| Abstract: | Males on parole were recruited into a study to determine the external validity of the ©Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm, a laboratory procedure for measuring human aggressive responding. Subjects were assigned to either a violent or nonviolent group based on their criminal record and the Brown History of Violence Questionnaire. Subjects participated in six 25-min sessions and completed a series of questionnaires. During the laboratory sessions subjects were given two response options: 1) Pressing button A to accumulate points exchangeable for money, and 2) pressing button B which ostensibly subtracted points from another fictitious person. Responding on button B was defined as aggressive since it resulted in the ostensible delivery of an aversive stimulus to another person. Results indicated that the subjects in the violent group emitted significantly more aggressive responses than subjects in the nonviolent group. The two groups also differed on psychometric measures of aggression. This study provides external validity for this laboratory measurement of human aggressive responding, even among males with very similar backgrounds. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc. |
