Some personality factors in reaction to aggressive stimuli

A word association test which included aggressive stimuli (weapon names) was given to college students. Those whose responses were relatively high or low in emotionality were asked to participate in a “study of stress reactions to electric shock” When the subject arrived at the laboratory, he and a partner were given tasks to perform The partner, a confederate of the experimenter, gave the subject an unfairly high number of shocks in judging the subject's performance The subject then judged the partner's work, using shock Half the subjects were in the apparently accidental presence of guns when given the chance to retaliate Among low-emotionality subjects, the presence of guns increased the number of shocks given the partner, as Berkowitz and LePage found High-emotionality subjects tended to give the partner longer shocks than low subjects, whether guns were present or not. In contrast to the low subjects, when guns were present, highs tended to give shocks of shorter duration and to report lowered anger, as if the aggressive stimuli had dampened the intensity of their reaction. The results as a whole indicate that the perceptual set for aggressive stimuli and the presence of such stimuli have an interactive effect on aggressive tendencies     

Instigation to aggress and escalation of aggression examined from a personological perspective: The role of irritability and of emotional susceptibility

Two studies were conducted using Buss hostility machine paradigm to investigate the role of individual differences in irritability and emotional susceptibility on the instigation to aggress by a self-esteem lowering manipulation and on the hypothesized escalation of aggression over trials. The role of sex was also examined. In the first study, 60 highly irritable and 60 low irritable subjects were given the opportunity to deliver electric shocks to an experimental confederate, half after being provoked by a negative judgement on their performance in a learning task, half without such an experience. Each group of subjects was divided equally between males and females. It was found that highly irritable subjects, both males and females, delivered higher shocks after provocation than low irritable subjects under similar circumstances. An upward drift of shock level over trials was found only in provoked males and only in highly irritable females. In the second study, 60 highly emotionally susceptible and 60 low emotionally susceptible males and females were given the opportunity to deliver electric shocks to an experimental confederate, half after experiencing provocation, half without such an experience. It was found that provoked subjects delivered higher shocks than unprovoked subjects and that highly emotionally susceptible subjects delivered higher shocks than low emotionally susceptible subjects. Whereas an upward drift of shock levels over trials was found only in provoked males, the same effect was found in females, whether provoked or not. These findings are discussed in terms of the importance of stable personality characteristics that may mediate aggressive response.     

Withdrawal,matching, withdrawal-matching,and variable-matching strategies in reducing attack-instigated aggression

Several studies have investigated strategies that a participant in dyadic aggression may use to reduce the aggression of the other participant. In one set of these studies the subject is instigated to aggression by an opponent who sets maximum shocks for the subject to receive during the first block of six trials. Following attack-instigation, opponents shift to withdrawal and matching strategies for 18 trials. The withdrawal strategy is an abrupt shift to the lowest levels of shock possible. The matching strategy is the exact matching by an opponent of the shock set by the subject on the previous trial. With these procedures the withdrawal strategy has been the most effective method to reduce aggression. These results led to the suggestion that the effectiveness of the withdrawal strategy may be due to immediate, unambiguous communication by the opponent of his willingness to reduce attack. This hypothesis was tested in the present study by creating a matching condition modified to include immediate, unambiguous communication of willingness to reduce attack. In this withdrawal-matching condition the opponent followed attack with two trials of the lowest levels of shock before shifting to a matching strategy. Although the withdrawal-matching strategy did not lead to shock settings that were significantly lower than the matching strategy, there was evidence that subjects interacting with withdrawal-matching opponents did reduce their shock settings from block 1 to block 4 more rapidly than subjects interacting with matching opponents. A variable matching strategy was also used to provide a more realistic analogy of matching in the mundane world. While subjects with variable-matching opponents also did not set shock levels during blocks 2, 3, and 4 that were significantly lower than the matching strategy, there was evidence that subjects in this condition reduced their shock levels more rapidly than subjects with matching opponents. Although the effects were not as strong as expected, the results do provide some support for the interpretation that the effectiveness of the withdrawal strategy may be due to unambiguous communication of willingness by the opponent to reduce his or her aggression. The effectiveness of the variable-matching strategy was attributed to interrupting the tendency of the subject and his or her opponent to match each other's responses. Consistent with earlier attack-instigated aggression studies, the withdrawal strategy in the present study led to a rapid reduction in aggression.     

