Human Aggression Research Articles

The Judicial Reasoning Behind Decision No. 262/Pid.B/2018/Pn.Skt on a Case of Mass Violence: The Perspective of Human Aggressiveness and the Ashobiyah Terminology

ABSTRACT Purpose of the study: This research aimed to analyze the judicial rationing behind Decision No. 262/Pid.B/2018/Pn.Skt. According to Article 170 of the Indonesian Criminal Code in the legal event of a mass violence crime that occurred in Surakarta City. Methodology: This was normative legal research that used the case approach. It emphasized the legal consideration of judges in deciding and giving a verdict upon a case. Results: This research analyzed Decision No. 262/Pid.B/2018/Pn.Skt. Judges considered that the actions committed by the group of perpetrators originated from the aggressive nature of humans due to their animal power that can cause law-violating actions. This aggressive human nature in a group caused a sense of affection and bond creates similarities in desires, goals, and ideas. It resulted in a sense of solidarity in the group according to the ashobiyah terminology. Applications of this study: to provide knowledge on: (1) the judicial analysis based on the factors that influence the occurrence of mass violence; and (2) the judicial consideration in deciding upon a case of mass violence in Surakarta City based on the judicial rationing in Decision No. 262/Pid.B/2018/PN.Skt. Novelty/Originality of this study: This paper provided new information on the action of mass violence on Decision No. 262/Pid.B/2018/PN.Skt correlated with Ibnu Khaldun’s ashobiyah terminology. Keywords: judicial reasoning, mass violence, aggressivity, ashobiyah ABSTRAK Tujuan: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pertimbangan yuridis di balik Putusan Nomor 262/Pid.B/2018/Pn.Skt. Menurut Pasal 170 KUHP dalam peristiwa hukum tersebut, tindak pidana kekerasan massal terjadi di Kota Surakarta. Metodologi: Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian hukum normatif yang menggunakan pendekatan kasus. Ditekankan pada pertimbangan hukum hakim dalam memutus dan memberikan putusan atas suatu perkara. Hasil: Penelitian ini menganalisis Keputusan No. 262/Pid.B/2018/Pn.Skt. Hakim menilai bahwa perbuatan yang dilakukan oleh kelompok pelaku tersebut berawal dari sifat agresif manusia karena animal power yang dapat menimbulkan perbuatan melanggar hukum. Sifat agresif manusia dalam suatu kelompok menimbulkan rasa kasih sayang dan ikatan yang menimbulkan kesamaan keinginan, tujuan, dan gagasan. Hal itu mengakibatkan rasa solidaritas dalam kelompok menurut terminologi ashobiyah. Aplikasi penelitian ini: memberikan pengetahuan tentang (1)analisis yuridis berdasarkan faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi terjadinya kekerasan massal, (2)pertimbangan yuridis dalam memutus perkara kekerasan massal di Kota Surakarta berdasarkan yuridis rationing dalam Putusan No. 262/Pid.B/2018/PN.Skt. Kebaruan/Orisinalitas: Tulisan ini memberikan informasi baru tentang aksi kekerasan massal pada Putusan No. 262/Pid.B/2018/PN.Skt yang berkorelasi dengan terminologi ashobiyah Ibnu Khaldun. Kata kunci: penalaran yudisial, kekerasan massal, agresivitas, ashobiyah

Electromagnetic and climatic foundations of human aggression

Heat is associated with human aggression in field research, assumedly by affecting emotions, but it is not in laboratory experiments. Since this may be so because temperature functions as a proxy for UV radiation in field settings, not in the laboratory, this research tested, across 126 countries, whether temperature loses its predictive capacity when the electromagnetic variable is controlled. Temperature presented null statistical effects when UV radiation was controlled, although it exhibited a tangential contribution in mediation analyses. The results revealed strong direct effects of UV radiation on Van de Vliert and Daan's (2017) aggression composite scores, and strong indirect effects on homicide rate. Economic inequality emerged as a strong mediator related to homicide rate, not to the aggression composite, while steady rain, pathogen prevalence, per capita income and cognitive performance contributed to the explanation of human aggression. These findings suggest that the heat-aggression paradigm has outlived its usefulness and that global warming should not be expected to increase aggression via emotions. Future studies must address UV radiation's effects across routine activity patterns, strengthen the construct validity of measures of aggression, target omitted variables, and confirm the theorized role of testosterone as a mediator using field and, especially, laboratory studies.

