Violence in SL

I was reading a story entitled, “Humans Crave Violence Just Like Sex” at http://www.livescience.com/health/080117-violent-cravings.html. A short while later in SL, I teleported onto an island where I was greeted by three avatars. Comments were made about the tag over my head stating “Gator Fan”. I guess one of the avatars is a UT fan as we momentarily slipped into RL. I was quickly brought back to SL when another avatar came down on my back and I saw the chat dialogue stating, “SLAP, SLAP”. Was I being attacked from behind? I wondered if the article was correct about the human attraction to violence and whether SL was another venue to explore violent tendencies.

I turned to confront my attacker only to learn he had already moved away from me. I realized he was part of a very active mob that had congregated. I was close enough that the chat dialogue continued on my screen and included several more SLAPS. Do CAPS signify the intensity of the slapping? From what I could tell, the frenzied group was beating up on one avatar. Even an avatar of Snoopy with Woodstock on his shoulder joined the melee. Did Charles Schultz ever imagine that his lovable beagle would turn rabid and become a griefer (at least, I’m guessing that’s who they were delivering the beating)?

The title of the article was slightly misleading in that scientists studied the reward pathway in the brains of mice. Based on findings of the study, the suggestion is put forth that the brain of a mouse is analogous to human brains. Of course, the rise in popularity of extreme mixed martial arts fighting, girl fights on YouTube, and violent video games may substantiate the mouse study. Yet, I had to wonder to what extent do people engage in behaviors outside of RL social norms in SL. I realize I asked a similar question in a previous post but it's a question that I find fascinating.