Justification of interpersonal aggression in Japanese,American, and Spanish students

Six hundred and thirty‐two university students of both sexes—242 Japanese (137 males and 105 females), 190 Spanish (71 males and 119 females), and 200 American (100 males and 100 females)—completed a questionnaire that examined their attitudes toward various kinds of aggression directed at other people in different situations that ranged from self‐defense to a method of overcoming communication problems. Factor analysis revealed three factors: physical aggression (killing, torture, and hitting), direct verbal aggression (shouting and rage), and indirect verbal aggression (being ironic and hindering). The basic factor structure of the Japanese, the Spanish, and the USA samples was similar. In all samples, men showed a higher justification of physical aggressive acts in any situation and of indirect verbal aggression in nondefensive circumstances. Cultural differences were found in the degree of justification of the three factors: in all kinds of situations, Japanese students showed a lower justification of indirect verbal aggression but a higher justification of direct verbal aggression than USA and Spain samples. Physical aggression in defensive situations is justified more by Americans than by Japanese and Spanish students. These findings suggest the existence of a common basic moral code about physical aggressive acts, but there seems to be a cultural influence on moral codes concerning verbal aggressive acts. Oriental cultures, with an interdependent construal of self, seem to be more permissive of direct verbal aggression compared with Western cultures, but they have less tolerance for indirect verbal aggression. There were practically no significant differences between American and Spanish scores. Aggr. Behav. 25:185–195, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

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.     

Social sanction and threat explanations of gender effects on direct and indirect aggression

The present study examined two explanations for gender differences in expression of direct and indirect aggression. The social sanction model suggests that aggressor and target gender effects may be accounted for in terms of social sanctions against behaving aggressively; indirect aggression is the likely outcome of inhibitions against expression of direct aggression. The threat argument suggests that high levels of direct aggression in male‐male dyads as well as apparent inhibitions against harming females might be accounted for by the fact that males are more threatening targets than are females. Research participants completed a questionnaire measure of direct and indirect aggression twice, once with reference to their behavior toward a same‐gender target and once with reference to their behavior toward an other‐gender target. Although most direct aggression was reported by male aggressors toward male targets, gender of target did not relate to indirect aggression. Males reported approximately equal levels of indirect and direct aggression. Although females reported using more indirect than direct aggression, they did not differ from males in their reports of the frequency of use of indirect aggression. These results provided some support for both models of gender effects on human aggression and suggest the appropriateness of a relatively complex model of gender effects on aggression. Aggr. Behav. 25:425–434, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

AIRA: Measurement of adolescents’ judgments regarding intentions to respond to physical and verbal aggression

The current study utilized a structural equations approach in developing an instrument to investigate adolescents’ (N = 510; 9th–12th graders) judgments about the likelihood that they would actively respond to a witnessed aggressive situation. Two aggressive subscales were developed: physical and verbal. The instrument controlled for the relationship (acquaintance vs. friend) of the witness to the perpetrator and to the victim involved in the event. Results provided evidence for a domain approach to judgments about active responses to aggression. Furthermore, as predicted, the factors of gender, age, relationship of the witness to both the victim and the perpetrator, and aggressive situation influenced adolescents’ judgments. Regardless of whether the perpetrator and the victim were acquaintances or friends of the witness, younger males indicated that they were less likely to respond to acts of physical aggression than were adolescents in the other three groups. In contrast, when acquaintances were involved in situations involving verbal aggression, younger males were less likely to respond than were younger females. When the perpetrator and the victim were friends of the witness, females, regardless of age, were more likely than males to respond to verbally aggressive acts. Aggr. Behav. 28:207–223, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Can Outcome Expectancies Help Explain Sex Differences in Direct and Indirect Aggression?

This study examined the role of outcome expectancies in explaining sex differences in adolescents' inclination to engage in acts of aggression. Using a sample of Australian adolescents, 2 scales were developed to measure outcome expectancies of direct and indirect aggression. The data were used in subsequent mediation analyses. Sex differences in direct aggression were partially mediated by 2 types of aggression expectancies. Relative to females, males anticipated more overall benefits associated with acting aggressively and less fear of reprisals from authority figures. This pattern of expectancy beliefs predicted higher levels of self‐reported direct aggression. Sex differences in indirect aggression were fully mediated by anticipation of personal benefits, with males expecting greater personal benefits for engaging in this type of aggression.     

