Cognitive load,trigger salience,and the facilitation of triggered displaced aggression

Researchers hypothesize that a state of limited cognitive processing capacity increases aggression. In the context of the triggered displaced aggression (TDA) paradigm, a 2 (Salience of triggering event: high/low) × 2 (Cognitive load at trigger: yes/no) × 2 (Cognitive load at aggression: yes/no) between participants experiment tested this hypothesis. Results showed that inducing cognitive load in previously provoked participants while they received a triggering provocation augmented aggression toward the target when the latter was highly salient. Affective reactions to the trigger partially mediated this effect. In contrast to expectation, however, inducing cognitive load while participants aggressed against their target did not affect aggression levels. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lashing Out after Stewing over Public Insults: The Effects of Public Provocation,Provocation Intensity,and Rumination on Triggered Displaced Aggression

Four studies present the first evidence showing that public (vs. private) provocation augments triggered displaced aggression by increasing the perceived intensity of the provocation. This effect is shown to be independent of face‐saving motivation. Following a public or private provocation, Study 1 participants were induced to ruminate or were distracted for 20 min. They then had an opportunity to aggress against another person who either acted in a neutral or mildly annoying fashion (viz. triggering event). As expected, the magnitude of the greater displaced aggression of those who ruminated before the triggering event compared with those distracted was greater under public than private provocation. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 and confirmed that public provocations are experienced as more intense. Studies 3 and 4 both manipulated provocation intensity directly to show that it mediated the moderating effect of public/private provocation found in Study 1. The greater intensity of a public provocation increases reactivity to a subsequent trigger, which in turn, augments triggered displaced aggression. Aggr. Behav. 39:13‐29, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The moderating effect of trivial triggering provocation on displaced aggression

Two studies examined the interaction between the presence or absence of (a) an initial provocation and (b) a subsequent minor triggering action on the part of the target of displaced aggression. Consistent with the triggering event being seen by participants as indeed trivial when administered by itself without prior provocation, exposure to it literally had no impact on aggression toward its source. When previously provoked, however, this subsequent triggering event strongly increased displaced aggression, causing it to reliably exceed both that displayed when there was no antecedent provocation and that elicited by provocation alone. Mediation analyses showed that for participants who had been provoked, subjective feelings of displeasure concerning the triggering event mediated the effect of the trigger on aggression.     

Is attentional selection to different levels of hierarchical structure based on spatial frequency?

Target identification is faster when the target level (global or local) is the same as that on the previous trial, presumably because attention is directed to the appropriate level. L. C. Robertson (1996) found that eliminating low spatial frequencies by contrast balancing eliminated this level repetition effect and concluded that attentional selection between different levels of structure is based on spatial frequency. In contrast, M. R. Lamb and E. W. Yund (1996a) found no effect of contrast balancing on the level repetition effect and thus concluded that attentional selection is not based on spatial frequency. In this study, the authors identified the procedural difference between the 2 studies responsible for this difference in results and replicated both findings. The data show that spatial frequency is not a necessary basis for attentional selection between global and local forms. Although it remains possible that spatial frequency is the basis of attentional selection under some circumstances, the data supporting this proposition are not yet compelling.     

The Impact of Attributional Processes on Triggered Displaced Aggression

The current study examined the role of attributional processes on triggered displaced aggression and specified the conditions wherein affect versus attributions would predict the degree of aggressive responding. Consistent with expectations, attributions for a minor provoking event predicted the degree of aggression towards targets that had violated expectations or where a specific attribution was provided. When no such expectancy violation occurred, only negative affect generated by the provocation predicted aggression. Furthermore, results indicated that initial feelings toward a provoking target impacted aggressive responding by influencing attributions made for a target's provoking action. When faced with a minor provocation, individuals were more likely to spontaneously attribute that event to external causes for people they like (e.g., positive valence targets), thus reducing the subsequent degree of aggressive retaliation. In contrast, for disliked targets, individuals were more likely to attribute provoking behavior to internal causes, resulting in an increase in aggression. The new model provides a theoretical extension to the cognitive-neoassociationistic perspective on aggression (L. Berkowitz, 1989, 1990, 1993).

