Ekin Ok
Assistant Professor
- Adapted from: “Suffering saviors: Relationships between perceptions of interpersonal victimhood, the vigilante identity, and the monitoring and punishment of norm violators ”
- Based on Research by: Fan Xuan Chen, Ekin Ok, Karl Aquino
- Journal: Personality and Individual Differences
Key Takeaways
- People may develop a vigilante identity when they perceive themselves as victims in interpersonal relationships, leading them to monitor for signs of wrongdoing and administer unauthorized punishment.
- Those who feel victimized chronically are more likely to adopt a vigilante mindset, which increases their likelihood of punishing others, both online and in real-world settings.
- Studies provide consistent evidence that the vigilante identity is linked to both a heightened desire to monitor for wrongdoings and to deliver punishment, supporting the theoretical model across different contexts.
Pop culture icons who mete out justice outside the law tend to possess a convenient backstory that helps their audience suspend any discomfort with their flouting of established laws or norms associated with bringing wrongdoers to justice. And these days, vigilante justice may be more likely to conjure associations with online activity. But what causes an individual to take up a vigilante identity?
Ekin Ok and her colleagues propose in their paper that perceived victimization may play a role in vigilante identity construction. Through a series of four studies, they test the claim that the propensity to perceive interpersonal victimhood is positively associated with the internalization of a vigilante identity, the strength of which will be linked to a greater inclination to survey the environment for wrongdoings and exercise punishment on alleged norm violators.
This research offers fresh insights into the world of informal policing and third-party punishment. While much of the existing literature assumes that punishers are motivated by prosocial motives, such as maintaining social norms, the group’s findings suggest a different story is also plausible. For some, past victimization can fuel a desire for retribution, channeling aggression toward others as a way to displace unaddressed anger from previous experiences. This complicates the notion of vigilantes as simply "guardians of justice" and introduces a more complex, identity-driven form of aggression.
In addition, Ok and her colleagues show that victimization at any stage of life can lead to aggressive actions well into adulthood, providing a unique lens to understand how past experiences shape future behaviour.
The researchers’ findings have important implications for workplace dynamics. While it may be common to assume that low-power employees are more likely to adopt a vigilante identity, the researchers found that even those in positions of power, such as supervisors, may adopt this mindset if they perceive themselves as victims. This can lead to abusive behavior or excessive punishment of perceived wrongdoers, influenced by personal histories outside of the workplace. Understanding this dynamic is key to managing and preventing workplace vigilantism.