Predictors of aggressive behavior

A multiple factor approach was used to test additive and multiplicative models as well as to isolate a best predictive model of physical aggression. The variables of aggressive learning history, provocation, sex of target, sex of subject, sex-role orientation, and aggressive tendencies were selected. Eighty-three males and 117 females participated in the experimental session. Multiple regression analyses indicated that multiple predictor models were able to account for significantly more variance than were single predictor models; however, multiplicative models were unable to increase predictive efficacy. A model composed of sex of target, masculinity, and aggressive tendencies was established as the best predictive model for unprovoked aggression; provocation, masculinity, and aggressive tendencies made up the best predictive model of provoked aggression. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Impact of distressed and aggressive behavior

Two studies examined the hypothesis that distressed behavior induces negative emotions in others but also prompts solicitousness and deters aggression. In Study 1, 48 marital dyads rated various behaviors in terms of their feelings and reactions toward a spouse engaging in each behavior. Distressed behavior prompted both negative and solicitous emotions, but deterred hostile reactions. Aggressive behavior prompted negative feelings and hostile and argumentative reactions. In Study 2, 41 couples rated videotaped examples of a woman engaging in distressed, aggressive, or neutral behavior, with variations in verbal content and nonverbal affect. Examples of distressed behavior prompted more negative feelings and more solicitous feelings than neutral behavior. Aggressive examples prompted more negative feelings and hostile reactions. The studies indicate the importance of distinguishing between distressed and aggressive behavior.     

Excitation transfer in communication-mediated aggressive behavior

To test the effect of excitation produced during exposure to communication, both the excitatory potential and the degree of manifest aggressiveness of communications were assessed to select: (a) an aggressive communication associated with a particular excitatory potential; (b) a nonaggressive communication associated with an excitatory potential significantly below that of a; and (c) another nonaggressive communication associated with an excitatory potential significantly above that of a. A model of excitation transfer was advanced, based on the assumption that salient elements of excitation decay relatively slowly, and that interoception of excitation is nonspecific, permitting the integration of any residue with elements of the excitatory response to subsequent stimuli. If the postcommunication situation provides the individual with perception-cognitions enabling him to unambiguously interpret his emotional state, it is expected that this state is intensified by the magnitude of the excitational residue from the response to the communication. It was predicated that, quite independent of the degree of aggression manifest in the communication, postcommunication aggressive behavior would be facilitated mainly as a function of the communication's excitatory potential. The highly significant results obtained (b < a < c) were fully consistent with the predictions from the transfer paradigm.     

Predictors of women's aggressive driving behavior

Predictors of women's aggressive driving behavior were explored in a study involving 256 female motorists. Sex role orientation, dispositional aggressiveness, age, and annual mileage were measured as independent variables, and aggressive driving behavior was included as the dependent variable. Stepwise hierarchical regression analysis showed that age was negatively related to driving aggression, whereas annual mileage had a positive relationship with driving aggression. Dispositional aggressiveness was a significant predictor of driving aggression. Of the two components of sex role orientation, only femininity was associated with driving aggression, with higher femininity scores predicting lower aggressive driving scores. Masculinity failed to predict aggressive driving, as did the interaction of masculinity and femininity. In combination, the predictors explained 29% of the variance in women's aggressive driving. The results are discussed with respect to the role of dispositional variables as predictors of driving aggression in women. Aggress. Behav. 00:1–10, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Characterization of aggressive behavior and phenytoin response

Recent work has suggested that the success of pharmacological treatment for chronic aggressive behavior may depend, in part, on the subtype of aggressive behavior displayed (e.g. reactive, impulsive aggression vs. predatory, premeditated aggression). The present study examined the usefulness of characterizing aggressive behavior during a 16‐week double‐blind crossover study of phenytoin (PHT) treatment in 41 aggressive adult males. The Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scales (IPAS) were used to characterize aggressive behavior as predominantly impulsive or predominantly premeditated in nature. Analyses indicated that participants who did not respond to PHT treatment endorsed significantly more premeditated characteristics on the IPAS than those who responded to PHT treatment. Non‐responders also exhibited fewer aggressive outbursts during placebo treatment, suggesting a greater level of behavior control. Participants who did not complete the study were younger, endorsed significantly more premeditated aggression characteristics and reported more lifetime antisocial behaviors than those who completed the study. Taken together, these data emphasize several factors that may influence the success of pharmacological treatment in aggressive individuals, namely the importance of characterizing the predominant type of problem aggressive behavior. Aggr. Behav. 00:1–6, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Instrumental conditioning of aggressive behavior in rats

A method has been developed for bringing an aggressive response under stimulus control. It was found that the number of conditioned aggyessive responses was maximal when low-weight target rats were used. The latencies of the conditioned responses toward target animals of 124 gm were significantly lower than those toward animals of 221 and 284 gm. The application of an extinction procedure on the conditioned aggressive response substantially increased the total number of emitted aggressive responses.     

Physiological arousal,exposure to a relatively lengthy aggressive film,and aggressive behavior

Male college students viewed either a 15-minute aggressive television program excerpt or a neutral one. Half of the students in each group were then angered or treated in a neutral fashion by a confederate. Each subject was allowed to retaliate by delivering electric shocks to the confederate as an evaluation of a problem solution he supposedly had completed. Heart rate was measured (a) before exposure to the television program, (b) after exposure to the program, (c) immediately before delivering the shock, and (d) immediately after shock delivery. Angered men who had seen the aggressive film were most aggressive toward the confederate and exhibited the lowest average pulse rates both before and after shock delivery. The findings are discussed in terms of their implication for arousal vs disinhibition conceptualizations of aggressive behaviors following exposure to television violence.     

Intellectual ability and aggressive behavior in nonclinical-nonforensic males

The purpose of this study was to test the relationship between IQ and physical aggression in a nonclinical-nonforensic male sample in a laboratory setting. Thirty males completed an abbreviated version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised. Aggression was measured using a modified version of the Taylor reaction-time (RT) aggression paradigm in which subjects competed on a RT task and both received and delivered shocks to a fictitious opponent in provoking and nonprovoking conditions. Provocation conditions (High and Low) were defined by the intensity of shocks the subjects received. Results demonstrated strong inverse correlations between IQ and aggressive behavior under both High and Low Provocation conditions.     

The effects of humor-induced arousal upon aggressive behavior

The present experiment attempted to reconcile previous results in the area of humor and aggression. It was hypothesized that humor serves two functions, arousal and attentional shift, with regard to its influence on the relation of prior anger arousal and aggression. As a test of this assumption, subjects in the present experiment were subjected to three forms of humor (high arousing, low arousing, nonhumor) after being angered or treated in a neutral manner by a confederate. In an analysis on subsequent aggression toward the confederate, it was found that female subjects reduced their aggression after exposure to low arousing humor while maintaining aggression at a high level for high arousing stimuli. Male subjects were not influenced by humor exposure. Possible reasons for this sex difference are examined in light of the arousal and attentional shift properties of humorous stimuli.