Schedule-induced aggression in humans and animals: A comparative parametric review

Studies of animal and human aggression induced by schedules of reinforcement are reviewed. Parameters reviewed include: schedules, characteristics of induced aggression, subject variables, target variables, and the control or modification of schedule-induced aggression. With the exception of temporal locus of schedule-induced attack, the parameters identified with animal subjects are remarkably similar to those identified with human subjects.     

Receiver operating characteristics from nonhuman animals: Some implications and directions for research with humans

Reviews of signal detection have largely overlooked the research involving nonhuman animal subjects. Some of this research is presented and reanalyzed here. Plots of receiver operating characteristics show that human and nonhuman signal-detection performance is very similar. The studies emphasize the series of discriminations that comprise signal-detection tasks and illustrate the systematic effects of different methods of arranging payoffs or feedback, of the consistency of that feedback, and of the physical disparity between response alternatives. The data provide some support for recent theoretical accounts that favor a criterion location measure of isobias over the likelihood ratio, but they also suggest that more systematic work is required in this area. Overall, this research supports many contemporary views concerning signal detection, and it provides an alternative way of looking at some recurrent issues. It also suggests that extensions of signal detection to analyze data from other research paradigms require some caution, and it offers directions for complementary research with human subjects.     

Status‐based expectancies for aggression,with regard to gender differences in aggression in social psychological research

Meta‐analyses of social psychological research have identified gender differences in aggression [Bettencourt and Miller, 1996; Eagly and Steffen, 1986], which have been understood to date in terms of social role theory [Eagly, 1987]. The present studies examined the hypothesis that women's lower status relative to men can account for these observed differences. Participants in Study 1 were presented low‐ and high‐status targets, with status unconfounded with gender, and reported their perceptions of these targets' aggression. Perceptions were for features addressed in the meta‐analyses. As expected, low‐ relative to high‐status individuals were generally perceived in a manner analogous to how women relative to men are portrayed in the meta‐analyses. Participants in Study 2 reported on their perceptions of women's and men's aggression; findings also generally conformed to those of the meta‐analyses. Findings are discussed in terms of a status account of gender. Aggr. Behav. 31:000–000, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Sex differences in instigative aggression

The instigative aggression paradigm, in which male and female subjects instructed a female confederate which shock to set for an opponent in a competitive reaction time task, was employed. It was observed that males instigated more aggression than females and that both passive and assertive noncooperation effectively reduced instigative aggression, the assertive form of noncooperation being only slightly less effective. Questionnaire data suggested that females found the passive noncooperator most desirable while males found her least so. Results were discussed in terms of violation of task role and sex role expectations.     

Some vicissitudes of aggression in the interpretive process.

Interpretation is a product of compromise formation that requires optimal use of the analyst's aggression to be an effective analytic intervention. Aggressive aims useful for the interpretive act are problematic for analysts and have led both to clinical difficulties and to various theoretical reactions against considering interpretation essential for analytic progress. In analysis, diverging aims of analyst and patient are highlighted in connection with the analyst's function as interpreter. The interactions between patient and analyst pertaining to interpretation provide insights into the patient's intrapsychic conflicts that may be less apparent in other material.     

Sex differences in physical,verbal, and indirect aggression: A review of recent research

In the present article, recent research on sex differences in aggressive styles is reviewed. The concept of indirect aggression is particularly presented and discussed. It is argued that it is incorrect, or rather, nonsensical, to claim that males are more aggressive than females. A theory regarding the development of styles of aggressive behavior is presented.     

Ethical recommendations for workers on aggression and predation in animals

The recommendations of a recent workshop (Leiden, Netherlands, November 17–18, 1990) concerning the use of animals in research on aggression and predation are listed. Major considerations included the grade of organisation/level of development of the organism, the duration and intensity of the interaction, post-treatment factors, the number of animals and reuse of animals. It is hoped that the recommendations will help scientists working in these areas to consider the increasingly important ethical dimension.     

An extended apparatus for measuring aggression in humans

An extension of Buss’s device for measuring human aggression is described, and the status of aggressive response latency as an indicator of aggressive motivation is discussed. An experiment is described in which measures of latency correlated negatively with those of shock intensity, and both discriminated between Ss who were motivated to aggress and those who were not.     

