The Attribution of Hostile Intent in Mothers,Fathers and Their Children

Child externalising symptoms are associated with a bias towards attributing hostile intent to others. We examined the role of parental attributions in the development of this hostile attribution bias in children. The parents of 134 children aged 5-7 years responded to hypothetical social scenarios examining a) their general tendency to attribute hostile intent to the ambiguous behaviour of others, and b) hostile attributions made specifically to their child. Children's own attributions of hostile intent and levels of externalising symptomatology were assessed. The results indicated that child externalising symptoms were positively associated with both a generalised tendency towards the attribution of hostile intent and child-specific hostile attributions in parents. Child externalising symptoms were themselves associated with hostile attributions made by the child. However, no direct associations were observed between parental and child attributions of hostile intent. Thus, although the results suggest a role for parental social information processing biases in the development of child externalising symptoms, a direct transmission of such biases from parent to child was not supported.     

Emotional reactivity,self-control and children's hostile attributions over middle childhood

Hostile attribution bias, a child's tendency to interpret ambiguous social information as threatening or hostile, has been discussed as an important point in which social, emotional and cognitive information intersect. This study explores the natural changes that occur in children's hostile attributions across three grades during middle childhood and examines how emotional reactivity and self-control at third, fourth and fifth grade independently and interactively relate to these trajectories. Participants included 919 children whose mothers reported on their emotional reactivity, whose teachers reported on their self-control and who completed an attribution bias interview, all at grades 3, 4 and 5. Results revealed that among children with a greater tendency to make hostile attributions at third grade, lower self-control at third grade was associated with greater initial hostile attribution bias and less decline in biases over time. Additionally, greater emotional reactivity at fourth grade was associated with declines in these children's hostile attributions, but only when self-control was also higher at fourth grade.     

It's not just what you say,it's how you say it too. Adolescents' hostile attribution of intent and emotional responses to social comments

A highly prevalent and relevant situation in which adolescents have to interpret the intentions of others is when they interact with peers. We therefore successfully introduced a new paradigm to measure hostile attribution bias (HAB) and emotional responses to such social interactions and examined how it related to youth's aggressiveness. We presented 881 adolescents (M_age = 14.35 years; SD = 1.23; 48.1% male) with audio fragments of age-mates expressing social comments that varied in content (e.g., what the person says) and tone of voice (e.g., how the person says it). Participants' peers also reported on their aggressiveness. In general, added negativity of content and tone was driving the youth's intent attribution and emotional responses to the comments. In line with the Social Information Processing model, we found more hostile attribution of intent and more negative emotional responses of aggressive youth to ambiguous stimuli. Aggression was also related to more hostile intent attributions when both content and tone were negative. Unlike most studies on HAB, the aggression effects in the current study emerged for girls, but not boys. Implications of these results and future use of the experimental paradigm are discussed.     

敌意归因偏向对反应性攻击的预测及报复动机的中介作用

敌意归因偏向指将模糊情境中他人的行为意图进行敌意归因的倾向,其被认为是导致攻击的主要认知因素,但还缺乏其与反应性、主动性攻击的纵向关系的考察,而且其影响反应性攻击的动力机制也不清楚。本研究通过两个子研究来分别回应这两个问题。研究1的纵向调查结果显示,敌意归因偏向只纵向预测反应性攻击,而不能跨时间地预测主动性攻击。研究2对另一批大学生的横断面调查发现,报复动机可以中介敌意归因偏向与反应性攻击的关系。研究结果提示,敌意归因偏向很可能主要是在反应性攻击的形成中起到重要作用,而对主动性攻击的影响不大,报复动机则很可能是这种作用背后的动力机制之一。     

敌意归因偏向对反应性攻击的预测及报复动机的中介作用

敌意归因偏向指将模糊情境中他人的行为意图进行敌意归因的倾向,其被认为是导致攻击的主要认知因素,但还缺乏其与反应性、主动性攻击的纵向关系的考察,而且其影响反应性攻击的动力机制也不清楚。本研究通过两个子研究来分别回应这两个问题。研究1的纵向调查结果显示,敌意归因偏向只纵向预测反应性攻击,而不能跨时间地预测主动性攻击。研究2对另一批大学生的横断面调查发现,报复动机可以中介敌意归因偏向与反应性攻击的关系。研究结果提示,敌意归因偏向很可能主要是在反应性攻击的形成中起到重要作用,而对主动性攻击的影响不大,报复动机则很可能是这种作用背后的动力机制之一。     

Do hostile attribution biases in children and parents predict relationally aggressive behavior?

