Aggressive Cues Research Articles

The effects of alcohol and the salience of aggressive cues on triggered displaced aggression

Alcohol increases the aggression-augmenting effects of provocation. Theories of alcohol and aggression suggest that impaired cognitive processing induced by acute intoxication leads individuals to process aggression-inducing social cues differently depending on whether they are high or low in salience. We examined the effects of intoxication and aggressive cue salience within the triggered displaced aggression paradigm. An ethnically diverse sample of 74 primarily young adult participants (40 men and 34 women; M=23.28, SD=3.14 years) were recruited from the university community and surrounding area. All participants were provoked by an experimenter, randomly assigned to a 2 (alcohol condition: alcohol vs. placebo) x 2 (trigger salience: high vs. low salience) between-subjects design, and then given the opportunity to aggress against the undeserving triggering agent. As expected, intoxication combined with a salient triggering cue elicited the most displaced aggression among all conditions. These results provide the first evidence that the effect of alcohol on triggered displaced aggression is moderated by the salience of the triggering event.

Controlling reactive aggression through cognitive evaluation of proactive aggression cues

The authors investigated how the relationship between the acts of proactive and reactive aggression was moderated by the individual differences in cognitive regulation of emotion. An aggression paradigm, a electrocardiogram recording, a cognitive assessment battery, and a short form IQ test were completed by 109 children, aged 8 to 13 years (Juujärvi, Kaartinen, Laitinen, Vanninen, & Pulkkinen, 2006; Juujärvi, Kooistra, Kaartinen, & Pulkkinen, 2001; Lehto, Juujärvi, Kooistra, & Pulkkinen, 2003). The less the children subdued the intensity of their defence to the attacks in the aggression paradigm, the poorer they performed in the cognitive assessment battery tasks measuring Working memory capacity and in the task assessing crystallised intelligence. The mean cardiovascular reactivity during the aggression paradigm was neither associated with the performances in either the cognitive assessment battery nor the intelligence tasks. Both information processing and knowledge dimensions of cognition contributed to regulation of emotion, but the respective effects of the processes cannot be inferred from the mean cardiovascular reactivity.

Considering the roles of affect and culture in the enactment and enjoyment of cruelty

Research on aggression and terror management theory suggests shortcomings in Nell's analysis of cruelty. Hostile aggression and exposure to aggressive cues are not inherently reinforcing, though they may be enjoyed if construed within a meaningful cultural framework. Terror management research suggests that human cruelty stems from the desire to defend one's cultural worldview and to participate in a heroic triumph over evil.

Autobiographical memory predicts the course of depression during detoxification therapy in alcohol dependent men

Background: Recall of autobiographical memories (AM) has shown to predict the course of depression during psychiatric treatment [British Journal of Psychiatry 162 (1993)]; therefore, we assume that AM also predicts the remissive course of depression during detoxification therapy in alcohol dependent men. Methods: In a longitudinal study, 65 patients were assessed twice: at admission to a detoxification unit and about 3 weeks later for follow-up. AM scores at the beginning of the detoxification program were used as predictors in hierarchical regression analyses. Results: After controlling for initial depression, mental status and degree of alcohol dependence, AM in response to positive and aggressive cue words significantly predicted affective change. These results validate the assumption that AM is a psychological depression marker. Limitations: No data are reported on depression prior to drinking onset. Conclusions: As a practical consequence, AM can assist the physician with the decision for concomittant antidepressive therapy during detoxification and rehabilitation of alcohol dependent men.

Effects of alcohol on human aggression. Validity of proposed explanations.

In the present review, meta-analytic procedures were used to test the validity of three explanations of alcohol-related aggression: physiological disinhibition, expectancy, and indirect cause. According to the physiological disinhibition explanation, alcohol increases aggression directly by anesthetizing the center of the brain that normally inhibits aggressive responding. According to the expectancy explanation, alcohol increases aggression because people expect it to. According to the indirect cause explanation, alcohol increases aggression by causing changes within the person that increase the probability of aggression (e.g., by reducing intellectual functioning). The results from the review were inconsistent with the physiological disinhibition and expectancy explanations, but were consistent with the indirect cause explanation. Experimental manipulations that increased aggression (e.g., provocations, frustrations, aggressive cues) had a stronger effect on intoxicated participants than on sober participants.

