Laboratory and questionnaire measures of aggression among female parolees with violent or nonviolent histories

Female parolees were recruited into a laboratory study to determine the relationship between their previous aggression history, questionnaire measures of aggression, and behavioral measures of aggressive responding using a laboratory methodology: the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP). Subjects were assigned to a violent or nonviolent group based on their criminal history. Subjects participated in sessions in which they were given three response options: (1) nonaggressive responding that earned money, (2) aggressive responding that ostensibly subtracted money from another fictitious person and was defined as aggressive since it resulted in the ostensible delivery of an aversive stimulus (subtraction of money) to another person, and (3) escape responding that protected the subject's earnings from periodic subtractions initiated by the fictitious other person. Results indicated that the violent female parolees emitted significantly more aggressive responses than subjects in the nonviolent group. This study provides additional external validity as well as evidence for convergent and discriminant validity for PSAP laboratory measurement of human aggressive responding and extends these findings to female parolees. Comparisons to previously published data with male parolees showed that gender differences were found among violent but not nonviolent parolees. Aggr. Behav. 26:291–307, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Conflict resolution in women is related to trait aggression and menstrual cycle phase

Twenty‐four women with a diagnosis of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and 18 controls took part in a study of patterns of female aggression. They completed a version of the Conflict Tactics Scale for a premenstrual and a follicular phase of their menstrual cycle and for the past year. The Life History of Aggression was completed during a clinician interview. The women used more aggressive tactics to solve conflicts in the premenstrual than in the follicular phase, but the difference was only significant for the PMDD group. During the past year, reasoning was the most common strategy used by women to resolve conflicts, but verbal aggression was also prevalent. Although physical violence was less common, the prevalence of any act of violence was 33% in the controls and 62% in the clinical group. Women with PMDD used both verbal and physical aggression more frequently than the controls and had a higher lifetime history of aggression. Aggression by women toward partners was associated with a general tendency to act aggressively. Aggr. Behav. 29:228–238, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Effects of menstrual cycle phase on reporting levels of aggression using the buss and perry aggression questionnaire

The Aggression Questionnaire [Buss and Perry, 1992, Journal of Personality and Aggression, vol. 63, pp. 452–459] was administered to women at menses and during the midluteal phase of their menstrual cycles to assess changes in reporting aggressive behavior as a function of menstrual phase. Men served as a control group, and also received the questionnaire twice, once at session I and once at session II. Women at menses reported a significantly higher level of physically aggressive behavior than during the midluteal phase. A similar but non‐significant trend was found for reporting verbal aggression. There were no changes in reporting of anger or hostility across the menstrual cycle. This produced a significant sex‐difference on reporting physical aggression between men and women at the midluteal phase but not at menses. Aggr. Behav. 29:531–538, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Retrospective accounts of recurrent parental physical abuse as a predictor of adult laboratory‐induced aggression

Child abuse has been frequently associated with adult aggression in its many forms. The Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP) is a popular laboratory‐based procedure derived from the retaliatory responses of participants engaged in a monetary‐reinforced computer game. PSAP responses have been found to discriminate between participants with and without violent, antisocial, substance abuse, and even contact‐sport athletic histories. The present study provided an initial test of the sensitivity of the PSAP and the Overt Aggression Scale (OAS) in discriminating between college students (n=28) with and without reported histories of recurrent physical abuse as defined by incidents of being pushed, shoved, struck, punched, or threatened with physical violence by a parent more than once every six weeks over 15 years of upbringing. PSAP responses were substantially higher (d=2.1) among participants reporting histories of recurrent parental physical abuse, with 46% (as opposed to 0% for controls) of these individuals generating PSAP responses in excess of 400 (average found for violent parolees). Group differences on the OAS were also considerable (>1 SD). Larger factorial designs examining relationships between a range of developmental variables (e.g., domestic abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, parental divorce, family climate, etc.) and adult PSAP responding may help advance present knowledge regarding the impact of childhood adversity on psychological development. Aggr. Behav. 30:217–228, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Differential effects of the menstrual cycle on reactive and proactive aggression in borderline personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by rapidly shifting symptoms, including intense anger and aggressive behavior. Understanding how fluctuations in ovarian hormones across the menstrual cycle may contribute to symptom instability is key for accurate assessment of BPD symptoms and effective interventions. Reactive and proactive aggression, as well as anger-in and anger-out, were assessed daily in 15 physically healthy, unmedicated naturally cycling female individuals meeting criteria for BPD across 35 days. Urine luteinizing hormone surge and salivary progesterone were used to confirm ovulation and verify the cycle phase. Multilevel models evaluated cyclical differences of symptoms between cycle phases. Both forms of aggressive behavior demonstrated marked cycle effects, with reactive aggression highest during the midluteal cycle phase, co-occurring with initial increases in anger and irritability and followed by perimenstrual peaks in anger and anger-in. In contrast, highest levels of proactive aggression were observed during the follicular and ovulatory phases, when emotional symptoms and anger were otherwise at lowest levels. These findings highlight the importance of identifying the function of aggression when considering potential psychological and biological influences. Naturally cycling individuals with BPD may be at elevated risk for luteal worsening of a range of interpersonally reactive symptoms, including reactive aggression, whereas proactive aggression may occur more in phases characterized by less emotional and cognitive vulnerability and greater reward sensitivity. Research on aggression in this population should consider cycle effects. Cycling individuals with BPD attempting to reduce aggressive behavior may benefit from cycle-tracking to increase awareness of these effects and to develop appropriate strategies.     

