonance

Throughout his interview, Nikolas is very insistent that the voice he hears is not his own. He refers to the voice as that of a demon, a separate entity to himself. He regularly refers to the voice as being inside him, but that it isn’t actually him. Throughout the interview, Nikolas is relatively calm, he stutters and appears low in mood, but is able to engage in conversation. When the detective suggests that the voice is his own and that Nikolas himself wanted to shoot and kill people in the school, he becomes visibly distressed and his demeanor changes entirely. He resorts to self-harm, and is seen rocking as a self-soothing technique. This change in behavior can be defined as Nikolas experiencing dissonance. Nikolas accepts his actions, but not the desire to act on them. It is easier to accept that he murdered 17 people because something else told him to rather than because he wanted to. When he is presented with the possibility that he alone wanted to commit this act, he experiences cognitive dissonance. His actions and his beliefs do not match up, and are therefore in dissonance. In order for Nikolas to accept his actions whilst maintaining his beliefs (that killing people is wrong), he must transfer the blame. Up until this point, Nikolas has found a way to distance himself from his actions, but when the detective places this blame on him, he struggles to accept the information. Nikolas also asks for an attorney at this stage for the first time, as he begins to realize the responsibility and consequences of his actions.

Observational Learning

In a series of videos that were filmed on Nikolas’ cell phone three days prior to the shooting, Nikolas is heard stating he is going to be “the next school shooter of 2019”. He goes on to state this his “goal” is “at least twenty people” (as cited in Time, 2018). Nikolas is referring to previous school shooters and the number of deceased victims. Nikolas has clearly studied previous school shooters to know what the death tolls were and where he would like to be ‘placed’. He goes on to say: “It’s going to be a big event, and when you see me on the news, you’ll know who I am” (as cited in Time, 2018). Nikolas knows that a school shooting will receive a large amount of press and his name will be known worldwide. Once again, this is knowledge that he has obtained from studying the responses of previous school shooters. Nikolas has observed the responses to previous individuals and is anticipating a similar response. He has learnt to admire these individuals and wants to be considered as one. What Nikolas has not been able to observe was the personal impact of their crimes, e.g., their guilt, the impact of their incarceration, etc. When Nikolas is seen in the police interview, he is experiencing what those he admired would have experienced but was unable to observe.

Association

In his interview, Nikolas informs the detective that he hears the voice at night when he is bed and early in the morning, and that physical movement helps make the voice go away, but it’s louder when he’s in bed. This is an example of ego depletion. “Ego depletion decreases prosocial behavior indirectly by reducing feelings of guilt” (Xu et al., 2012). When Nikolas is tired, he is less likely to be able to exert willpower and will have reduced feelings of guilt, making it the perfect time for the voice to be present. Subconsciously, Nikolas is aware that he is more likely to act on the requests given by the voice when he is tired, and therefore the voice is more likely to appear at those times. Nikolas learns that in order to fulfill his violent desires, these must be suggested when tired, so that these can be reinforced each time he becomes fatigued.

Individualist

An individualist is defined by a person that has an independent sense of self. They are motivated by their personal goals and achievements rather than that of a group. Their identity is unchanged or strengthened when they are isolated from friends or family. Nikolas falls under the category of an individualist as he has a very strong sense of self and appears to remove himself from groups. Studies have found that “extreme individualism may be linked to several forms of social pathology” (Triandis et al., 1988), including homicide. By taking on more of a collectivism approach, he would have accepted the support of those around him and may have experienced much higher levels of guilt, which may have prevented him from being able to complete the attack.

Epigenetics

Nikolas and his brother Zachary were adopted together at a young age. They share the same biological mother and grew up in the same household with the same adoptive parents. Their adoptive father, Roger, died in 2004 and their adoptive mother, Lynda, died in 2017. When it comes to nature vs. nurture, the key areas of consideration are that of biological DNA and of the environment in which an individual is raised. Both Nikolas and Zachary share both. Epigenetics is the term used when certain environments or experiences can trigger or block genetic expression. So, although Nikolas and Zachary have the same genetics, certain traits may be visible in one and not in another. Looking at these two brothers there is a significant difference in how they both dealt with the death of their mother and their response to the negative feelings they experienced. To try and blame Nikolas’ actions on ‘bad genetics’ or on an unhappy home life would be dismissing the existence of an individual who although experiencing the same trauma has not shown any violent traits. Epigenetics played a part in making certain traits in Nikolas more prominent or hidden than in those of his brother, leading to a very different response.