The relation between scores on the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire and aggressive acts,impulsiveness, competitiveness,dominance, and sexual jealousy

This paper examines the relation of the four subscales (physical, verbal, anger and hostility) of the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) to act‐based aggression questionnaires (involving same‐sex or partners as opponents, and direct or indirect aggression) and evolutionarily based predictors of aggression, using an online student sample. All aggression measures were moderately correlated with one another. The BPAQ physical and verbal scales were most closely related to act‐based measures of direct aggression to a same‐sex other and the hostility scale to indirect aggression to a same‐sex other. The evolutionary variables were less closely related to the BPAQ than were the act‐based measures. Dominance and sexual jealousy were predictors of BPAQ physical, verbal and anger, and impulsiveness was a significant predictor of anger. Aggr. Behav. 32:1–10, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Indirect aggression in the media: A content analysis of british television programs

The purpose of this study is to determine how much indirect aggression occurs in television programs popular among British adolescents. Previous research has mainly focused on violence in the media rather than examining this more manipulative and subtle type of aggression. A content analysis of 228 hours of television programming revealed that indirect aggression was portrayed in 92.04% of all episodes analyzed. It was portrayed more frequently than physical and verbal aggression. Females were more likely to be shown as indirect aggressors than were males, while males were more likely to be portrayed as physical aggressors. Attractive aggressors were more likely to use indirect than other types of aggression. Indirect aggression was often found to be justified, realistic, and rewarded. We conclude that programs that are not considered violent may still contain a large amount of other types of aggression. Aggr. Behav. 30:254–271, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

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.     

Behavioral and self‐reported aggression as a function of domain‐specific self‐esteem

On the basis of a domain‐specific theory of self‐esteem, it was hypothesized that functionally distinct domains of self‐esteem would predict aggression differentially. Participants completed self‐report measures of self‐perceived superiority, mate value, social inclusion, and global self‐esteem, as well as of aggression. Self‐assessed mate value emerged as a reliable, positive predictor, and social inclusion as a reliable inverse predictor, of self‐reported hostility and aggression. In a subsequent laboratory experiment, in which participants had an opportunity to aggress against the source of positive or negative feedback about a personal essay that they had written, mate value again predicted increased aggression, whereas global self‐esteem predicted decreased aggression. These main effects were moderated by the feedback manipulation, such that their respective simple effects were only present among participants that received negative feedback. Aggr. Behav. 00:1–11, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Sport team identification and willingness to consider anonymous acts of hostile aggression

Previous research indicated that a sizeable minority of individuals report a willingness to consider engaging in anonymous acts of instrumental aggression directed toward players and coaches of a rival team. Individuals with a high degree of identification with their favorite team were particularly likely to consider such acts. The current investigation was designed to extend this research by examining the likelihood that individuals would consider engaging in hostile anonymous aggression. It was expected that highly identified persons would be particularly likely to consider these acts, even though the acts would not provide a competitive advantage for their team. Data collected from 175 university students confirmed the expectations. In addition, the results indicated that males were more likely than females to report a willingness to consider the hostile aggressive acts and that participants were more likely to report a willingness to engage in less destructive acts (e.g., tripping an opposing player or coach) than more destructive acts (e.g., murdering an opposing player or coach). Aggr. Behav. 29:406–413, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Global or Domain Specific Self-Esteem: Can it Predict Aggression Among Children and Adolescents?

The study examined whether self-esteem predicted aggression among children and adolescents. Through a multistage method of sampling, the study utilized 170 (N = 170) participants from primary (elementary) and secondary (high) schools across Trinidad. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, The Culture Free Self Esteem Inventory (CFSEI), and the Direct and Indirect Aggression Scale (DIAS). Using hierarchical regression analyses, both global and domain specific measures of self-esteem were used as predictors of the three types of aggression: direct physical, direct verbal and indirect aggression. The results revealed that global self-esteem was a stronger predictor of aggression for children than domain specific self-esteem. However, domain specific self-esteem was a stronger predictor of aggression among adolescents. As it relates to aggression, the pathways to global self-esteem differed from domain specific self-esteem. Implications for the comparative use of multidimensional and global self-esteem were discussed, and recommendations for future research have been proposed.     