Effects of status of attacker and intensity of attack on the intensity of counter-aggression1

Male college students were exposed to a Same, Lower, or Higher status confederate, and to a small or large number of electric shocks from the stooge. Subjects in the Same and High status conditions were more counter-aggressive, both in terms of mean intensity and number of shocks, than subjects exposed to a Low status confederate. These results are in contradiction to the related human and animal data, which have generally indicated that more aggression is directed toward low rather than high status persons The major implications of the present data for other research in this area are (1) the importance of varying status of the attacked as well as status of the attacker, (2) the necessity for systematically varying the different dimensions of “status,” e g, functional (i e, powerful) vs. nonfunctional aspects of status, (3) the importance of looking at different kinds of aggression, e g, physical as well as verbal, (4) the importance of systematically assessing the subject's perceptions of the attacker and the subject's own emotions–arousal, anxiety, guilt, etc at the time of the attack, and (5) the potential for studying variables that determine aggressive and altruistic behavior within the same experimental context.     

Dissimilation,differential assimilation and social identity

Studied the behaviour of subjects in a ‘normalization’ experiment: when a consistent confederate adopts the subject's norms (adoption situation); when the consistent response of the confederate deviates from the subject's norm (distance situation). We had three conditions for each of these two modes of response: we manipulated the C's image (C was always similar to the subject), and the image of a reference population: C and S were both either very similar (C and S in the majority) or very dissimilar (C and S in the minority) to the population. Or there was no image manipulation. Sixty male subjects participated in this experiment: 10 subjects in each of the six experimental conditions. In two adoption conditions (no image, C and S in the majority) the subjects changed their responses when the confederate adopted their norm. Our hypothesis on the resistance to influence in one of the distance condition (C and S in the minority) was not verified. Thus we have shown that a phenomenon of differential dissimilation exists, but our previous results on differential assimilation are not replicated. These results are coherent with the social differentiation and originality theory which stresses the quest for social identity and distinctiveness by actors who do not ‘react’ but who, in certains situations, elaborate strategies.     

THE DISCLOSURE-LIKING RELATIONSHIP

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of a perceiver's own disclosure on attraction for self-disclosing others. In Experiment 1, female undergraduates selected two topics and disclosed information on them to a confederate partner. This disclosure occurred either before or after the confederate disclosed information on three different topics that were either high or low in intimacy. Based on self-perception theory, it was predicted and found that intimacy of the subject's self-disclosure would be positively correlated with attraction for the confederate when the subject disclosed before her partner but not when she disclosed after her partner. A second prediction that subjects would be attracted toward a highly intimate partner only if they had previously disclosed was not confirmed. Instead, attraction for the confederate was greater when she had disclosed before the subject and when she had disclosed intimately. Experiment 2 varied the intimacy of the response of a partner to the subject's initial self-disclosure and whether this response dealt with the same topics or different topics. It was found that attraction was greater for an intimate than a nonintimate partner when topics for disclosure were the same. When disclosure topics were different, there was no significant difference in attraction for the intimate and nonintimate partner. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the disclosure-liking hypothesis.     

Facilitation of physical aggression through objective self-awareness

Based on a theory of self-awareness it was hypothesized that induced attention to the self would facilitate aggression if the salient standard of behavior was one in which high aggression was positively valued. Female subjects were given an opportunity to shock a male confederate of the experimenter in a presumed learning experiment. Self-awareness was induced in half the subjects by the presence of a mirror. The Mirror group delivered significantly higher shocks to the confederate than did the No-Mirror control group.     

Third party instigation of aggression as a function of attack and vulnerability

Subjects serving as advisors instructed a confederate which shock intensity to deliver to an opponent in a reaction-time competition; subjects could also directly aggress by setting shock for the opponent's partner. Vulnerable subjects (shock electrode on) both instigated less aggression, i.e., suggested that less intense shocks be set, and directly aggressed less frequently than nonvulnerable subjects (no shock electrode). Attacked subjects, those for whom the opponents set shock, both instigated more aggression and more frequently set shock than did nonattacked subjects. The relationship between vulnerability and attack was additive for instigative aggression and multiplicative for direct aggression. Both modes of aggression were significantly influenced by the intensity of provocation from the opponents.     

The reduction of attack instigated aggression

Thirty subjects competed with an opponent in a reaction time task to avoid receiving shock. The opponent initially set only the highest possible intensity shock for the subjects. The opponent then adopted one of three strategies to reduce the intensity of shocks set by the subjects. In one condition the opponent set shock intensities which matched those set by the subject. In a second condition the opponent set shocks which were not contingent upon those set by the subject but which were identical to those set by the opponent who matched the subject's settings. The opponent in the third condition suddenly reduced the intensity of his settings and chose only the least intense possible shock for the subject. All three conditions resulted in reduced aggression. This decrement was greatest and most rapid among those subjects who were exposed to a precipitous decrease in the intensity of attack.     

