The perception of filmed violence by aggressive individuals with high or low self-concept of aggression

An experiment was devised which tested the classical theory of projection. Subjects completed a Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study form (RPFS) also rated themselves for aggressiveness on rating scales. Highly aggressive subjects were classified according to whether they rated themselves as high aggressive or tow aggressive. Subjects watched one of two full-length commercial films, and the ratings which high-aggressive, high-self-rating subjects and high-aggressive, low-self-rating subjects gave to film characters were compared. It was found that aggressive film characters were rated as being more aggressive by the low-self-rating subjects than by the high-self-rating subjects. The possible explanation that this finding could be related to more general differences between subjects was not supported. It was therefore concluded that the results of this experiment were best explained by the predictions of classical projection theory, with the proviso that aggression was only projected onto those film characters whose behaviour provided appropriate cues.