Individual differences and measures of aggression in laboratory studies

After inducing hostility toward a confederate by threatening subjects' self-esteem, subjects were then given the opportunity either to deliver shocks (Experiment 1) or to withhold rewards (Experiment 2) from their confederate. Physiological measures were taken prior to the hostility induction, shortly after the induction and, finally, after the opportunity to aggress. Measures of individual differences relating to aggressive behavior were also considered. While the experimental manipulation was the best predictor in the ‘withholding rewards’ condition, measures of dissipation-rumination tendencies and emotional vulnerability were the best predictors in the ‘shock administration’ condition. In both conditions, systolic blood pressure seemed to reflect differences in arousal as a function of the hostility induction procedure, while subjects in the withhold rewards procedure also showed a decrease in systolic pressure after having an opportunity to aggress toward the confederate. It was concluded that not only is the withholding of rewards a more ethically acceptable procedure than shock administration, but it is also more likely to reflect experimental rather than individual difference affects.     

Sex differences in genetic and environmental effects on aggression

The aim of the present study was to investigate the genetic and environmental factors influencing teacher and parental rated aggression in boys and girls, asking whether the magnitude of these effects is similar across rater and sex. The study is part of an ongoing nationwide twin‐family study of behavioral development and health habits carried out in Finland. The sample consisted of 1651 twin pairs (264 monozygotic male, 300 monozygotic female, 292 dizygotic male, 278 dizygotic female, and 517 dizygotic opposite‐sex twin pairs), representing subsets of five 11‐ to 12‐year‐old twin cohorts (b. 1983–1987). The data were collected using the teacher and parental rating forms of the Multidimensional Peer Nomination Inventory. Structural equation models of sex‐limitation assessed sex differences in genetic and environmental influences on aggression. The results suggested significant genetic, common environmental, and specific environmental effects on aggression in both boys and girls, but the best fitting model differed depending on the informant. For both ratings, boys showed lower levels of heritability and higher levels of common environment than girls. In addition, the teacher rating data also suggested the presence of either sex‐specific common environmental effects or sex‐specific genetic effects. Support is provided also for sibling contrast effects, either at the behavioral level or as a rater bias. Aggr. Behav. 29:55–68, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Offensive and defensive aggression in humans: A longitudinal perspective

Offensive and defensive aggression were distinguished on the basis of associated events. Behavior delivering noxious stimuli was defined as defensive when it was a response a threatening situation and as offensive when it was an unprovoked act. The existence of a general aggression factor was implied by the finding that initiators of aggression also readily defend themselves if attacked. The use of a peer nomination and teacher rating variable for offensive aggression, “Attacks without reason, teases others, naughty things”; and another for defensive aggression, “Defends him/herself if teased, but does not tease or attack others without reason,” yielded differential results. Offensive aggression at age 14 was significantly predicted by aggressive behavior age 8, while defensive aggression was not. Intercorrelations of rating variables at 14 showed that offensive aggression was related to weak self-control and defensive aggression to strong self-control. Only offensive aggression at age 14 predicted criminality at age 20. The results indicate a diversity of motivations for aggressive behaviors, as suggested by observations on animal behavior.     

Reactive and proactive aggression: Similarities and differences

The purpose of the current study was to elaborate the nomological net surrounding the constructs of reactive (RA) and proactive aggression (PA). Typically examined in the context of children, the current study utilized a sample of 211 young adults to examine the relations between reactive and proactive aggression and measures of general personality and social information processing, as well as maladaptive behavioral correlates such as crime, substance use, and riskier sex. Both raw and residualized scores were examined. Using raw scores, the primary differences between RA and PA were related to Neuroticism (i.e., RA more strongly related) and externalizing behaviors (i.e., PA more strongly). The authors comment on the similarity of findings when using raw scores and the divergence of findings using residualized scores and argue for a cautious interpretation of differences based on residualized scores. The authors conclude that the role of Neuroticism warrants further exploration as a means for understanding the heterogeneity of aggressive behavior.     

The Sabbath and mental health intervention: Some parallels

This paper attempts to draw analogies between the Sabbath and certain mental health interventions. These interventions are derived from a family centered education program developed by the author for teachers and student and related to social group work. Five interventions characterizing this program were extracted and compared with Abraham Joshua Heschel's philosophy of the Sabbath: simulation, here-and-now emphasis, private reflection, emphasis on process, and positive feedback. The author concludes that both the Sabbath and family centered education oriented interventions should reinforce a deeper understanding and appreciation of one another.Joseph H. Golner, Ed. D., is in the private practice of clinical social work at 15 Elwell Road, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.