Effects of alcohol and aggressive disposition on human physical aggression

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Intoxicated and nonintoxicated subjects with self-reported high, moderate, and low aggressive dispositions were given the opportunity to administer electric shocks to an increasingly provocative opponent within the context of a competitive reaction time task. Intoxicated subjects selected higher levels of shock than non-intoxicated subjects under low provocation conditions. The highly intoxicated high and moderate aggressors tended to increase their shock settings more rapidly as a function of the opponent's provocation than the highly intoxicated low aggressors.