The Psychology of Hate Crimes

The Psychology of Hate Crimes

What is a hate crime?

A hate crime is a "criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity."i

What are the effects of hate crimes?

People victimized by violent hate crimes are likely to experience more psychological distress than victims of other violent crimes.ii Specifically, victims of crimes that are bias-motivated are more likely to experience post-traumatic stress, safety concerns, depression, anxiety, and anger than victims of crimes that are not motivated by bias.iii,iv,v

Hate crimes send messages to members of the victim's group that they are unwelcome and unsafe in the community, victimizing the entire group and decreasing feelings of safety and security.vi,vii Witnessing discrimination against one's own group can lead to psychological distress and lower self-esteem.viii

What leads to hate crimes?

Hate crimes are an extreme form of prejudice, made more likely in the context of social and political change. Public and political discourse may devalue members of unfamiliar groups,ix and perpetrators may feel that their livelihood or way-of-life is threatened by demographic changes.x "Hate" is not a necessary motivator; offenders may be motivated by other emotions such as fearxi, angerxii, or disgustxiii, xiv

How prevalent are hate crimes?

The FBI reported 6,121 hate crimes in 2016;xv however, state definitions and statutes vary widely and the majority of hate crimes are never reportedxvi, so these data underestimate the true pervasiveness.

Reported hate crimes in 2016 were motivated by hostility based on race/ethnicity (58.9%), religion (21.1%), sexual orientation (16.7%), gender identity (1.7%), and disability (1.0%).xvii Hate crimes targeted Jewish, African-American, and sexual and gender minority communities at high rates.

The FBI reported a 4.6% increase in hate crimes nationwide from 2015 to 2016, with the largest increase of 19% against Muslimsxviii. Cities such as Washington, D.C.xix and New York Cityxx have also recently reported an increase in hate crimes.

The American Psychological Association (APA) condemns all hate crimes.

APA supports the efforts of researchers, law enforcement, clinicians, teachers, and policy-makers to reduce the prevalence of hate crimes and to alleviate their effects upon victims.xxi We can address hate crimes through the following prevention and intervention policies and programs:

Support implementation of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and full funding for the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, Office for Victims of Crime, and Community Relations Service.

Enact hate crime laws in states lacking legislation and strengthen laws in others, incorporating race, religion, ethnicity/national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability.xxii

Follow law-enforcement and community guidelines outlined by campaigns such as `Building Stronger, Safer Communities' and `Not in Our Town.'

i Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2017). Hate crimes. Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from

ii Herek, G. M., Gillis, J. R., & Cogan, J. C. (1999). Psychological sequelae of hate-crime victimization among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 945-951.

iii Boeckmann, R. J., & Turpin-Petrosino, C. (2002). Understanding the harm of hate crime. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 207-225.

iv Gerstenfeld, P. B. (2011). Hate crimes: Causes, controls, and controversies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

v McDevitt J., Balboni J., Garcia L., & Gu J. (2001). Consequences for victims: A comparison of bias- and non-bias-motivated assaults. American Behavioral Scientist, 45, 697-713. doi:10.1177/0002764201045004010

vi Noelle, M. (2002). The ripple effect of the Matthew Shepard murder: Impact on the assumptive worlds of members of the targeted group. American Behavioral Scientist, 46, 27-50. doi:10.1177/0002764202046001004

vii Bell, J. G., & Perry, B. (2015). Outside looking in: The community impacts of anti-lesbian, gay, and bisexual hate crime. Journal of homosexuality, 62(1), 98-120.

viii McCoy, S. K., & Major, B. (2003). Group identification moderates emotional responses to perceived prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(8), 1005-1017.

ix Franklin, K. (1997). Psychosocial motivations of hate crime perpetrators: Implications from prevention and policy. Paper presented at a congressional briefing co-sponsored by the American Psychological Association and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. Washington, D.C.

x Stacey, M., Carbone-L?pez, K., & Rosenfeld, R. (2011). Demographic change and ethnically motivated crime: The impact of immigration on anti-Hispanic hate crime in the United States. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 27(3), 278-298.

xi Ray, L. and Smith, D. (2002) `Hate crime, violence and cultures of racism', in Iganski, P. (ed.) The hate debate: Should hate be punished as a crime? London: Profile Books, pp. 88?102.

xii Ray, L., Smith, D. and Wastell, L. (2004) Shame, rage and racist violence. British Journal of Criminology, 44(3), 350?68

xiii Cottrell, C. A. and Neuberg, S. L. (2005) `Different emotional reactions to different groups: A sociofunctional threat-based approach to "Prejudice"', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(5), 770?89.

xiv Mackie, D. M. and Smith, E. R. (2015) `Intergroup emotions', in Mikulincer, M. and Shaver, P. R. (eds.) APA handbook of personality and social psychology. Washington: American Psychological Association, pp. 1?31.

xv Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2016). Hate crime statistics, 2016. Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from .

xvi Hauslohner, A. (November, 2017). Hate crimes reports are soaring ? but we still don't know how many people are victimized. Washington Post. Retrieved from .

xvii Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2016). Incidents, Offenses, Victims, and Known Offenders. Retrieved from

xviii Willingham, AJ. (November, 2017). Hate crimes rose in 2016, especially against Muslims and whites. CNN. Retrieved from .

xix D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. (2017). Bias-related crimes (hate crimes) data. Retrieved from

xx Paybarah, A., & Cheney, B. (2017, February 15). NYPD: Hate crimes rise in 2017, led by anti-Semitic incidents. Politico. Retrieved from

xxi Paige, R. U. (2005). Proceedings of the American Psychological Association, Incorporated, for the legislative year 2004. Minutes of the meeting of the Council of Representatives July 28 & 30, 2004, Honolulu, HI. (To be published in Volume 60, Issue Number 5 of the American Psychologist.)

xxii Anti-Defamation League. (2016). #50StatesAgainstHate: An initiative for stronger hate crime laws. Retrieved from

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