生理周期对情景记忆的影响

来自进化心理学的理论及研究结果提示, 女性性激素可能是情景记忆的重要影响因素, 但是, 具体机制尚不清晰。本研究以女性生理周期性激素水平的自然变化构成的两个时期(卵泡后期、黄体中期)为自变量, 利用“What-Where-When Task”情景记忆任务(实验1), 结合事件相关电位(event-related potential, ERP)技术(实验2), 探讨生理周期不同阶段完成情景记忆任务的成绩及其可能的内在机制。实验1招募生理周期稳定的33名女性为被试, 在卵泡后期和黄体中期各参加一次实验, 随机顺序依次完成O任务(仅记忆物品, object)、P任务(仅记忆物品位置, position)、OO任务(记忆物品及其呈现顺序, object + order)、OP任务(记忆物品及其呈现位置, object + position)以及PO任务(记忆物品呈现位置及顺序, position + order)。结果发现, 在完成PO任务时, 黄体中期的回忆正确率显著高于卵泡后期。实验2借用事件相关电位技术, 进一步探究生理周期影响情景记忆PO任务的原因, 结果发现, 黄体中期额叶脑区的P300以及LPC波的振幅显著大于卵泡后期, 且完成PO任务时的感受性与右侧额叶P300振幅显著正相关。基于上述ERP的结果, 可以认为, 黄体中期在PO任务上的好成绩可能得益于显著增强的认知控制能力, 这一解释符合前人研究结论。总之, 本研究发现：生理周期对情景记忆中客体的空间位置与时间顺序整合的记忆产生显著影响, 黄体中期的记忆效果显著好于卵泡后期, 可能是因为该时期显著增强的认知控制能力。本研究有望为理解影响情景记忆的因素提供新的视角。     

Effects of the menstrual cycle on looking preferences for faces in female rhesus monkeys

Fluctuations of ovarian hormones across the menstrual cycle influence a variety of social and cognitive behaviors in primates. For example, female rhesus monkeys exhibit heightened interest for males and increased agonistic interactions with other females during periods of high estrogen levels. In the present study, we hypothesized that females’ preference for males during periods of high estrogen levels is also expressed at the level of face perception. We tested four intact females on two face-tasks involving neutral portraits of male and female rhesus monkeys, chimpanzees and humans. In the visual preference task (VP), monkeys had to touch a button to view a face image. The image remained on the screen as long as the button was touched, and the duration of pressing was taken as an index of the monkey's looking time for the face stimulus. In the Face-Delayed Recognition Span Test (Face-DRST), monkeys were rewarded for touching the new face in an increasing number of serially presented faces. Monkeys were tested 5 days a week across one menstrual cycle. Blood was collected every other day for analysis of estradiol and progesterone. Two of the four females were cycling at the time of testing. We did not find an influence of the cycle on Face-DRST, likely due to a floor effect. In the VP however, the two cycling individuals looked longer at conspecific male faces than female faces during the peri-ovulatory period of the cycle. Such effects were absent for human and chimpanzee faces and for the two noncycling subjects. These data suggest that ovarian hormones may influence females’ preferences for specific faces, with heightened preference for male faces during the peri-ovulatory period of the cycle. Heightened interest for stimuli of significant reproductive relevance during periods of high conception risk may help guide social and sexual behavior in the rhesus monkey.     