Assessment of attentional bias and mood in users and non-users of anabolic-androgenic steroids

Forty-six male strength athletes took part in a study to measure the effects of anabolic-androgenic steroids on attentional bias to aggressive cues. They were 16 current users of anabolic steroids, 16 former users and 14 non-users. Testosterone, deca-durabolin and anadrol were the three most commonly taken steroids during the last cycle. Users generally took 2–3 drugs during each cycle; the average cycle lasted 8–11 weeks and they had completed 3–4 cycles. The subjects completed visual analogue scales of current feelings and were presented with a modified Stroop Colour Word Conflict Task containing sets of neutral, verbally aggressive and physically aggressive words. Current users tended to rate themselves more negatively. Users took longer than former users to name the colours of all word sets but there were no significant differences between word sets. Therefore, attentional bias did not differ between groups but current steroid use produced subtle mood changes and slowed performance compared to users not currently taking steroids.

Effects of situational aggression cues: a quantitative review.

Meta-analytic procedures were used to assess the degree to which aggression-related cues present in the environment facilitate aggressive responding among negatively aroused subjects. The first study, which examined the so-called weapons effect, the effect of name-mediated cues, and other cue effects, showed clear evidence that aggression cues augment aggressive responses in negatively aroused subjects. This was true for the overall analysis and for name-mediated cues, but confirmation of the weapons effect was restricted to cases wherein subject sophistication and evaluation apprehension were low. A second study used partial correlation analysis to assess independently the effects of seven potential mediators of aggression cue effects. Of these, target-based facilitation and harm capacity of the aggressive response were found to mediate the magnitude of cue-facilitated aggression. A third study showed that these mediators augmented cue effects among neutral as well as negatively aroused subjects. These outcomes are interpreted as emphasizing the role of cognitive factors in the expression of both impulsive and nonimpulsive aggression.

Effects of situational aggression cues: A quantitative review.

Effects of situational aggression cues: A quantitative review.

The Impact of Explicit Aggressive and Implicit Nonaggressive Cues on Aggression in Intoxicated and Sober Males

This study examined the impact of explicit aggressive and nonaggressive cues and implicit nonaggressive cues on aggression in intoxicated and sober male subjects. Forty-eight subjects randomly assigned in a 2 x 2 factorial design competed in a reaction time task with a simulated opponent. Alcohol subjects received 1.25 g of ethanol/kg of body weight, while no-alcohol subjects received no beverage. Half of the subjects heard the opponent express an intention to set the highest shock for the subject (explicit aggressive cue), and half heard him express an intention to set the lowest shock (explicit nonaggressive cue). After Trial 1, all subjects saw that the opponent had set the lowest shock setting (implicit nonaggressive cue). Intoxicated and sober subjects did not differ on Trial 1. Following the implicit cue, intoxicated/aggressive cue subjects were more aggressive than sober/aggressive cue subjects. Within the alcohol groups, subjects with higher blood alcohol levels were more responsive to the explicit cue provided. The results support attentional and information-processing models of alcohol and aggression.

Aggressive Cue Prominence and Gender Participation in MTV

^ Rock and roll music has generated criticism both for the music itself and for the manner in which the music has been presented. When Elvis Presley appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, camera operators were instructed to shoot him from the waist up because his pelvic gyrations were considered lewd. The Rolling Stones' 1965 release (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction was banned by many radio stations because of its suggestive lyrics.' With cable television, popular music may now reach a large audience visually as well as aurally. The most important and pervasive outlet for rock videos is Music Television (MTV), a 24-hour network devoted to cablecasting some 1,200 rock videos, all of which are supplied by record companies for promotional purposes.^ Costing Warner Communications and the American Express Company S20 million to initiate in 1981, MTV offers 35.8 million cable homes nearly constant exposure to music videos.' MTV's average rating hit a high of 1.2% in 1983, and although it has since fallen (recent estimates halve the 1983 figure), advertisers eagerly continue to aim messages at teen viewers of music videos, and MTV revenues are up,*