Effects of a stimulus associated with a victim's pain on later aggression.

Male college students participated in an experiment designed to associate a neutral stimulus with a victim's pain and then to assess the impact of the paired stimulus on their aggression. The subjects were either provoked or not provoked by a confederate's shock evaluation. They then observed a flashing white light that was associated with either their former evaluator's pain or an irrelevant, affectively neutral event. The subjects then administered electric shocks to a different confederate, with whom they had not interacted previously, at the flash of both the familiar white light (the conditioned stimulus) and a novel blue light. Results supported the prediction that provoked subjects would give more intense shocks to the conditioned stimulus when it had been associated with their evaluator's pain. Unprovoked subjects were found to give less intense shocks to the light that had been associated with their evaluator's pain.     

THE EFFECT OF MODELLING ON DRINKING RATE

Three male college seniors were asked to drink beer at their normal rate in a simulated tavern setting. Each was paired with a confederate, also a male college senior, in an ABACA single subject design. In the baseline conditions, the confederate matched the drinking rate of the subject. Baseline and all subsequent conditions were continued in 1-hr sessions until a stable drinking rate was achieved. In Condition B, the confederate drank either one third more or one third less than the subject's baseline rate. In Condition C, the direction was reversed. All three subjects closely matched the confederate's drinking rate, whether high or low. All subjects reported they were unaware of the true purpose of the study.     

The effects of verbal and behavioral noncompliance on third party instigation of aggression

Females, assigned to one of four conditions defined in terms of a confederate's behavior, suggested which shock intensity the confederate ought to set for an opponent during a reaction time competition, should the opponent lose the trial (had slower reaction time). Confederates either verbally complied or disagreed with suggestions to set high shock, while either actually setting the intensity suggested or setting a lower intensity. Over trials, the opponent became increasingly provocative. Results revealed the main effects and interaction of confederate's verbal and actual behaviors, as well as provocativeness of the opponent, significantly influenced the level of shock subjects suggested. Subjects with verbally and behaviorally compliant confederates suggested more intense shock than subjects who encountered any noncompliance.     

The mediation of aggressive behavior: arousal level versus anger and cognitive labeling.

The principal goal of the present research was to contrast the arousal-level and cognitive-labeling (anger) interpretations of aggressive behavior. In a 2 X 5 factorial between-subjects design, subjects were first either insulated or treated neutrally by a confederate. Four fifths of the subjects then received on each of 50 trials a 10-sec tone sequence while deciding whether or not to give an "electric shock" to the confederate. The stimulation was either simple (4.00 bits/tone) or complex (9.17 bits/tone) and was presented at either a comfortable (73-d.) or an aversively loud (97-db.) level. A group was assigned to each of the four stimulation treatments. The remaining subjects received no stimulation. In terms of the total number of shocks administered by subjects in different groups, the cognitive-labeling hypothesis was strongly supported. Both complexity and loudness had an effect, but only on insulted subjects. Other implications of the results were discussed.     

Third party instigated aggression as a function of attack pattern and a nonaggressive response option

In the present study, subjects suggested what shock intensity a confederate should set for her opponent in a reaction time competition. Opponents displayed one of three attack patterns: increasing, decreasing, or minimal provocation. Also, for half the subjects a “no shock” option was available. A control group who had the nonaggressive option and for whom the opponent was nonaggressive (always chose “no shock”) was included. Results revealed that subjects' responses were governed by the norm of reciprocity; also the option reduced instigative aggression for subjects encountering increasing and decreasing provocation, while elevating aggressive response when the opponent was minimally provocative. Results are discussed in terms of attribution and locus of control.     

It's not who you are but who you're with: Self-Confidence in achievement settings

This study examined the effects of two social cues on women's and men's self-confidence: the sex and performance of another in an achievement setting. Before trying to solve 60 anagrams, women expected to perform more poorly than men. In addition, both sexes expected to perform more poorly when paired with a male confederate than when paired with a female confederate. The effect of the partner's sex showed up in anagram performance: people with a female partner solved more anagrams than people with a male partner. The effect of subject's sex on performance was unexpected: women solved more anagrams than men. After the task, sex differences in self-confidence disappeared; neither sex of subject nor sex of partner influenced self-confidence. The partner's performance, however, had a strong effect on everyone: people were less self-confident if they had worked with a high-scoring partner. The pattern of results suggests that sex-of-subject differences in self-confidence, while important, are less powerful than the effects wielded by the sex of others in achievement settings.     