Psychopathy and aggression: Examining the role of psychopathy factors in predicting laboratory aggression under hostile and instrumental conditions

Psychopathy is a problematic configuration of traits and behaviors that is consistently correlated with aggressive, criminal behavior. Studies have suggested that psychopathy is composed of related but distinct factors that manifest divergent relations with a host of constructs including aggression. In the current study, we used a sample of 126 men to examine whether these psychopathy factors are differentially related to aggression manifested in two conditions (instrumental and hostile/reactive aggression) of a laboratory aggression paradigm. Traits related to an antagonistic interpersonal style and emotional detachment (i.e., Factor 1) were related to aggression in both conditions whereas traits related to negative emotionality, impulsivity, and an antagonistic style (i.e., Factor 2) were related to aggression only in the hostile/reactive condition. Potential explanations for these findings are put forth.     

The influence of the menstrual cycle on reactivity to a CO2 challenge among women with and without premenstrual symptoms

Clinically significant premenstrual symptoms (PMS) is conceptualized as a depressive disorder in DSM-5, however, it may share pathophysiological processes with anxiety- and fear-related disorders. Specifically, women with PMS panic at higher rates during biological challenge procedures. It is unclear if this increased interoceptive sensitivity is a general vulnerability or specific to the premenstrual phase. The current study examined the role of menstrual cycle phase on reactivity to a CO₂ challenge among women with (n = 11) and without (n = 26) clinically significant PMS (N = 37). During the late follicular phase (days 6–12), women with and without PMS responded similarly to the CO₂ challenge, whereas during the premenstrual phase (within 5 days before menses), women with PMS reported significantly more intense panic symptoms in response to the challenge than women without PMS. Vulnerability to panic in women with PMS may be specific to the premenstrual phase. Potential psychological and neurobiological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are discussed.     

Effects of midbrain central gray lesions on spontaneous and electrically induced aggression in the rat

Large electrolytic lesions were placed in the midbrain central gray of male rats. Their effects on hypothalamically induced aggression, switch-off behaviour, and locomotion were investigated. A number of these animals were also tested for territorial intermale aggression in order to compare electrically induced and spontaneous aggression. Large lesions resulted in an increase of the current threshold to induce aggression by hypo-thalamic stimulation. Smaller, but still quite large, lesions decreased the threshold current for hypothalamic aggression. After the operation a decrease in the threshold for switch-off was present, both in the experimental and the control group. Current thresholds for locomotion were decreased after the lesions only in the experimental group. Spontaneous aggression was temporarily decreased after the lesion. No indication was found that other behavioural elements of the animal were distorted by the lesion. The parallel between the effects on spontaneous and electrically induced aggression makes it attractive to ascribe a role to the neural circuit of hypothalamus and central gray in territorial aggression. However, even with large lesions the animals were still capable of fighting, hence the central gray is not indispensable. An attempt was made to explain the differential effects that differently sized central gray lesions have on hypothalamic aggression.     

“Frenemies,Fraitors, and Mean‐em‐aitors”: Priming Effects of Viewing Physical and Relational Aggression in the Media on Women

Past research has shown activation of aggressive cognitions in memory after media violence exposure, but has not examined priming effects of viewing relational aggression in the media. In the current study, 250 women viewed a video clip depicting physical aggression, relational aggression, or no aggression. Subsequent activation of physical and relational aggression cognitions was measured using an emotional Stroop task. Results indicated priming of relational aggression cognitions after viewing the relationally aggressive video clip, and activation of both physical and relational aggression cognitions after viewing the physically aggressive video clip. Results are discussed within the framework of the General Aggression Model.     

Effects of early exposure to intermale aggression on the aggressiveness of adult male mice varying in their genetic disposition for aggressive behavior

This study examined whether adult male aggression is influenced by either visual or olfactory exposure in early postnatal life to brief episodes of aggression. Another focus of interest was the interplay between a genetic disposition for aggressive behavior and early exposure experiences. The subjects used in the study were male mice of the 49th generation of selection for high (Turku Aggressive, TA) and low (Turku Non-Aggressive, TNA) levels of aggressiveness. Moderately aggressive males of the parental strain (Normal, N) were also used. Subjects of each strain were exposed from 21 to 32 days of age to fighting males either behind a wire mesh or glass screen. Control subjects were isolated during the entire experimental period. At 90–100 days of age, each subjects was tested three times for its aggressiveness. Exposure to fighting males behind a wire mesh screen enhanced later aggressiveness of juvenile male mice. Juveniles exposed solely to visual cues were comparable to isolates, both groups showing less adult aggression. Early experience and the genetic disposition for aggression were correlated; TA males showing the greatest increase in aggressive behavior. The role of early olfactory learning is discussed. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.