Assessing the role of aggression,empathy, and self‐serving cognitive distortions in trait emotional manipulation

This study extended the examination of the predictors of emotional manipulation. Participants (N = 243) completed measures of trait emotional manipulation, emotional intelligence, social skills, psychopathy, aggression, empathy, and self‐serving cognitive distortions in a cross‐sectional correlational design. For males, higher levels of emotional intelligence, social information processing, indirect aggression, and self‐serving cognitive distortions significantly predicted emotional manipulation. For females, being younger, higher levels of emotional intelligence, indirect aggression, primary psychopathic traits, and lower levels of social awareness significantly predicted emotional manipulation. However for females, emotional intelligence acted as a suppressor. These findings support previous indications that the mechanisms behind emotional manipulation differ as a function of gender. Future research could include ability, rather than trait measures of emotional manipulation, as well as the role of context (such as intimate relationships or workplace environments), thereby allowing additional examination of the nomological network of emotional manipulation.     

Sex,race, and experiences of aggression

Most previous research on sex differences in experienced aggression has confounded the sex of the aggressor and of the target by considering married or dating couples. In the present study, black and white male and female college students were asked about specific acts of aggression which they had received from or directed toward a male or female. As predicted, males were likely to have both received and exhibited more forms of aggressive behavior, although females were somewhat more likely to have been honked at, to have been forced by a male to have sex, and to have slapped someone. Few racial differences were found, but it appeared that blacks might have been relatively more likely to exhibit physical aggression and whites to exhibit nonphysical aggression. Some differences were found in specific behaviors directed toward and received from males and females, but in general subjects said that they received more aggressive behaviors than they directed toward others. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Predicting dating behavior from aggression and self‐perceived social status in adolescence

We investigated the longitudinal associations between self‐reported aggression, self‐perceived social status, and dating in adolescence using an intrasexual competition theoretical framework. Participants consisted of 536 students in Grade 9 (age 15), recruited from a community sample, who were assessed on a yearly basis until they were in Grade 11 (age 17). Adolescents self‐reported their use of direct and indirect aggression, social status, and number of dating partners. A cross‐lagged panel model that controlled for within‐time covariance and across‐time stability while examining cross‐lagged pathways was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that direct aggression did not predict dating behavior and was negatively associated with self‐perceived social status in Grade 10. Self‐perceived social status in Grade 9 was positively associated with greater use of indirect aggression in Grade 10. Regarding dating, in Grade 9, self‐perceived social status positively predicted more dating partners the following year, while in Grade 10, it was higher levels of indirect aggression that predicted greater dating activity the following year. Overall, there were no significant sex differences in the model. The study supports the utility of evolutionary psychological theory in explaining peer aggression, and suggests that although social status can increase dating opportunities, as adolescents mature, indirect aggression becomes the most successful and strategic means of competing intrasexually and gaining mating advantages.

     

Group membership,group norms,empathy, and young children's intentions to aggress

This study assessed the effect of ingroup norms and empathy on 6 and 9‐year‐old children's (N=161) attitudes and aggressive intentions toward outgroup members. Prior to an intergroup drawing competition against an outgroup, participants' empathy was measured, and they were randomly assigned to a simulated group with a norm of direct or indirect aggression, or no aggression norm. Results indicated participants' attitudes were less positive toward the outgroup vs. the ingroup, and that both direct and indirect aggressive intentions were displayed toward the outgroup. Most importantly, the ingroup was liked less when it had an aggression norm, and the participants' aggressive intentions were not enhanced by the group aggression norm. Empathy was a significant negative predictor of direct but not indirect aggression intentions. Implications for understanding the instigation and inhibition of children's aggression intentions are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 35:244–258, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Aggression among older adults: The relationship of interaction networks and gender role to direct and indirect responses

This study examined interpersonally aggressive strategies among older adults and the social and personal context in which these strategies are likely to be employed. Specifically we assessed the relationship of social interaction networks and gender roles to the use of direct and indirect aggression. We predicted that older adults would be more likely to employ indirect than direct strategies and that the use of such strategies would be associated with network structure (i.e., size, density, and knowingness) and gender roles. One hundred ten older adults (mean age, 71 years; range, 55–89 years) completed questionnaires and interviews designed to measure aggressive strategies; gender roles; and network size, density, and knowingness. Respondents reported using more indirect than direct strategies. Those who reported using indirect aggression also reported being relatively masculine and having larger but less connected interaction networks. Use of direct aggression was associated with lower femininity scores but was not related to network structure. Aggr. Behav. 26:145–154, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Contingent responses of mothers and peers to indirect and direct aggression in preschool and school-aged children

The primary goal of the study was to determine whether mother and peer's responses to direct and indirect aggression would contribute to children's use of direct and indirect aggression. Using adaptations of the Direct and Indirect Aggression Scale, a multi-informant strategy, and a sample of disadvantaged families, data were collected from 296 mothers of children ages 4-11, 237 children ages 6-11, and 151 teachers of those children. Mothers and peers were reported to react more harshly in response to direct aggression compared with indirect aggression, and higher rates of direct aggression were associated with reduced popularity. These findings were seen as being consistent with the hypothesis that different forms of aggression result in differential responding by mothers and peers, as well as the notion that direct aggression is a higher cost option than indirect aggression. Results also replicated previous findings that boys tend to use physical aggression more than girls, but girls use indirect aggression more than boys. Finally, low IQ was correlated with higher direct aggression in girls but had no relation with aggression in boys.     

Relation between childhood peer victimization and adult perfectionism: are victims of indirect aggression more perfectionistic?

Using two independent samples and two different measures of perfectionism, this study investigated the hypothesized relation between retrospective accounts of perceived peer-inflicted emotional abuse during childhood and perfectionism in adulthood. Emotional victimization ('indirect' aggression) is characterized by behavior in which mental harm is inflicted on victims through exclusionary acts, gossiping, and rumor spreading. Study one: Self-reported questionnaires of indirect victimization [DIAS; Bjorkqvist, Lagerspetz, and Osterman, 1992] and perfectionism [multidimensional perfectionism scale; Hewitt and Flett, 1991] were administered to 162 (mean age=20.14 years) female undergraduate psychology students. Results support the predicted positive relationship between recalled indirect peer victimization and current socially prescribed/self-oriented perfectionism. Study two: self-reports of indirect peer victimization and perfectionism (eating disorder inventory-perfectionism) were collected from 196 (mean age=19.5 years) female undergraduate students. Again, recalled indirect peer victimization was a statistically significant predictor of current socially prescribed/self-oriented perfectionism whereas recalled direct (physical, verbal) peer victimization held no relation. Discussion addresses the implications of these results, which hold importance for both the bullying and perfectionism literatures.     

Does cost–benefit analysis or self‐control predict involvement in two forms of aggression?

The main aim of this research was to assess the relative association between physical aggression and (1) self‐control and (2) cost‐benefit assessment, these variables representing the operation of impulsive and reflective processes. Study 1 involved direct and indirect aggression among young Indian men, and Study 2 physical aggression to dating partners among Spanish adolescents. In Study 1, perceived benefits and costs but not self‐control were associated with direct aggression at other men, and the association remained when their close association with indirect aggression was controlled. In Study 2, benefits and self‐control showed significant and independent associations (positive for benefits, negative for self‐control) with physical aggression at other‐sex partners. Although being victimized was also correlated in the same direction with self‐control and benefits, perpetration and being victimized were highly correlated, and there was no association between being victimized and these variables when perpetration was controlled. These results support the theory that reflective (cost‐benefit analyses) processes and impulsive (self‐control) processes operate in parallel in affecting aggression. The finding that male adolescents perceived more costs and fewer benefits from physical aggression to a partner than female adolescents did is consistent with findings indicating greater social disapproval of men hitting women than vice versa, rather than with the view that male violence to women is facilitated by internalized patriarchal values. Aggr. Behav. 36:292–304, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.