Assaultive behavior personality and personal space

Eysenck's Psychoticism, Extraversion and Neuroticism (PEN) Inventory was used to explore the role of personality variables in augmented personal space required by assaultive offenders. For both violent (n = 20) and nonviolent (n = 20) subjects personal space was greatest from a rear approach. Neither personality scores nor nature of offense alone predicted personal space needs; however personal space was significantly elevated in all directions for assaultive offenders with high scores on the psychoticism scale of the PEN Inventory.     

Androgens and aggressive behavior in primates: A review

This review deals with possible central and peripheral effects of androgens upon primate aggressive behavior. One problem that clouds interpretation of experimental work is that measurements of dominance have often been employed, such as competition tests for food and water. Such measures often do not correlate with those obtained by quantifying aggressive interactions. It should be remembered that very few of the 188 primate species have been studied experimentally and that great behavioral and physiological diversity occurs within the order. Therefore, generalizations about the effects of androgens upon aggressive behavior in primates (including man) should be made with caution. Testosterone has an organizing influence upon the foetal brain of rhesus monkeys and may affect the development of neural mechanisms which govern aggression in males. More data are required on primates, however, since rhesus monkeys show some important differences from rodents as regards the effects of androgen upon sexual differentiation of the hypothalamus. In future, marmosets may provide a suitable model for such studies, because there is evidence that sexual differentiation of brain by androgen occurs postnatally in these monkeys. At puberty, male primates show a variety of behavioral changes and, during adulthood, males of seasonally breeding species may be more aggressive during the mating season, when testosterone levels are maximal. This does not indicate a causative relationship between testosterone and aggressive responses, because castration and androgen treatments have little effect upon aggression in prepubertal or adult males of several primate species. Androgens have pronounced effects on sexual responses in adult male monkeys, but their central effects upon aggression are much less important than among rodents. Elec trical stimulation of hypothalamic pathways has been employed to evoke aggressive behavior in marmosets and rhesus monkeys. In the rhesus, preliminary evidence indicates that such pathways show some sensitivity to androgens. In rodents it is known that these areas are richly supplied with monoaminergic neurons, which play an important role in aggressive behavior. There is little evidence on primates, however, and this remains a crucial topic for future research. Peripheral effects of androgens should also be considered. Many prosimians and New World monkeys use scent-marking behaviors and, in males, androgen-dependent chemical cues may be involved in sexual recognition and territorial behavior. This possibility awaits investigation. Finally, plasma testosterone levels may alter as a function of aggression itself; thus levels decrease if male rhesus monkeys are defeated by conspecifics. This might occur because neural events associated with giving (or receiving) aggression also influence pituitary function and hence alter gonadal testosterone secretion. Theoretically, it is possible that such changes in circulating testosterone might affect aggressive behavior via a feedback action on the brain, but the experimental evidence does not support such a view.     

Level of instigation and model similarity as determinants of aggressive behavior

A study was conducted to replicate and extend a finding by Wheeler and Levine [1967] indicating that a dissimilar model was more effective in inducing the contagion of aggression than a similar model. On the basis of recent findings suggesting the circumstances under which dissimilar others are more influential than similar others, the following predictions were derived: When subjects are highly instigated, dissimilar models can influence subjects to be more aggressive than can similar models; when subjects are under a low degree of instigation similar models will influence subjects to be more aggressive. Subjects presented their point of view on a case study in a three-person group discussion setting. Then subjects heard the second person (instigator) attack their position in a highly abusive or slightly abusive manner (High vs Low Instigation). Next subjects heard a third person, whom they had been led to believe was similar or dissimilar to themselves, attack the instigator (Similar vs Dissimilar Model). Finally subjects had an opportunity to express their feelings to the instigator. The results supported the predictions.     

The stimulating and inhibiting effects of weapons on Aggressive behavior

Evidence is presented suggesting that firearms violence is an important social problem. Research strongly suggests that the effectiveness of firearms as a cause of death and injury may be due to their widespread availability, their lethality, and the impulsivity of their use. The investigation of a possible causal link between firearms and impulsive aggression led to Berkowitz and LePage's (1967) weapons effect experiment. The results suggested that weapons can increase the instigation to aggression in aroused an uninhibited individuals. The researchers reasoned that weapons might stimulate aggression by classical conditioning processes resulting from learned associations between aggressive acts and weapons. Although a few studies have failed to reproduce an aggression-enhancing effect of weapons, the original finding has been replicated in several countries with diverse subject groups both in field and laboratory settings. However, these studies also indicate that many individuals may react with anxiety or fear in the presence of weapons and inhibit aggressive reactions. Manipulations of evaluation apprehension, subject suspiciousness, and/or hypothesis awareness about the purpose of the weapons in the experiments all seem to lead to reduced levels of aggressive response in the presence of weapons. These findings offer a possible explanation for the few failures to replicate the original weapons effect; if researchers used apprehensive subjects or subjects who were aware of possible experimental deceptions, they were more likely to observe an inhibitory reaction rather than an aggression-enhancing effect of weapons.     

