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.     

Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior: Potential Sex Differences

Evidence of the effects of playing violent video games on subsequent aggression has been mixed. This study examined how playing a violent video game affected levels of aggression displayed in a laboratory. A total of 43 undergraduate students (22 men and 21 women) were randomly assigned to play either a violent (Mortal Kombat) or nonviolent (PGA Tournament Golf) video game for 10 min. Then they competed with a confederate in a reaction time task that allowed for provocation and retaliation. Punishment levels set by participants for their opponents served as the measure of aggression. The results confirmed our hypothesis that playing the violent game would result in more aggression than would playing the nonviolent game. In addition, a Game × Sex interaction showed that this effect was larger for men than for women. Findings are discussed in light of potential differences in aggressive style between men and women.     

Sexual and aggressive play fighting of sibling Richardson’s ground squirrels

Play fighting in many species of squirrels can involve sexual play and aggressive play, both of which can lead to wrestling which appears superficially similar. Such convergence can make scoring of the relative frequencies of these two types of play difficult and can lead to the mistaken conclusion that they grade into one another. In this study, both staged laboratory encounters between sibling pairs and spontaneous encounters between siblings in free‐living litters of Richardson’s ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) were videotaped. Frame‐by‐frame analyses using the Eshkol‐Wachman Movement Notation were employed to record the correlated movements of attack and defense by the partners and to reveal the body areas targeted during each play bout. Whereas sexual play was organized around access to the rump, aggressive play was organized around the shoulders. Although in most cases the defender’s tactics blocked access to the respective target, when contact did occur, it involved mounting in sexual play and nosing or biting in aggressive play. Eighty‐six percent of play fights could be unambiguously categorized as either sexual or aggressive play. Of these, the majority (?80%) involved sexual play. The sex of the participants did not affect the frequency of aggressive play, but in sexual play, males initiated more attacks than females. Once initiated, each form of play fighting remained distinct—if a bout began as sexual play, it would end as sexual play. Furthermore, a counterattack following sexual play was significantly more likely to be sexual than aggressive, and vice versa for counterattacks following aggressive play. Therefore, all the evidence suggested that the two forms of play fighting were not intermixed in Richardson’s ground squirrels. Aggr. Behav. 27:323–337, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

初中生情绪反应、表达及其与攻击行为

运用自编的《中学生情绪评定问卷》和修订的Spielberger《状态——特质愤怒表达问卷》对833名普通中学初中生进行了测试,并用同伴提名的方法把学生分为普通组、身体攻击组和关系攻击组,探讨了初中生情绪反应、表达的特点和攻击行为学生情绪反应、表达的特点。研究结果表明:(1)初中女生报告的恐惧感、悲伤感高于男生,女生报告的愤怒表达也显著高于男生;但在特质愤怒方面,男生报告的特质愤怒水平显著高于女生。在情绪表达与反应的大多数方面不存在显著的年级差异,只在负性情绪表达方面初二女生报告了比初一、初三女生更高的负性情绪表达。(2)被同伴提名为身体攻击学生在状态愤怒、特质愤怒、愤怒表达方面显著高于普通学生,被同伴提名为关系攻击的学生在特质愤怒、愤怒表达方面也显著高于普通学生。攻击行为学生的愤怒情绪系统存在一定的缺陷。     

Hunger and love: Schiller and the origin of drive dualism in Freud's work1

The interpretation of dreams was the fi rst text in which Freud referred to the system of two drives (drive of self‐preservation and the sexual drive). In order to understand how this question was at work in Freud's mind, one has to go back to 1898, when Freud began to write the third chapter of The interpretation of dreams. One can then see, in contrast with Sulloway's assertions, how Freud was inspired by Schiller, whose shadow haunted his dreams between April and December 1898. The analysis of these dreams emphasizes how the references to Schiller's works and to the drive of self‐preservation cover sexual impulses, in particular, those connected with the relationship to the father. The food drive or drive of self‐preservation also enabled Freud to construct a heroic romance. He was thereby able to bury an internal criticism which was at odds with his persistence in describing the father as a seducer, and to conceal scenes in which he was defeated and sexually subdued by another boy.     

儿童道德脱离的影响因素及其与社会行为的关系

问卷调查了775名小学四、五、六年级儿童的移情和道德认同对于道德脱离的影响及道德脱离对其社会行为的作用。结果表明,儿童的移情和道德认同均对儿童的道德脱离有显著的负向影响;儿童的道德脱离对于攻击性行为具有显著的正向关系,与亲社会行为则是显著的负向关系。     

Cool and hot executive function as predictors of aggression in early childhood: Differentiating between the function and form of aggression

Executive function (EF) has been implicated in childhood aggression. Understanding of the role of EF in aggression has been hindered, however, by the lack of research taking into account the function and form of aggression and the almost exclusive focus on cool EF. This study examined the role of cool and hot EF in teacher reported aggression, differentiating between reactive and proactive as well as physical and relational aggression. Children (N = 106) completed laboratory tasks measuring cool (inhibition, planning, working memory) and hot EF (affective decision‐making, delay of gratification). Cool, but not hot, EF significantly contributed to understanding of childhood aggression. Inhibition was a central predictor of childhood aggression. Planning and working memory, in contrast, were significant independent predictors of proactive relational aggression only. Added to this, prosocial behaviour moderated the relationship between working memory and reactive relational aggression. This study therefore suggests that cool EF, particularly inhibition, is associated with childhood aggression across the different functions and forms.     

3～6岁幼儿对攻击性行为的认知评价分析

通过故事评定法分析了3～6岁幼儿对攻击性行为的认知评价,结果表明:①此年龄段的幼儿对攻击性行为的认知已经达到一定的成熟度,开始考虑攻击性行为的条件与方式;②幼儿对攻击性行为的认知评价存在一定的性别差异,主要表现在受到言语侵犯时的攻击性行为;③对攻击性行为的认知评价的年龄差异突出表现在5岁与6岁之间.④采用蒙特梭利教育法的实验班幼儿,对攻击性行为比非实验班幼儿评价得更消极.