Criminal behavior driven by resentment of more successful people

Many armed robbers have a chip on their shoulders and view life as inherently unfair, says criminologist Richard Wright, a professor at the University of Missouri at St. Louis and co-author of Armed Robbers in Action: Stickups and Street Culture. As a result, they often see someone else's success as a reminder of their own failure and inferiority. Worse still, they interpret outward signs of another's prosperity as a personal affront. "When they see people flaunting their wealth or driving fancy cars, they see that as an attempt to put them down," Wright says. For this reason, robbers are especially apt to target people who are flaunting material possessions or even just displaying a cocky, superior attitude. Street predators have their own word for such behavior—"flossing"—and it infuriates them. "It's a very visible reminder of their situation," Wright adds, "of being poor, that they've got nothing in their pockets." - Psychology Today