Relatively little is understood about the role of hostile attributions in children's use of relational aggression with peers, or about the impact of family processes on children's attributions about ambiguous provocations. This cross-sectional study investigated associations among hostile attributions made by children, mothers, and fathers, and children's use of relational aggression with peers. The sample included 91 children in Grades 3-5 (43 girls), and their mothers (n = 90) and teachers (n = 88). Fathers also participated for a subsample of children (n = 53). Results showed that relational aggression is associated with a hostile attribution bias in children and parents, although findings varied as a function of gender of parent and child, provocation type, and informant of aggression. Overall, mothers' attributions were more closely related to daughters' attributions and aggressive behavior than to sons'. Implications of these findings for social information processing models and family-focused prevention of relational aggression are discussed.     

Longitudinal relationships among interpersonal openness trait,hostile attribution bias,and displaced aggressive behaviour: Big Five treated as covariates

Displaced aggressive behaviour is associated with many negative outcomes. Although certain personality traits predict displaced aggressive behaviour, the uniquely longitudinal effect of indigenous interpersonal traits on displaced aggressive behaviour is ignored. To address this gap, we explored the longitudinal relationship among an indigenously interpersonal trait of China (interpersonal openness), hostile attribution bias, and self-reported displaced aggressive behaviour. Additionally, we tested whether hostile attribution bias mediated the relationship between interpersonal openness and self-reported displaced aggressive behaviour. The Interpersonal Self-Support Scale for Undergraduate Students, Word Sentence Association Paradigm for Hostility, Displaced Aggression Questionnaire, and the NEO Personality Inventory-3 were administered to 942 undergraduates on two occasions, 6 months apart. A cross-lagged model showed that, after controlling for the Big Five personality traits, interpersonal openness predicted subsequent hostile attribution bias, and hostile attribution bias predicted self-reported displaced aggressive behaviour 6 months later. Hostile attribution bias at time 2 mediated the relationship between interpersonal openness at time 1 and self-reported displaced aggressive behaviour at time 2. These results were consistent with the interpersonal self-support theory's appraisals of interpersonal openness, and they extended the social information processing and general aggression models to explain displaced aggressive behaviour.     

Hostile attribution in perceived justification of workplace aggression

A 10-item Hostile Attribution Scale was developed to test the hypothesis that hostile attribution is predictive of support for aggression in frustrating workplace situations in which a supervisor's motivation is ambiguous. The Hostile Attribution Scale showed good test-retest reliability (.80), but weak internal consistency (alpha=.60). For one workplace scenario (Steve), hostile attribution predicted aggression in the ambiguous but not the definite version of the scenario. For the other scenario (Dan), however, hostile attribution in both the ambiguous and definite versions was equally predictive of aggression. Ambiguous situations are the most problematic for generating workplace aggression so research should focus on individual differences in hostile attributions.     

Intent Attributions and Aggression: A Study of Children and their Parents

This research aimed to further clarify the relationship between children's self-reported hostile intent attributions (for ambiguous instrumental or relational provocations) and peer-reported aggression (physical and relational) in 500 fourth-grade children. In addition, we examined whether parents' intent attributions might predict children's intent attributions and aggression. Both parents (mothers and fathers) in 393 families completed intent attribution questionnaires. Results showed, consistent with past research, that boys' instrumental intent attributions were related to physical aggression. Children's relational intent attributions, however, were not associated with relational aggression. Contrary to expectations, most children responded with hostile intent attributions for relational provocations. Finally, in regard to parent-child connections, maternal intent attributions correlated with children's intent attributions whereas paternal intent attributions corresponded with children's relational aggression.     

攻击者的注意偏向与归因偏向及其关系

在攻击者的认知偏向中,注意偏向与归因偏向尤为引人注目。攻击者常偏向于注意敌意性的刺激,并会对模棱两可的情境作出敌意性的解释。二者的关系存在注意优先模型与解释优先模型两种可能性,注意优先模型认为注意过程先于解释过程,解释优先模型则相反。两种假设各有论据支持,而攻击者注意偏向与归因偏向的关系尚无定论。今后的研究当改进实验方法、运用多种技术从理论和应用两方面更深入地探讨攻击者的这二种偏向及其关系。     

Mindfulness May Buffer Psychological Distress in Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Differential Role of Mindfulness Facets

