TOWARD A SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE OF WOULD-BE RIOTERS

Male ice hockey fans (N = 78) completed a battery of biographical, soc ial, cognitive, and individual differences measures that had previousl y been administered piecemeal to spectators found in attendance at gam es. Participants' self-reported likelihood of joining in a crowd distu rbance served as the dependent measure. The individual differences mea sures included physical aggression, anger, impulsivity, psychopathy, s ensation seeking, and public self-consciousness. All but public self-c onsciousness was positively related to subjects' likelihood of escalat ing a disturbance. Participants' age, number of accompanying males, th e false consensus effect, number and recency of fights, and attending in anticipation of watching player fights were also related to the dep endent measure. A multiple regression analysis yielded a multiple R = .807, accounting for 65% of the variance. The time since the participa nt was last in a fight and liking to watch player fights emerged as si gnificant predictors. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.