The mediation effect of mentalization in the relationship between attachment and aggression on the road

Studies regarding aggression on the road are getting more frequent, due to the close relationship of these variables with risky behaviour and crash-related events. Whereas most of research has focused on both contextual and personality (proximal) variables, the current research aimed to explore the relationship between attachment styles (distal variables) and aggressive behaviour on the road, hypothesizing the mediation effect of mentalization. Then, a sample of 469 drivers (M_age = 35.60, SD_age = 12.38; 66.1% female) taken from the general Spanish population completed a set of measures about their attachment styles (secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganized), mentalization (alexithymia, mindful attention, empathy, and emotion recognition), and aggressive behaviour on the road (verbal, physical, vehicle-use related, displaced, and adaptive aggression). The results showed that driving aggression variables were significantly associated with self-sufficiency attachment style, as well as with empathy, alexithymia, and mindful attention. A further SEM analysis suggested that mentalization did not mediate in the relationship between self-sufficiency and driving aggression, but significant indirect effects were obtained in the case of the association between preoccupation attachment style and each one of the ways of aggression. Clinical implications of the results are discussed, in terms of the possible effectiveness of mentalization-based therapies to reduce aggression on the road, especially those which refer to alexithymia and mindful attention.     

Kicking the digital dog: a longitudinal investigation of young adults' victimization and cyber-displaced aggression

Abstract Using the general strain theory as a theoretical framework, the present longitudinal study investigated both face-to-face and cyber victimization in relation to cyber-displaced aggression. Longitudinal data were collected from 130 (70 women) young adults who completed measures assessing their victimization (face-to-face and cyber), cyber aggression, and both face-to-face and cyber-displaced aggression. Findings indicated that victimization in both social contexts (face-to-face and cyber) contributed to cyber-displaced aggression 6 months later (Time 2), after controlling for gender, cyber aggression, face-to-face displaced aggression, and cyber-displaced aggression at Time 1. A significant two-way interaction revealed that Time 1 cyber victimization was more strongly related to Time 2 cyber-displaced aggression when young adults had higher levels of face-to-face victimization at Time 1. Implications of these findings are discussed as well as a call for more research investigating displaced aggression in the cyber context.     

Does traffic congestion increase driver aggression?

In his recent article about aggressive driving, David Shinar proposed that the classical frustration-aggression hypothesis (Dollard, J., Doob, L., Miller, N., Mowrer, O. & Sears, R. (1939). Frustration and aggression. New Haven, CN: Yale University Press) provides a useful tool for understanding driver aggression (Shinar, D. (1998). Aggressive driving: the contribution of the drivers and situation. Transportation Research Part F, 1, 137–160). According to Shinar's (1998) application of the frustration–aggression hypothesis, driver aggression is caused by frustration because of traffic congestion and delays. In the present study, the relationships between exposure to congestion (rush-hour driving) and aggressive violations (DBQ) were investigated in Great Britain, Finland and the Netherlands. Partial correlations showed that the frequency of rush-hour driving did not correlate statistically significantly with driver aggression. Correlations between driving during rush-hour and aggression did not differ in magnitude from those between driving on country roads and aggressive violations. In addition, correlations between exposure to congestion and aggressive violations in countries with large number of vehicles per road kilometre (UK, Netherlands) were not higher than those in a sparsely populated country (Finland). These results from three countries suggest that congestion does not increase driver aggression as directly as suggested by Shinar (1998).     

It is More than Thought that Counts: the Role of Readiness for Aggression in the Relationship Between Ostracism and Displaced Aggression

Research has shown that ostracism results in aggressive behavior towards the ostracising other, but also causes displaced aggression—aggression directed towards an innocent person. Our study investigated whether displaced aggressive responses to ostracism were increased by three types of aggression proneness (readiness for aggression) based on different mechanisms: emotional-impulsive, habitual-cognitive or personality-immanent. Participants (n = 118) played a Cyberball game in which they were either excluded or included, next prepared a hot sauce sample for another person as an indicator of aggression and completed the Readiness for Interpersonal Aggression Inventory. Results showed that ostracism evoked more aggression in participants with high rather than with low emotional-impulsive readiness for aggression. Only this type of readiness moderated the ostracism-aggression relationship indicating that mostly affective mechanisms induce displaced aggressive responses to exclusion.     

The displaced aggression questionnaire

Previous measures of aggressive personality have focused on direct aggression (i.e., retaliation toward the provoking agent). An original self-report measure of trait displaced aggression is presented. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided support for a 3-factor conceptualization of the construct. These analyses identified an affective dimension (angry rumination), a cognitive dimension (revenge planning), and a behavioral dimension (general tendency to engage in displaced aggression). The trait measure demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability as well as convergent and discriminant construct validity. Unlike other related personality measures, trait displaced aggression significantly predicted indirect indicators of real-world displaced aggression (i.e., self-reported domestic abuse and road rage) as well as laboratory displaced aggression in 2 experiments.     

