In Cold Weather We Bark, But in Hot Weather We Bite
Patterns in Social Media Anger, Aggressive Behavior, and Temperature
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21314780 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Heather R Stevens (0000-0002-8702-6355, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, corresponding author), Petra L Graham (0000-0003-2890-2447, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), Paul J Beggs (0000-0001-9949-1783, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), Ivan C Hanigan (0000-0002-6360-6793, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 787-805 |
| Publication date | 2021-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environment and Behavior (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-9165 • E-ISSN: 1552-390X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0013916520937455 |
| OpenAlex | W3037817039 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 28 |
Hotter weather is associated with aggressive crime. However, it is not well known if similar relationships apply to online aggression. This study uses anger counts derived from Twitter posts (tweets) and assault counts in New South Wales, Australia, to investigate if they share a similar relationship with temperature, and to determine if online anger is a predictor of assault. Results indicated that the relationships were largely inverse—assault counts were higher in summer than winter, while angry tweet counts were lower. As daily maximum temperatures rose, assault counts increased while angry tweet counts decreased. Angry tweet counts were inversely associated with assaults, with an increase in tweets signaling decreasing assaults. There are several plausible explanations for the dissimilarities including the impact of temperature on behavior, socio-demographic differences, and data collection methods. The findings of this study add to the growing literature in social media emotion and its relationship with temperature
Aggression · Anger · Political science · Social media · Sociology · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression · Demography · Media Influence and Health · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology
Heat and Violence
Diurnal and Seasonal Mood Vary with Work, Sleep, and Daylength Across Diverse Cultures
The General Aggression Model
Temperature and aggression
Predicting crime using Twitter and kernel density estimation
Climate and Conflict
Climate and happiness
Understanding the predictive power of social media
In defense of the negative affect escape model of heat and aggression
Aggression and heat
Aggression as a function of ambient temperature and prior anger arousal
Temperature and aggression
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1.5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |