Direct and vicarious censure in the control of interracial aggression1

An experiment explored the relative effectiveness of two strategies for controlling interracial aggression: observing other individuals censured for aggression and potential direct censure of the aggressor himself. Subjects were provided with an opportunity to aggress under conditions designed to maximize or reduce each type of censure. A principal components analysis of the data revealed two orthogonal variates: direct aggression and indirect aggression. It was found that both observed censure and potential direct censure were effective in modifying directly aggressive responses. However, these forms of censure interacted in their effect on indirect aggression, such that observed censure was effective in reducing indirect aggression only under conditions of potential direct censure.     

Effects of personality and loss of anonymity on aggression: a reevaluation of deindividuation.

Zimbardo's deindividuation hypothesis was reexamined by individuating some subjects. Twelve four-person groups administered shock to a confederate in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design with two levels of social individuation (subjects' level of anonymity to group members), two levels of nonsocial individuation (subjects' opportunity to give identifying information to the experimenter on a word association test) and two levels of individual differences. It was found that subjects, who individuated themselves by giving information to the experimenter on the word association test showed more, not less, antisocial behavior. Furthermore, this increased antisocial behavior was exhibited only by externally oriented subjects: those with an external locus of control and a low mysticism score. Some of those more antisocial subjects were also more likely to report feeling like they stood out from the group. It was concluded that antisocial behavior in this paradigm may thus be a response to experimenter demand felt most strongly when subjects felt most identifiable.     

Effects of prior destructive behavior, anonymity, and group presence on deindividuation and aggression.

Three of Zimbardo's deindividuation input variables (group presence, anonymity, and arousal) were manipulated in laboratory experiment, and their effects on aggression and deindividuation were measured. Only arousal produced a significant increase in aggression (p less than .05), while group presence produced a significant decrease in aggression (p less than .01). Anonymity had no significant effect on subjects' aggressiveness. Deindividuation per se was measured on a postsession questionnaire that assessed subjects' memory for their own aggressive behavior, self-consciousness, concern for social evaluation, and memory for central and peripheral cues. Only arousal condition participants showed deindividuation changes, but a factor analysis revealed that the deindividuation changes did not comprise a unified factor. Also it did not appear that the internal changes caused aggressive behavior, since the correlation between the two was low.     

Instigation to aggression as a function of degree of defeat and the capacity for massive retaliation

Forty-eight subjects, half of whom were assigned to a condition of massive retaliation (MR) and half of whom were not (NMR), competed against a presumed opponent The loser on each trial received a shock of intensity level selected by the winner at the beginning of a trial and, simultaneously, feedback on the opponent's shock setting The winner received only feedback on the opponent's shock setting Defeat and feedback of aggressive intent (opponent's shock setting) were varied independently In the MR condition, an extreme level of shock could be selected Although its use was avoided, its psychological presence influenced perception of the opponent, aggressive behavior, and physiological arousal Consistent with previous findings, primary frustration was found to be a relatively inconsequential instigator to aggression compared to learned social attitudes     

Effects of personality and loss of anonymity on aggression: A revaluation of deindividuation1

Zimbardo's deindividuation hypothesis was reexamined by individuating some subjects. Twelve four-person groups administered shock to a confederate in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design with two levels of social individuation (subjects' level of anonymity to group members), two levels of nonsocial individuation (subjects' opportunity to give identifying information to the experimenter on a word association test), and two levels of individual differences. It was found that subjects who individuated themselves by giving information to the experimenter on the word association test showed more, not less, antisocial behavior. Furthermore, this increased antisocial behavior was exhibited only by externally oriented subjects: those with an external locus of control and a low mysticism score. Some of those more antisocial subjects were also more likely to report feeling like they stood out from the group. It was concluded that antisocial behavior in this paradigm may thus be a response to experimenter demand felt most strongly when subjects felt most identifiable.     

Dyadic interracial interactions: a meta-analysis

This meta-analysis examined over 40 years of research on interracial interactions by exploring 4 types of outcomes: explicit attitudes toward interaction partners, participants' self-reports of their own emotional state, nonverbal or observed behavior, and objective measures of performance. Data were collected from 108 samples (N = 12,463) comparing dyadic interracial and same-race interactions, predominantly featuring Black and White Americans. Effect sizes were small: Participants in same-race dyads tended to express marginally more positive attitudes about their partners (r = .07), reported feeling less negative affect (r = .10), showed more friendly nonverbal behavior (r = .09), and scored higher on performance measures (r = .07) than those in interracial dyads. Effect sizes also showed substantial heterogeneity, and further analyses indicated that intersectional, contextual, and relational factors moderated these outcomes. For example, when members of a dyad were the same sex, differences between interracial and same-race dyads in negative affect were reduced. Structured interactions led to more egalitarian performance outcomes than did free-form interactions, but the effects of interaction structure on nonverbal behavior depended on participant gender. Furthermore, benefits of intergroup contact were apparent: Differences in emotional state across dyadic racial composition disappeared in longer term interactions, and racial minorities, who often have greater experience with intergroup contact, experienced less negative affect in interracial interactions than did majority group members. Finally, there was a significant historical trend toward more egalitarian outcomes across dyadic racial composition for explicit attitudes and for nonverbal behavior; however, participants' emotional responses and performance have remained consistent.     

Temper, temperature, and temptation: heat-related retaliation in baseball

In this study, we analyzed data from 57,293 Major League Baseball games to test whether high temperatures interact with provocation to increase the likelihood that batters will be hit by a pitch. Controlling for a number of other variables, we conducted analyses showing that the probability of a pitcher hitting a batter increases sharply at high temperatures when more of the pitcher's teammates have been hit by the opposing team earlier in the game. We suggest that high temperatures increase retaliation by increasing hostile attributions when teammates are hit by a pitch and by lowering inhibitions against retaliation.     

Calming troubled waters: Peacemakers in a sports riot

This investigation sought to identify a set of measures predictive of those who would intervene in a crowd disturbance with the intent of restoring order. Male participants (N = 74) completed a battery of social and personality measures. Men who had previously attempted to break up a fight(s), including those who had recently intervened and judged their efforts to have been successful, were most likely to step in. Additionally, peacemakers were subject to the false consensus effect and strongly believed in law and order. A multiple regression analysis yielded a solution that accounted for 40.3% of the variance, with previous experience as a peacemaker and attitudes toward law and order emerging as the best predictors. Aggr. Behav. 27:292–296, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Sex,strain, and housing: Variables influencing the effects of prior shock exposure on shock-induced aggression

A series of experiments was conducted to investigate sex, housing conditions, and strain as possible factors influencing the interference effect of prior exposure to shock on shock-induced aggression. In albino subjects, female rats and rats housed in community cages evidenced the greatest suppression in aggression following prior exposure to shock. In addition, ten sessions of prior exposure to shock produced a greater suppression in shock-induced fighting than 20 sessions of prior exposure to shock. The prior shock effect was not obtained with hooded subjects. Responsivity to shock was also investigated to determine whether the prior exposure to shock attenuation of shock-induced fighting was a consequence of reduced activity in response to shock. Responsivity to shock measured with an isometric platform accounted for less than 4% of the variance in shock-induced fighting in the single experiment that obtained a correlation between responsivity and shock-induced aggression.     

Children's reasoning about responses to peer aggression: Victim's and witness's expected and prescribed behaviors

This research examined children's reasoning about expected (i.e., what a peer would do) and prescribed (i.e., what a peer should do) responses to unprovoked, intentional aggressive actions in two contexts: as a victim of such a transgression and as a witness to the incident. Physical harm and property damage items were used in a structured interview format. There were 90 subjects drawn from three elementary school grades (2nd, 4th, and 6th). Children differentiated between the expected and prescribed responses of peers and significant developmental differences in children's evaluations were found. Although the majority of the subjects in all grades denounced retaliation on the basis of concerns about others' welfare, older children stated that peers were likely to retaliate against the perpetrator nonetheless. Across different contexts, older children's responses appeared to reveal a greater independence from authority in negotiating peer interactions. In evaluating the witness's responses to aggressive acts, younger children's expected and prescribed responses were less disparate than that of the older children. The utility of including different vantage points of the child in examining children's social reasoning about aggression and the application of the present findings to social information-processing models are discussed. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Media violence, physical aggression, and relational aggression in school age children: a short-term longitudinal study