The reinforcing properties of aggressive vs nonaggressive social interactions in isolated male ICR mice (Mus musculus)

Isolated male ICR mice in a T-maze consistently selected the goal box which enabled them to fight another mouse if the alternative goal box allowed no social interaction (Experiment 1). However, if the alternative choice enabled the isolated mice to interact with another mouse through a mesh screen which prevented fighting, the preference for the opportunity to fight did not appear (Experiment 2). Because the visual, olfactory, and auditory stimuli available through the screen appeared to be as attractive as the stimuli provided by the additional opportunity to fight, it is not necessary to conclude that the stimuli reinforcing the choice behavior in Experiment 1 were provided by fighting. Since there is no compelling reason to conclude that fighting is a primary reinforcer for these isolated mice, it is not necessary to argue that the high incidence of isolation-induced fighting is the reflection of a primary aggressive motive.     

情绪智力对大学生恶意创造力的影响：一个有调节的中介模型

采用问卷法对广东省676名大学生进行调查,深入探讨了情绪智力影响恶意创造力的路径,重点考察了攻击行为的中介作用和宽恕的调节作用。结果显示：（1）情绪智力与恶意创造力显著负相关;（2）攻击行为在情绪智力与恶意创造力之间起中介作用;（3）宽恕可以显著调节攻击行为与恶意创造力之间的关系。具体而言,相比于高宽恕水平的大学生,攻击行为对低宽恕水平大学生的恶意创造力的影响更大。     

多巴胺系统多基因与青少年攻击行为的U型关系：母亲消极教养的调节作用

多巴胺活性与攻击相关的脑功能活动呈倒U型关系。本研究对1044名汉族青少年(初次测评时M age=13.32±0.49岁,50.2%女生)的攻击行为进行间隔一年的两次测评,采用多基因累积分范式考察多巴胺系统的多基因功能积分与青少年攻击行为间的关系以及母亲消极教养的调节作用。结果发现,多巴胺系统多基因累积分二次项与母亲消极教养交互影响两个时间点的青少年攻击行为：在较高母亲消极教养条件下,携带较多或较少低多巴胺活性相关等位基因的青少年表现出高水平的攻击行为,呈U型关系;在较低母亲消极教养条件下,多基因累积分二次项与青少年的攻击行为关系不显著。本研究为多巴胺系统基因的联合效应与母亲消极教养调节青少年攻击行为的基因作用机制提供证据。     

The effect of justified video game violence on aggressive behavior and moderated immersion: An experimental approach

The effect of violent video games on aggressive behavior is an important topic in the field of game research. Recently, growing evidence suggests that justified game violence decreases feelings of guilt caused by in-game immoral behavior. However, little is known about the impact on aggressive behavior, and whether other factors moderate this effect. In a two-factor experiment, we tested the impact of justification of video game violence on aggressive behavior, and whether this effect would be enhanced by game immersion. Pilot experiment 1 (N = 60) and pilot experiment 2 (N = 40) demonstrated that the justification of violence and game immersion was successfully controlled by avatar and graphics quality. In the Main experiment, 123 participants played one of four conditions of a video game (2 [justification: justified vs. unjustified violence] × 2 [immersion: high vs. low immersion]) and it was found that participants who played in the justified violence condition reported greater aggressive behavior than those in the unjustified violence condition. In addition, participants who played in high immersion reported greater aggressive behavior than those in low immersion. However, game immersion did not moderate the effects of justified violence. This unexpected effect is likely due to participants' distancing themselves from and identifying less with their violent avatars.     

Pseudosex in Pseudotheology

John Beaumont has attempted to revitalize the official RomanCatholic position against the use of artificial contraceptionby reinvigorating the argument against such from natural law.Maintaining that sexual acts are essentially reproductive acts,he holds that the use of contraceptives by married couples reducesintercourse to the same moral level as homosexual acts. He furtherargues that acceptance of birth control has directly led tothe legitimization of homosexual acts in American society. However,his analysis fails to distinguish between historical connectionsbetween the various elements of the sexual revolution and deepmoral relationships. His dependency on the natural law traditionalso results in an impoverished theological vision, which failsto relate human sexuality and the unitive drive to the divineimage in mankind. Only an anthropology which takes account ofthe Holy Trinity as the paradigm for human being can adequatelyground sexuality. This theological context, which is suppliedin the Eastern Orthodox tradition, grounds human sexuality ininterpersonal communion in love. It finds in the unitive drivethe need to realize the fullness of humanity in this experienceof communion, which directly reflects the Trinitarian natureof God. From such a perspective, the moral equation of maritalacts to homosexual indulgences is revealed as a gross distortion.Furthermore, the moral gulf that Beaumont seeks to establishbetween natural family planning and the use of contraceptivescollapses, as does the usefulness of natural law tradition ingeneral to combat the secularization of human sexuality.     

饥饿对认知与社会行为的影响及其机制

从心理学视角综述了饥饿对个体认知与社会行为的广泛影响。饥饿会损害一般认知功能, 潜在导致决策与认知偏差, 并引发道德判断标准降低、社会态度改变以及攻击行为增加等现象。在以往研究的基础上, 总结出饥饿影响认知与社会行为内在机制的三种假说：自我损耗说、认知激活说以及协调机制说。最后, 指出当前研究存在着饥饿主观感受差异、测量方法不够准确等问题, 未来研究需要提高饥饿的测量效度, 从生理、心理、社会等多个层面对饥饿影响的机制进行深入探讨。