Sport-related aggression, violence and victimizationAggression, violence and victimization are remarkably dynamic terms. How these terms are understood and defined is determined by formal and informal social policies and controls (Goldstein, 1986). By excluding assertiveness from the definition of aggression as it relates to violence, aggression can be considered to encompass behaviors intended to cause physical or psychological harm. Violence can be understood as an extreme form of aggression in which the perpetrator's intention is to cause serious harm (Berkowitz, 1993). Anthropological research on various non-Western cultures demonstrates that aggression and violence are not necessarily inevitable, nor universal (Goldstein, 1986). Like words and mannerisms, as Elias points out, concepts evolve over time and vary across and within cultures (Fletcher, 1997). Both aggression and violence are integral to understanding victimization. Victimization involves the attacker's goal of maintaining and imposing power and dominance (Berkowitz, 1993). Before a more formal social organization, Elias (1986) argues that victims took the law into their own hands. Eventually, the crime was seen as committed against the state and not the victim, a development that pushed victims out of their criminal justice role. Consistent with themes of domination and power, Elias (1986) also suggests that specific groups, such as women, may be targets of social or cultural attitudes that perpetuate myths to justify victimization and, by extension, violence, drawing on concepts such as social Darwinism and the belief in a “just world”. Although animal studies have indicated that electrical stimulation of certain parts of an animal's chest...... middle of paper ...... An introduction to the work of Norbert Elias. Oxford, United Kingdom. Polity Press, 6-30. Berkowitz L. (1993). The problem of aggression. Aggression: its causes, consequences and control. New York. McGraw Hill, 1-23. Goldstein, J. (1986). The nature of human aggression. Assault and violent crimes. New York. Oxford University Press, 3-29. Campbell, A. (1993). Cultural lessons about aggression. Men, Women and Aggression: From Marriage Rage to Street Violence – How Gender Affects the Way We Act. New York. Basic Books, 1-18. Elias, R. (1986). Rising stars: victims and victimology. The politics of victimization: victims, victimology and human rights. New York. Oxford University Press, 9-26. Young, K. (2007). From violence in sport to sport-related violence: broadening the scope. Sport in Society: A Student Introduction, Second Edition. London. Sage Publications.