Effects of observing competitive and violent versions of a sport

Males were randomly assigned to view either (1) a film clip featuring hockey fights or (2) a film of nonaggressive hockey action or (3) a no-film control condition after having first been angered or treated politely by an experimental confederate. The dependent variable was represented by a measure of aggressive mood and a behavioral measure of retaliatory aggression. Analyses revealed that both angered and nonangered subjects exhibited an increase in aggressive mood following exposure to the fight film. However, the analysis involving retaliatory aggression against the confederate yielded an anger x film interaction. While angered subjects were more aggressive than nonangered, only angered subjects retaliated against the confederate after viewing the fight film. The results were discussed in terms of Berkowitz’s (1974) aggressive cue theory.

Aberrant sexual arousal in sexual offenders.

The present article has reviewed the experimental work concerning deviant sexual arousal to sexually aggressive and nonsexually aggressive cues in rapists and child molesters. To date, the results of this work are encouraging and indicate that we are able to identify these two offender groups on the basis of their erectile responses to sexual violence despite variability due to laboratories, stimulus material, and language. In addition, recent suggestions regarding the standardization of procedures and stimulus material have been considered. It has been argued that while standardization has a number of advantages, we must be careful not to discourage the development of new procedures nor to oversell current assessment procedures. Finally, some directions for future research have been outlined and suggestions based on empirical findings made for ways in which we might begin standardization.

An information processing model for the development of aggression

A theory is presented to account for the development of habitual aggressive behavior during early childhood. It is argued that the aggressive child is one who has acquired aggressive scripts to guide behavior early in life. Once established these scripts become resistant to change and may even persist into adulthood. Aggressive scripts are acquired and maintained through both observational and enactive learning processes. These processes interact with each other as actual aggressive behavior engenders conditions under which the observation of aggressive behavior is more likely and creates conditions that provoke rather than inhibit aggression. The cumulative result is a network of cognitive scripts for social behavior emphasizing aggressive responding. A number of intervening variables may play a role in this cycle, and among the more important would seem to be popularity and academic achievement. Once encoded, the scripts for aggressive behavior may be elicited through a general activation of memory or by specific cues to which the person is exposed. Some of the most potent cues should be those present when the script was encoded, though any aggressive cue may trigger the retrieval of an aggressive script. Thus, observed violence not only provides scripts for future behavior but also triggers the recall of existing aggressive scripts. If these scripts are rehearsed, their recall in the future will be more likely. If undampened, this cumulative learning process can build enduring schemas for aggressive behavior that persist into adulthood.

Human physical aggression as a function of frustration: role of aggressive cues.

An experiment was performed testing whether aggressive cues are necessary or only facilitative in increasing aggression to a frustration and whether their role is to “pull out” aggression directly or to add to the experience of displeasure. 20 subjects participated and a modified version of the Buss' “aggression machine” was used in which frustration was manipulated within subjects and aggressive cues between subjects. Frustration was of an arbitrary kind and aggression was defined to subjects to have instrumental value in overcoming the frustrative event Results indicated that (1) frustration alone is a weak antecedent of aggression, (2) at low frustration aggressive cues seem to be necessary for aggression to increase, and (3) aggressive cues apparently elicit aggression directly. Results were discussed in terms of Berkowitz' reformulation of the frustration-aggression hypothesis.

Perception of an adversary as a function of masculinity, sex, and aggression/empathy.

The study was designed to test whether men and women identifying with a masculine stereotype differ in their perception of a confederate (adversary) who displays either an empathetic or aggressive role in resolving a disagreement over social issues. It was hypothesized that masculine individuals would be more perceptually sensitive to aggressive cues of an adversary and make more hostile responses than nonmasculine individuals. Conversely, nonmasculine individuals were hypothesized to be more perceptually sensitive to empathetic cues of an adversary and make fewer hostile responses than masculine individuals. Results of both perceptual measures and the measure of hostility did not support the hypotheses. Nonmasculine individuals perceived the adversary more positively than masculine individuals regardless of strategy of resolution.