The COVID-19 pandemic strongly impacts adolescents’ mental health, a population particularly vulnerable to mental disorders, highlighting the need to identify protective factors against COVID-19 related psychological distress to inform policies and intervention strategies. Previous research suggests that mindfulness may be a promising factor that can lower the risk of detrimental psychological consequences related to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is currently unknown which aspects of mindfulness contribute most to its protective effects. Moreover, previous studies mainly focused on adult samples. The present study aimed to address this gap by investigating the impact of specific mindfulness facets on adolescents’ COVID-19 related psychological functioning. 246 Dutch-speaking adolescents were recruited via social media to complete a cross-sectional online survey between June 29 and October 11, 2020. Participants were 16–18 years of age, most of them women (71%), and the majority followed the highest level of Belgian secondary education. Logistic regression analyses were performed to test the differential effects of each mindfulness facet on psychological functioning. Our results identified decentering as the facet of mindfulness that was uniquely associated with decreased worry and stress, improved mental health and quality of life, as well as with an increase in social connectedness with others following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unexpectedly, decentering was negatively associated with adolescents’ helping behaviour during compared to before the pandemic. Implications for research on and application of mindfulness are discussed. Taken together, these findings suggest that the facet of decentering, among all facets of mindfulness, may represent the main protective factor against psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Attributional styles of aggressive boys and their mothers

To determine if mothers of aggressive boys have the same propensity as their sons to infer hostile intentions in ambiguous interpersonal situations, 50 mothers of aggressive and nonaggressive boys were each asked to interpret hypothetical situations involving themselves with their child, their partner, and a peer as well as hypothetical situations involving their child in interaction with classmates and teachers. Their sons also were each requested to interpret hypothetical situations involving themselves with their mother, a teacher, and a classmate. The results indicated that mothers of aggressive boys do share the propensity to infer hostility in ambiguous situations and may, in effect, model a hostile attributional bias. Mothers of aggressive boys failed to differentiate ambiguous from hostile situations and were as likely to infer hostile intentions in ambiguous as in hostile situations. The results also suggest a generalized tendency on the part of mothers of aggressive boys to infer negative motives and/or dispositions when accounting for the noxious behavior of their sons. Further, for the aggressive boys, the hostile attributional bias was evident with both peers and teachers. The presence of a hostile attribution was predictive of an aggressive response for the aggressive boys. Even in the face of clearly hostile, provocative behavior, nonaggressive boys were less likely to offer aggressive solutions than aggressive boys.The authors acknowledge the contribution of the staff from the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, and Grady Health Systems for their assistance and support in conducting this study.     

Attributional biases in aggressive children and their mothers

To investigate if mothers and their aggressive children share the tendency to infer hostile motives from others' behavior in ambiguous social situations, 100 pairs of mothers and their clinic-referred or comparison children (50 boys and 50 girls) were asked to interpret hypothetical situations involving both overtly and relationally provocative scenarios. Results replicated previous findings of studies on social information processing of aggressive children and extended the findings to mothers of aggressive children. Findings were generally consistent with the hypothesis that mothers of aggressive children tend to view others' ambiguous actions as hostile, increasing the probability of responding with aggression and, in effect, modeling a hostile attributional bias for their children. Examinations of mothers' and their children's attributional and behavioral intentions suggested that mothers' and daughters' attributions and behavioral intentions were significantly correlated, whereas mothers' and sons' were not. Gender effects with regard to provocation type are also discussed.     

Hostile Intent Attributions and Relational Aggression: The Moderating Roles of Emotional Sensitivity,Gender, and Victimization

The current study adopts a relational vulnerability model to examine the association between hostile attribution bias and relational aggression. Specifically, the relational vulnerability model implicates the interactive effects of a number of relational risk factors in the development of relational aggression. A sample of 635 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students (50.2% females) completed a self-report measure assessing hostile attribution bias and emotional distress for relational provocations. Peer nominations and teacher reports of relational aggression and relational victimization were also collected. Results supported the relational vulnerability model for girls only. Specifically, hostile attribution bias was associated with relational aggression only when relational victimization and emotional distress were also high. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.     

Mindfulness as a means of reducing aggressive behavior: dispositional and situational evidence

Recent research and theory suggest that mindfulness, or enhanced attention and awareness in the present moment [Brown and Ryan, 2003], may be linked to lower levels of ego-involvement and, as a result, may have implications for lowering hostility and aggressive behavior. Accordingly, we conducted two studies to examine the potential aggression-mitigating role of mindfulness. In Study 1, we found that dispositional mindfulness correlated negatively with self-reported aggressiveness and hostile attribution bias. In Study 2, participants made mindful before receiving social rejection feedback displayed less-aggressive behavior than did rejected participants not made mindful. Discussion centers on potential mechanisms by which mindfulness operates to reduce aggressive behavior.     