A Framework for Explaining Aggression Involving Groups

Aggression involving groups (versus individuals) can be particularly severe (e.g., hazings). Although an impressive amount of experimental research on the aggression of individuals exists, relatively less experimental research on aggression involving groups exists. We use existing theories of aggression and the available research to present a framework of aggression when groups are involved. We propose a provisional model that suggests that the extent of aggression to be committed depends on the composition of both source (i.e., perpetrators – group or individual) and target (i.e., victims – group or individual) entities. Evidence suggests that groups commit and receive more aggression than individuals. We propose that accessible hostile thoughts and the experience of negative affect contribute to the target effect (i.e., more aggression committed toward groups versus individuals), whereas disinhibition processes and arousal contribute to the source effect (i.e., more aggression committed by groups versus individuals). Our framework can guide future theory and research on aggression involving groups.     

A structural dynamic of form: Displacements in memory for the size of an angle

Memory for the angular size of a chevron (V) shaped target was examined in four experiments. When the target was stationary, memory was displaced inwards (i.e., towards a smaller angle), and the magnitude of displacement increased with increases in absolute angle size. When the target moved vertically or horizontally, memory was displaced inwards, but the effect of absolute angle size was weakened, and displacement was not influenced by whether the direction of motion and the direction in which the angle pointed were the same or different. When the target expanded or contracted (i.e., increased or decreased in angular size), memory for expanding targets was displaced inwards more than was memory for contracting targets, and displacement was not influenced by whether motion was coherent or incoherent. Implications of the data for the possibility of dynamic aspects of mental representation based on the shape of a stimulus are discussed.     

The Mechanism Underlying Backward Priming in a Lexical Decision Task: Spreading Activation versus Semantic Matching

Koriat (1981) demonstrated that an association from the target to a preceding prime, in the absence of an association from the prime to the target, facilitates lexical decision and referred to this effect as 'backward priming'. Backward priming is of relevance, because it can provide information about the mechanism underlying semantic priming effects. Following Neely (1991), we distinguish three mechanisms of priming: spreading activation, expectancy, and semantic matching/ integration. The goal was to determine which of these mechanisms causes backward priming, by assessing effects of backward priming on a language-relevant ERP component, the N400, and reaction time (R T). Based on previous work, we propose that the N400 priming effect reflects expectancy and semantic matching/ integration, but in contrast with R T does not reflect spreading activation. Experiment 1 shows a backward priming effect that is qualitatively similar for the N400 and R T in a lexical decision task. This effect was not modulated by an ISI manipulation. Experiment 2 clarifies that the N400 backward priming effect reflects genuine changes in N400 amplitude and cannot be ascribed to other factors. We will argue that these backward priming effects cannot be due to expectancy but are best accounted for in terms of semantic matching/ integration.     

Displacement in depth: Representational momentum and boundary extension

Memory for targets moving in depth and for stationary targets was examined in five experiments. Memory for targets moving in depth was displaced behind the target with slower target velocities (longer ISIS and retention intervals) and beyond the target with faster target velocities (shorter ISIS and retention intervals), and the overall magnitude of forward displacement for motion in depth was less than the overall magnitude of forward displacement for motion in the picture plane. Memory for stationary targets was initially displaced away from the observer, but memory for smaller stationary targets was subsequently displaced toward the observer and memory for larger stationary targets was subsequently displaced away from the observer; memory for the top or bottom edge of a stationary target was displaced inside the target perimeter. The data are consistent with Freyd and Johnson's (1987) two-component model of the time course of representational momentum and with Intraub et al.'s (1992) two-component model of boundary extension.     

Spatial frequencies as a medium for guiding attention: comment on Lamb, Yund, and Pond (1999)

M. R. Lamb, E. W. Yund, and H. M. Pond (1999) question L. C. Robertson's (1996) earlier arguments that attention can be guided by spatial frequencies when searching for a target in complex visual patterns. The 2 major findings they report to argue against Robertson's conclusions are discussed and found inadequate for the purposes of abandoning this hypothesis. Instead, findings reported in the accompanying article in combination with previous findings reported by 2 of the same authors (M. R. Lamb & E. W. Yund, 1996) provide converging evidence to support spatial frequency as a medium for guiding attention.     

