Michael Ostrowsky

Professor of Sociology Southern Utah University

  • Cedar City UT

Sociologist specializing in the topics of education, drug use, deviance, delinquency theories, and violent behavior

Contact

Biography

Dr. Michael Ostrowsky is an associate professor of sociology at Southern Utah University. His research focuses on crime, criminology theory, violent behavior, drug use, and self-esteem.

Dr. Ostrowsky has been teaching at SUU since 2007, and he continues to teach a wide-variety of courses, including: Crime and Society, Demography, Deviance, Environmental Sociology, Introduction to Sociology, Juvenile Delinquency, Modern Social Problems, Research Methods, Social Psychology, Sociology of Drugs, Sociology of Education, and Sociology of Sports.

Dr. Ostrowsky earned a bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of Massachusetts, a masters in sociology from Florida Atlantic University and a Ph.D. in sociology from University at Albany, SUNY.

Industry Expertise

Research
Education/Learning
Writing and Editing

Areas of Expertise

Social Psychology
Delinquency Theories, Trends and Issues
Sociology of Drugs
Violent Behavior in Sports Fans
Applied Research
Sociology
Juvenile Delinquency
Self Esteem
Violent Behavior
Crime
Criminology
Drug Abuse
Sociology of Sports
Alcohol Use and Violent Behavior
Marijuana Use and Violent Behavior
Sociology of Education
Trends in Crime

Education

University of Albany, SUNY

Ph.D.

Sociology

Florida Atlantic University

M.A.

Sociology

University of Massachusetts at Amherst

B.A.

Psychology

Affiliations

  • North American Society for the Sociology of Sport
  • International Sociology of Sport Association
  • American Sociological Association
  • Pacific Sociological Association
  • American Society of Criminology

Media Appearances

Sheriff Stanek's marijuana comments confuse correlation and causation

MinnPost  online

2013-09-20

Actually, the relationship between marijuana and violent crime is still very much up in the air, scientifically speaking. That’s the clear message from a long but painstakingly thorough paper on the topic that was published in the Journal of Drug Education in 2011.

In the paper, Southern Utah University sociologist Michael Ostrowky reviews the leading theories and key research on the relationship between marijuana use and aggressive/violent behavior.

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Articles

“I Got Beat, and He Deserves to Win”: Image Repair Strategies Used by Athletes Who Lost Big Games

Project MUSE

Michael K. Ostrowsky, Kevin A. Stein

2022-07-28

A number of researchers have analyzed the image repair strategies used by athletes who have committed deviant behavior. In stark contrast, little research has examined the image repair strategies used by athletes who have lost big games. Using Benoit’s (2015) theory of image repair, this exploratory study analyzes the image repair strategies used by 44 athletes who lost. The findings reveal that this group of athletes use an extensive amount of bolstering, defeasibility, and corrective action. The results also go beyond Benoit’s typology in a few noteworthy ways. In particular, these athletes showed deference toward their opponents and identified lessons learned. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research.

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Sports Fans, Alcohol Use, and Violent Behavior: A Sociological Review

Trauma, Violence and Abuse

2016-08-31

This review makes four contributions to the sociological study of sports fans, alcohol use, and violent behavior. First, this article focuses explicitly on the relationship between alcohol use and violent behavior among sports fans. This is a worldwide social problem, yet it is quite understudied. Second, this article synthesizes the fragmented literature on alcohol use and violent behavior among sports fans. Third, this article identifies four broad sets of risk factors-sociocultural, event/venue, police, and crowd-that appear to be closely related to violent behavior among sports fans. Finally, to help explain the possible correlation between alcohol and violence among sports fans, this article draws upon the key understandings from the literature on alcohol and violence in wider society. The article concludes with suggestions for future research.

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Taco the Puppy is Super Sick: Student Excuses as a Unique Form of Apologia Rhetoric

Relevant Rhetoric

Kevin Stein and Michael Ostrowsky

2016-01-01

College students use a plethora of excuses in their interactions with professors in order to accomplish​ various goals, such as securing more time to complete an assignment or to obtain a reprieve for an absence. But why? Simply put, some students attempt to limit their responsibility for the negative behaviors necessitating the excuse. Our focus is not on whether the excuse is true, but rather to understand the manner in which students construct messages so that they function to account for their undesirable classroom behaviors.

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Courses

SOC 1010 Introduction to Sociology

Designed to give students a foundation for all future sociological studies. Develops an understanding of the role of social organization on human interaction. Introduces definitions, terms, and concepts used in sociological literature.

SOC 3150 Sociology of Drugs

This introduction to the key terms, concepts, and theoretical perspectives of the sociology of drugs and drug use will broaden students’ understanding of the meaning and impact of drugs on society.

SOC 3270 Sociology of Sports

An introduction to the key terms, concepts, and theoretical perspectives of the sociology of sports will broaden students’ understanding of the meaning and impact of sports on culture and society.

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