American International Journal of Social Science

The Case for Collective Hate: Simulating the Formation of Hate Groups
Dr. Clairissa D. Breen

Abstract
The purpose of this research is to employ simulation modeling to test theories of group formation as they pertain to hate groups: groups whose hate ideology may or may not condone violent criminal behavior. As of 2010, there were 1002 hate groups known to be active in the United States. Previous examinations of hate groups have assumed formation. This paper uses simulation modeling to test Hamm’s (2004) criminological theory of collective hate. Simulation modeling is designed to create a computer simulation that simplifies people and their interactions to mimic a real world event or phenomena. Two different experiments were tested using three models of hate group formation. These experiments test the importance of personal and societal levels of hate in group formation. These experiments also tested hypotheses regarding the number of groups that form, the speed of formation and group size. Data to test these hypotheses was collected from Thirteen thousand model iterations. All models successfully generated hate groups. Hate groups were generated at all levels of societal hate. An in-depth understanding of how hate groups form may assist in slowing the proliferation of these groups and decreasing their appeal.

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