Pain-induced aggression: An ethological perspective |
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Authors: | John Archer |
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Institution: | 1. School of Psychology, Lancashire Polytechnic, PRI 2TQ, Preston, England
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Abstract: | Pain-induced aggression has been studied mainly in animals, but generalizations are made to human aggression, noteably in
Berkowitz’s “aversive-stimulation” view. This review reevaluates the motivational basis of pain-induced attack by considering
it from an ethological perspective. Studies supporting the view that shock-induced attack is fear-motivated are briefly reviewed
before consideration of evidence that does not support this view, from naturally-ocurring examples of pain-induced attack,
and from examples of sex and hormonal effects. A reconcilliation between the apparently conflicting views is suggested by
distinguishing between the functional (competitive-protective) dimension and the causal (offensive-defensive) dimension. It
is proposed that pain-induced attack is protective in function but can be offensive or defensive (or both) in its form; the
offensive form is only rarely observed under laboratory conditions. The implications of this view are discussed (1) for the
use of shock-induced fighting as an animal model of aggression; and (2) for studies of human pain-induced aggression. Ethical
issues surrounding shock-induced aggression research are considered. |
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