A guide to the literature on aggressive behavior

A guide to the literature on aggressive behavior

Alcohol-related aggression: a further study of the importance of frustration.

This experiment investigated aggression as an interactive effect of alcohol and frustration in a situation where frustration was defined as strong and arbitrary and aggression as instrumental. 40 male subjects were randomly assigned to either an alcohol or a placebo group, each group further divided into an aggressive-cue group and a no-aggressive-cue group. Subjects either consumed an alcohol dose of 0.8 ml of pure alcohol per kg body weight or a placebo drink. Intensity and duration of shocks administered by subjects to a bogus partner in a supervision “cover task” were measures of relative aggression and absolute aggression was defined as number of shocks given. The aggressive cue manipulation had no effect, and both absolute and relative aggression increased only when intoxicated subjects were frustrated. Aggression was clearly of an instrumental kind with no ingredients of emotional aggression. The different dependent measures were highly intercorrelated and not associated with different types of aggression. The results were discussed as supportive of a model proposing a shift in attentional processes under alcohol to salient external features.

Sexual responding of ?nonrapists? to aggressive sexual themes: Normative data

The present study presents data relevant to the sexual responding to aggressive cues of a large sample of nonrapist males recruited from the community. Two hundred three subjects received physiological assessment of sexual arousal to heterosexual and rape stimuli. Results indicated that under instructions not to interfere with sexual responding, approximately 80% of the nonrapists would be correctly classified, which was significantly different from chance. However, under instructions to suppress arousal, classification was no better than chance. The rape index was not related to age, socioeconomic status, sexual experience, or amount of arousal shown in the laboratory. However, there was a small but significant relationship to IQ. Overall, the data suggest that for instructions not to interfere with responding, the error rate seen in this larger-scale sample was equivalent to that in previous studies using smaller normative samples and that classification in general is not biased by the subject characteristics measured in this study.

The eliciting cue value of aggressive slides reconsidered in a personological perspective: The weapons effect and irritability

AbstractA study was conducted, according to a 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 design and using the Buss aggression machine paradigm, to investigate the aggression‐eliciting properties of slides of firearms.One hundred and twenty highly irritable and 120 low irritable subjects, equally divided between males and females, were given the opportunity to deliver electric shocks to an experimental confederate after having been randomly assigned to one of the six different conditions resulting from presence versus absence of previous instigation to aggress and from exposure to aggressive slides versus exposure to non‐aggressive slides versus non‐exposure to slides.It was found that aggressive cues, were sufficient per se to increase subsequent aggressive behaviours in observers, whether or not previously instigated to aggress. While sex differences did not seem to play any relevant role, the importance of irritability was stressed, especially where exposure to aggressive slides followed a previous instigation to aggress.

Differential erection response patterns of sexual child abusers to stimuli describing activities with children

The plethysmographic measurement of erection responses to auiiotape descriptions of different types of sexual and aggressive activities with children was extended to a much larger sample of sexual child abusers than previously in vestigated in order to assess the usefulness of this evaluation procedure for differentiating between the most dangerous, physically harmful offenders and the more harmless, nonaggressive abusers. The study involved the assessment of 16 less dangerous and 15 more dangerous sexual offenders against children in response to audiotape descriptions of pregenital consenting fondling, consenting intercourse, physically pressured nonconsenting intercourse, aggressive intercourse, and purely physical assault with children. Results indicated that the more violent offenders responded significantly more to the aggressive cues than did the less dangerous abusers. Subjects' limited ability to suppress undesired deviant arousal did not substantially alter the data. There was a significant difference in the arousal levels achieved between 2 and 4 min of stimulus presentations, suggesting the need for longer than the 2 min of stimulus exposure usually afforded in physiological measurement studies of sexual offenders. Results of the study suggest the advantages of this classification procedure over more traditional, static and less objective methods but also indicate the great need for further research to establish the procedure's predictive validity and reliability.