Beyond the evil empire: Horseplay and aggression

Abstract

AbstractThe dominant mode of studying the antecedents of human aggression in psychology has been to look for these precursors in negative life events, for example, being physically punished, observing models using aggressive means, or experiencing forms of privation or frustration. In contrast, within the ethological literature, certain playful activities, in particular “play fighting,” have been interpreted as crucial precursors of later social activities, both aggressive and nonaggressive. Among humans, horseplay, which may be considered synonymous with play fighting, has only rarely been mentioned in psychological literature and scarcely ever in relation to aggression. Within this study, college students rated the extent to which they had engaged in horseplay and in aggressive acts with same‐sex friends and boyfriends or girlfriends over the past 3 years. Analyses indicated that a broad range of playful and aggressive activities was reported by a large proportion of the sample. Results also indicated strong relationships between the tendency to horseplay and to aggress. The relationship was strongest for men with men friends and for women with boyfriends. In general, having steady relationships increased the likelihood that both horseplay and aggressive acts would occur. Weekend alcohol consumption was related to playful activities; heavier use correlated with greater aggressive activities of men with men only. The study suggests that it is useful to broaden the base for conceptualizing aggression to take into account the ways in which playful and friendly activities can facilitate those that are regarded as antisocial and aggressive.