Development and validation of the traffic displaced aggression questionnaire

Displaced aggression is defined as the aggression conducted against someone or something that is not considered to be the trigger of the emotional state of the aggressor. Whereas it has been deeply studied in a general context, to date, very few studies have analysed it in the specific context of driving. Considering the inexistence of instruments to assess it, the aim of the current research was to develop and validate a self-report in order to assess displaced aggression in the driving context. A sample of 467 participants (66.8% female, M_age = 34.74) filled in a set of questionnaires including the 29 items that were designed to assess traffic displaced aggression, as well as other instruments measuring different ways of expressing both general and driving aggression. The results of both Parallel Analysis (PA, sub-sample 1) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA, sub-sample 2) showed a good fit of the two-factor model, retaining 20 out of the initial 29 items. The first factor was labelled as Displaced aggression due to the anger generated outside the vehicle (6 items, α = 0.83), whereas the second factor was labelled as Displaced aggression due to the anger generated inside the vehicle (14 items, α = 0.91). Both factors, as well as the total score, showed good results regarding convergent and divergent validity. Practical implications of the results, future research lines and limitations of the current study are discussed.     

Contingent attentional capture by top-down control settings: converging evidence from event-related potentials

Theories of attentional control are divided over whether the capture of spatial attention depends primarily on stimulus salience or is contingent on attentional control settings induced by task demands. The authors addressed this issue using the N2-posterior- contralateral (N2pc) effect, a component of the event-related brain potential thought to reflect attentional allocation. They presented a cue display followed by a target display of 4 letters. Each display contained a green item and a red item. Some participants responded to the red letter and others to the green letter. Converging lines of evidence indicated that attention was captured by the cues with the same color as the target. First, these target-color cues produced a cuing validity effect on behavioral measures. Second, distractors appearing in the cued location produced larger compatibility effects. Third, the target-color cue produced a robust N2pc effect, similar in magnitude to the N2pc effect to the target itself. Furthermore, the target-color cue elicited a similar N2pc effect regardless of whether it competed with a simultaneous abrupt onset. The findings provide converging evidence for attentional capture contingent on top-down control settings.     

First-trial adaptation to prism exposure

Terminal target-pointing error on the 1st trial of exposure to optical displacement is usually less than that expected from the optical displacement magnitude. Such 1st trial adaptation was confirmed in 2 experiments (N = 48 students in each) comparing pointing toward optically displaced targets and toward equivalent physically displaced targets (no optical displacement), with visual feedback delayed until movement completion. First-trial performance could not be explained by ordinary target undershoot, online correction, or reverse optic flow information about true target position and was unrelated to realignment aftereffects. Such adaptation might be an artifact of the asymmetry of the structured visual field produced by optical displacement, which induces a felt head rotation opposite to the direction of the displacement, thereby reducing the effective optical displacement.     

Kicking the (barking) dog effect: the moderating role of target attributes on triggered displaced aggression

Sometimes aggression is displaced onto a target who is not totally innocent but emits a mildly irritating behavior called a triggering event. In three experiments, the authors examine stable personal attributes of targets that can impact such triggered displaced aggression (TDA). Lower levels of TDA were directed to targets whose attitudes were similar as compared to dissimilar to those of the actor (Experiment 1) and to targets who were ingroup as compared to out-group members (Experiment 2). Conceptually replicating the findings of Experiments 1 and 2, the manipulated valence of the target (viz., liked, neutral, and disliked) functioned in a similar manner, with positive valence serving a buffering function against a triggering action that followed an initial provocation (Experiment 3). The results from all three experiments are consistent with cognitive neoassociationist theory.     

Direct and Indirect Aggression: Relationships as Social Context

The studies reported in this paper examined the effect of social context—target gender and target relationship—on reports of direct and indirect aggression. In Study 1, participants completed the Richardson Conflict Response Questionnaire (RCRQ; Richardson & Green, 2003 ), which measured their direct and indirect aggression behavior in response to anger. Participants also selected a relationship partner to complete the RCRQ with reference to their own (i.e., participants') behavior. In Study 2, participants completed the RCRQ with reference to their behavior in response to anger with a romantic partner, a same-sex friend, and an opposite-sex friend. In both studies, relationship with aggression target was an important determinant of aggression, with more direct aggression occurring in romantic relationships, and more indirect aggression occurring in friendship relationships.