Exposure to violent video games and aggression in German adolescents: a longitudinal analysis

The relationship between exposure to violent electronic games and aggressive cognitions and behavior was examined in a longitudinal study. A total of 295 German adolescents completed the measures of violent video game usage, endorsement of aggressive norms, hostile attribution bias, and physical as well as indirect/relational aggression cross‐sectionally, and a subsample of N=143 was measured again 30 months later. Cross‐sectional results at T1 showed a direct relationship between violent game usage and aggressive norms, and an indirect link to hostile attribution bias through aggressive norms. In combination, exposure to game violence, normative beliefs, and hostile attribution bias predicted physical and indirect/relational aggression. Longitudinal analyses using path analysis showed that violence exposure at T1 predicted physical (but not indirect/relational) aggression 30 months later, whereas aggression at T1 was unrelated to later video game use. Exposure to violent games at T1 influenced physical (but not indirect/relational) aggression at T2 via an increase of aggressive norms and hostile attribution bias. The findings are discussed in relation to social‐cognitive explanations of long‐term effects of media violence on aggression. Aggr. Behav. 35:75–89, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Cognitive mechanisms of mindfulness: A test of current models

Existing models of mindfulness describe the self-regulation of attention as primary, leading to enhanced decentering and ability to access and override automatic cognitive processes. This study compared 23 experienced and 21 non-meditators on tests of mindfulness, attention, decentering, and ability to override automatic cognitive processes to test the cognitive mechanisms proposed to underlie mindfulness practice. Experienced meditators had significantly higher mindfulness and decentering than non-meditators. No significant difference between groups was found on measures of attention or ability to override automatic processes. These findings support the prediction that mindfulness leads to enhanced decentering, but do not support the cognitive mechanisms proposed to underlie such enhancement. Since mindfulness practice primarily involves internally directed attention, it may be the case that cognitive tests requiring externally directed attention and timed responses do not accurately assess mindfulness-induced cognitive changes. Implications for the models of mindfulness and future research are discussed.     

Misattribution in Virtual Groups: The Effects of Member Distribution on Self‐Serving Bias and Partner Blame

Interest in virtual groups has focused on attribution biases due to the collocation or distribution of partners. No previous research examines self‐attributions in virtual groups, yet self‐attributions—the acknowledgment of personal responsibility or its deflection—potentially determines learning and improvement. This study reviews research on attributions in virtual groups and the effects of distance on members’ proclivity to blame others or themselves. An experiment involved groups whose members were geographically collocated, distributed, or mixed, working over 2 weeks exclusively using asynchronous computer‐mediated communication. Attributions for participants’ own poor performance reflected a self‐serving bias in completely distributed groups, whose members eschewed personal responsibility and blamed their partners more than in collocated groups. Mixed groups’ results help distinguish among competing theoretical perspectives. Moreover, an externally imposed observational goal mitigated attributional bias among distributed members by raising awareness of the sociotechnical effects of communication medium among those for whom the goal was successfully induced.     

Intensive mindfulness training-related changes in cognitive and emotional experience

This study examined the role of intensive mindfulness training on changes in day-to-day experiential processing, psychological symptoms, resilience, and well-being in two groups of community adults (N = 69). Using both quasi-experimental and longitudinal methods, the study found that intensive training, operationalized as 10–12 hours of formal mindfulness practice per day for 1 month, was significantly related to increases in training-specific experiential processing capacities, namely trait mindfulness and decentering (reperceiving), in comparison to pre–post-training wait-list controls. In both training groups combined, mindfulness, decentering, and acceptance increased over the pre-training to 1-month follow-up period. Intensive mindfulness training was also related to declines in anxiety and enhanced both subjective well-being and self-compassion from pre-training to follow-up in the two training groups. Finally, increases in trait mindfulness and acceptance were related to improvements in psychological symptoms, well-being, and resilience. Future directions for this novel area of mindfulness research are discussed.     

A systematic review of the association between attributional bias/interpersonal style,and violence in schizophrenia/psychosis

Despite the widely recognized link between schizophrenia and violence, the illness-specific factors underlying that association remain unclear. A body of work has implicated deficits in social cognition, consistently seen in schizophrenia, that may mediate the risk of violence. Two specific areas of interest are attributional bias and interpersonal style. We conducted a systematic literature search using EMBASE, Scopus, Ovid Medline, PsycINFO and Science Direct databases with search terms relating to attributional bias, interpersonal style and violence/aggression in schizophrenia. Eleven studies were identified, six related specifically to attributional bias and five to interpersonal style. Results suggest an association between hostile and externalizing attribution biases, and violence in schizophrenia. Furthermore, hostile, dominant, and coercive interpersonal styles are also frequently associated with violence in schizophrenia. An interaction between cognitive impairments and underlying personality traits, as well as other co-morbid or illness factors, is proposed to likely underpin associations with violence in schizophrenia. Conclusions are limited by methodological constraints. The field would benefit from consistent definitions of violence, and a more systematic approach to cognitive assessment. Furthermore, studies with more homogeneous samples; and longitudinal designs are warranted in order to gain a better understanding of causation with regard to illness factors specific to schizophrenia.