Perceiving the enemy within optimistic bias and school violence

The study provides a unique portrait of young men self-identified as potential perpetrators of school violence, and explores the relative contributions of personal attributes and the media in the creation and preservation of optimistic biases. The study is the first to document optimistic bias among middle and high school students within the context of school violence. Findings from a survey of 1,500 students indicate that optimistic bias provides a good framework for understanding students' perceptions of school violence, suggesting a course of action to decrease bias in order to encourage students to take self-protective measures.