Many studies have shown that media violence has an effect on children's subsequent aggression. This study expands upon previous research in three directions: (1) by examining several subtypes of aggression (verbal, relational, and physical), (2) by measuring media violence exposure (MVE) across three types of media, and (3) by measuring MVE and aggressive/prosocial behaviors at two points in time during the school year. In this study, 430 3rd-5th grade children, their peers, and their teachers were surveyed. Children's consumption of media violence early in the school year predicted higher verbally aggressive behavior, higher relationally aggressive behavior, higher physically aggressive behavior, and less prosocial behavior later in the school year. Additionally, these effects were mediated by hostile attribution bias. The findings are interpreted within the theoretical framework of the General Aggression Model.     

Deindividuation,anonymity, and violence: findings from Northern Ireland

The author examined the relation between anonymity and aggression in violent interpersonal assaults that occurred in Northern Ireland. Of the 500 violent attacks that the author studied, 206 were carried out by offenders who wore disguises to mask their identities. The findings revealed that significant positive relationships existed between the use of disguises and several measures of aggression. Disguised offenders inflicted more serious physical injuries, attacked more people at the scene, engaged in more acts of vandalism, and were more likely to threaten victims after the attacks. The author discussed these results within the framework of deindividuation theory.     

When cooler heads prevail: peacemakers in a sports riot.

Male sports fans (N = 74) were asked to estimate the likelihood that they would intervene in a crowd disturbance in an attempt to stop the fighting. They also completed a battery of measures that included their attitude toward law and order, fight history, the false consensus effect, impulsivity, psychopathy, sensation seeking, anger, physical aggression and identification with their favorite team. Law and order, body mass, anger and the false consensus effect were positively related to peacemaking whereas sensation seeking was negatively related. A multiple regression analysis yielded a solution that accounted for 32.3% of the variance with anger and attitude toward law and order emerging as the best predictors.     

Social desirability, anonymity, and internet-based questionnaires

It has been argued that behavior on the Internet differs from similar behavior in the “real world” (Joinson, 1998a). In the present study, participants completed measures of self-consciousness, social anxiety, self-esteem, and social desirability, using either the World-Wide Web (WWW) or pen and paper, and were assigned to either an anonymous or a nonanonymous condition. It was found that people reported lower social anxiety and social desirability and higher self-esteem when they were anonymous than when they were nonanonymous. Furthermore, participants also reported lower social anxiety and social desirability when they were using the Internet than when they were using paper-based methods. Contrast analyses supported the prediction that participants using the WWW anonymously would show the lowest levels of social desirability, whereas participants answering with pen and paper nonanonymously would score highest on the same measure. Implications for the use of the Internet for the collection of psychological data are discussed.     

Impulsivity, aggression, and serotonin: a molecular psychobiological perspective

The expression of aggressiveness, which constitutes many facets of behavior, is influenced by a complex interaction of biologic, psychologic, and social variables. Even though individual differences in impulsivity and the behavioral consequences, such as aggression, addiction, and suicidality, are substantially heritable, they ultimately result from an interplay between genetic variations and environmental factors. While formation and integration of multiple neural networks is dependent on the actions of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin (5HT), converging lines of evidence indicate that genetically determined variability in serotonergic gene expression influences complex traits including that of inappropriately aggressive behavior. This contribution reviews studies of major gene effects in inbred and knockout strains of mice with increased aggression-related behavior and discusses the relevance of several serotonergic gene variations in humans which include high aggressiveness as part of the phenotype. Although special emphasis is given to the molecular psychobiology of 5HT in aggression-related behavior in rodents, nonhuman primates, and humans, relevant conceptual and methodological issues in the search for candidate genes for impulsivity and aggressiveness and for the development of mouse models of aggressive and antisocial behavior in humans are also considered.