Stress and Health: General Adaptation Syndrome

A lot of research has been undertaken into the fight-or-flight responses of individuals who have been present at events such as school shootings. General adaptation syndrome is a process to describe how stress affects the human body and mind in traumatic situations. Although the process is generally applied to victims, the process is applicable to Nikolas, who would have experienced high levels of stress during the attack, albeit in a very different way. The first phase of the syndrome is the alarm reaction. Increased blood flow moves to muscles to trigger the fight-or-flight response. It is likely that Nikolas was experiencing a similar reaction in the car on the way to the school and particularly as he entered the school. These reactions aim to keep the mind alert and the energy levels high. The second phase is that of resistance. The blood pressure and adrenaline levels stay high and ensure that the body and mind are fully engaged. Whilst Nikolas was in the school and was actively shooting, he would be in this high adrenaline state. This phase can only last so long before exhaustion kicks in. When his gun stopped working, Nikolas didn’t attempt to fix it and try and take down the police, nor did he have an escape plan to not get caught. Nikolas left the school, went to the local Subway and bought a soda. He was not in a fight-or-flight mode, he was merely experiencing a come down of adrenaline with nowhere for it to go.

Catharsis

Prior to the attack, Nikolas presented as very angry at the world around him. This is present in the videos he made and the messages he posted online. As Nikolas begins to act on the requests he hears from the voice in his head and begins setting fires and killing birds, he starts to experience a momentary emotional release. He experiences what is known as the catharsis myth, the belief that expressing aggression reduces aggression. When this behavior no longer provides the same sort of release, he escalates the violence. Scientists have been largely unable to demonstrate that aggressive outbursts reduce subsequent aggressive behavior, whereas the mass media continue to suggest that they do reduce it (Bushman et al., 1999, p.373). If Nikolas believes that he is releasing his anger through these violent acts, then he will continue to do so, escalating when necessary. In reality he is causing more anger and more guilt, but is trapped in a cycle.

Conclusion

Whilst it is important to note that every individual is different and no two people experience the same experiences in the same way, it is important to study cases such as this to help learn from these events. Had Nikolas Cruz received mental health support at an earlier stage, or had he not had access to the media stories of previous school shooters, his life and the lives of many others may be different now. It’s easy to consider violent individuals as monsters, but by studying their lives and trying to understand what they went through, it may be possible to identify and offer support to others that see Nikolas Cruz in the same way as he saw the school shooters before him.

References

1. Bushman, B. & Baumeister, R. (1999). Catharsis, Aggression and Persuasive Influence: Self-Fulfilling or Self-Defeating Prophecies? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 76. No. 3. 367-376.
2. Cullen, D. (2019). Parkland: Birth of a Movement. HarperCollins. New York, NY.
3. Griffin, D., Glover, S., Pagliery, J. & Lah, K. (2018, February 16). From ‘Broken Child’ to Mass Killer. CNN. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/16/us/shooter-profile-invs/index.html
4. TIME. (2018). Cell Phone Videos Reveal Florida School Shooting Suspect’s Intentions: ‘You All Will Die’. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHD_lS3WnfM
5. Triandis, H., Bontempo, R. & Villareal, M. (1988). Individualism and Collectivism: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Self-Ingroup Relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 54. No. 2. 323-338.
6. USA Today. (August 2018). Full Interview: Nikolas Cruz Breaks Down During Video Confession of Parkland Shooting. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1VaPS3dSBA&t=34125s
7. Xu, H., Begue L., Bushman, B. (2012). Too Fatigued to Care: Ego Depletion, Guilt and Prosocial Behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2012.03.007.