Effects of attack and uncontrollable noise on aggression

After being either attacked or treated in a more neutral manner by an experimental confederate, male subjects shocked the confederate while being stimulated by loud noise. Among previously attacked subjects, possession of control over offset of the noise led to the delivery of shocks significantly shorter in duration than those given by subjects who did not have control. Mere predictability of noise offset did not have the same effect. Subjects who could control the noise did not differ from those who heard no noise with respect to the duration of shocks given. Noise had no effect on shock duration among nonattacked subjects. In a follow-up study subjects who were given bogus information that they were aroused by noise were less punitive toward an attacking confederate than subjects given no such information. The overall conclusion is that noise facilitates aggression in subjects who have been instigated to aggress to the degree that noise-produced arousal is misattributed to the instigating stimulus.     

Annoyance, type and duration of postannoyance activity, and aggression: the "cathartic effect".

A series of experiments was conducted to elucidate the conditions conductive to a decrease in aggression following annoyance. The potential capacity of expression of aggression to bring about a reduction in the amount of subsequent aggression was of particular interest. This empirical concern was supplemented by tests of several influential and competing theoretical concepts dealing with the cathartic aspects of human aggressive behavior. Given the failure of such concepts to account for major portions of the data, an integrative theoretical model was proposed. experiment 1 evaluated the usefulness of the hydraulic, self-arousal, and dissipation of anger concepts in accounting for the earlier demonstrations of the cathartic effect. In a 2 x 3 x 2 design, half of the subjects were annoyed by a confederate, while the other half were treated neutrally. During the next stage (the interpolated period), a third of all subjects gave "shocks" to the confederate, another third simply waited, while the remaining third worked on mathematical problems. Orthogonal to the first two facotrs was the duration of the interpolated period (7 to 13 min). The main dependent measure was the number of shocks administered to the confederate in the final stage of the experiment. It was found that annoyed subjects gave more shocks than nonannoyed ones did, and that only the former were substantially affected by other manipulations. In the case of the annoyed wait and annoyed math subjects, the anger dissipation hypothesis correctly predicted that the mere passage of time would decrease the amount of subsequent aggression, presumably due to the action of homeostatic processes. The self-arousal hypothesis correctly predicted that the annoyed math subjects would give fewer shocks than the annoyed wait ones would. Since the subjects were engaged in an absorbing activity, the likelihood of their arousing themselves by ruminations about the preceding annoying incident was minimized, and the amount of subsequent aggression reduced. Yet, when annoyed subjects had given the confederate a moderate number of shocks in the interpolated period, they subsequently gave him fewer shocks than the 7-min annoyed wait and annoyed math subjects; this was the only outcome predicted correctly by the hydraulic model. In contrast, when a large number of shocks had been administered in the interpolated period, the amount of subsequent aggression was relatively high. The interpretation of the latter result in terms of an "adaption effect" was tested by further experiments.     

GENERALIZATION EFFECTS FROM INTRATHERAPY ARTICULATION TRAINING: A CASE STUDY1

This study analyzed generalization effects found associated with a language-training intervention to modify the articulation (/f/ phoneme) of a 3.5-year-old boy. The McLean and Raymore Stimulus Shift Articulation Program was implemented by the subject's mother. This language training program is designed to produce setting generalization effects based on an intratherapy training model (i.e., systematic training is applied in a single setting to promote transfer effects to nontraining environments). The intervention resulted in a significant improvement in the subject's production of the /f/ phoneme within the clinical setting in response to untrained stimuli (stimulus generalization). Additionally, the subject's correct phoneme production was observed to generalize to his home and school settings (setting generalization) under “opportunity loaded” (picture prompts) and “spontaneous” (no prompts) conditions. The results provide case-study evidence that stimulus generalization, both within and across settings, may occur with exclusively intratherapy articulation training.     

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.     

Physical aggression as a function of objective self-awareness and attitudes toward punishment

Based on a theory of self-awareness, it was hypothesized that subjects would use their attitudes to determine their behaviors when (a) that attitude was salient and (b) their attention was directed toward themselves. Subjects, who on questionnaires had indicated that they opposed or condoned the use of punishment, were given the opportunity to shock a male confederate in two (bogus) learning experiments. Each subject was instructed to use his own attitude in choosing shocks to punish incorrect responses. Self-awareness was increased among half the subjects by the presence of a mirror. In each experiment a Punitiveness by self-awareness interaction resulted: High Punitive-Mirror subjects shocked higher than Low Punitive-Mirror subjects, but their respective No Mirror controls did not differ from each other.