Developing our nature: When and how human aggression and other psychological traits evolved

Developing our nature: When and how human aggression and other psychological traits evolved

A Comparison between Aggression and Self-Esteem among Universiti Teknologi Mara (Uitm) Shah Alam Athletes

Human aggression is a major worldwide health issue that brings negative effects to victims, perpetrators, and society. One of the areas that may be potentially variables for understanding aggression is self-esteem that can influence whether someone will display aggressive behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the level of aggression and level of self-esteem among Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam student-athletes. This study is very important to determine the athlete’s aggression and self-esteem level based on the differences of genders and types of sport. Furthermore, the findings of this study may help in promoting a beneficial knowledge among coaches and athletes about aggression level and also self-esteem level toward maintaining and improving sports performance. A correlational study was selected in order to conduct this study. This correlational study was selected because this study was closely related to both descriptive and causal-comparative research. The instrument used for this study comprised of a 10-item Rosenberg SelfEsteem Scale (RSES) and 19-item of Aggression Questionnaire (AQ), which had been distributed in UiTM Shah Alam. The samples consisted of 260 UiTM Shah Alam athletes, included male and female, individual and team sports, age ranged between 18 until 26 years old. Independent t-test showed there was no significant difference between genders and types of sport on aggression level, p > 0.05. Result also showed that there was no significant difference on self-esteem between types of sport, p > 0.05. Meanwhile, a result found that there was a significant difference on self-esteem between genders, p < 0.05. Result also showed that there was a positive correlation between aggression and self-esteem among UiTM Shah Alam athletes, (r = 0.20, p < 0.05). Present findings indicated that athletes who had higher aggression level tend to have a higher level of self-esteem. Therefore, psychological skill training (PST) recommended as a better coping technique in order to promote better adaptation to the constraints of sports involvement.

Disorganized Political Violence: A Demonstration Case of Temperature and Insurgency

AbstractAny act of battlefield violence results from a combination of organizational strategy and a combatant's personal motives. To measure the relative contribution of each, our research design leverages the predictable effect of ambient temperature on human aggression. Using fine-grained data collected by US forces during the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, we test whether temperature and violence are linked for attacks that can be initiated by individual combatants, but not for those requiring organizational coordination. To distinguish alternative explanations involving temperature effects on target movements, we examine situations where targets are stationary. We find that when individual combatants have discretion over the initiation of violence, ambient temperature does shape battlefield outcomes. There is no such effect when organizational coordination is necessary. We also find that ambient temperature affects combat-age males’ endorsement of insurgent violence in a survey taken during the conflict in Iraq. Our findings caution against attributing strategic causes to violence and encourage research into how strategic and individual-level motivations interact in conflict.

The human fear paradox turns out to be less paradoxical when global changes in human aggression and language evolution are considered.

Our commentary focuses on the interaction between Grossmann's fearful ape hypothesis (FAH) and the human self-domestication hypothesis (HSDH), also taking into account language acquisition and evolution. Although there is considerable overlap between the two hypotheses, there are also some discrepancies, and our goal is to consider the extent to which HSDH can explain the phenomena identified by FAH without invoking fearfulness as directly adaptive.

A narrative review on the use of camera traps and machine learning in wildlife research

Camera trapping has become an important tool in wildlife research in the past few decades. However, one of its main limiting factors is the processing of data, which is labour-intensive and time-consuming. Consequently, to aid this process, the use of machine learning has increased. A summary is provided on the use of both camera traps and machine learning and the main challenges that come with it by performing a general literature review. Remote cameras can be used in a variety of field applications, including investigating species distribution, disease transmission and vaccination, population estimation, nest predation, animal activity patterns, wildlife crossings, and diet analysis. Camera trapping has many benefits, including being less invasive, allowing for consistent monitoring and simultaneous observation (especially of secretive or aggressive animals even in dangerous or remote areas), providing photo/video evidence, reducing observer bias, and being cost effective. The main issues are that they are subject to their environment, dependent on human placements, can disrupt animal behaviour, need maintenance and repair, have limitations on photographic data, and are sensitive to theft and vandalism. When it comes to machine learning, the main aim is to identify species in camera (trap) images, although emerging technologies can provide individual recognition as well. The downsides in- clude the large amount of annotated data, computer power, and programming and machine learning expertise needed. Nonetheless, camera trapping and machine learning can greatly assist ecologists and conservationists in wildlife research, even more so as technology further develops.

Superovulatin Peformance and Embryo Recovery in South Anatolian Red Cows

South Anatolian Red (SAR) cattle which breeds from Mersin to Sanlıurfa with centered Kilis in the region of South Anatolia, is one of native breeds of Türkiye. The aim of this study is to evaluate the superovulator response and embryo recovery rates after the superovulation protocol applied to the SAR breed cattle.
 Fort this purpose, 10 donors were selected from the conservation herd in Eastern Mediterranean Agricultural Research Institute. FSH was performed to donors in decreasing doses twice daily over a 4 day period. Before uterine flushing, the ovaries were examined by ultrasound and the structures on them were recorded in order to determine the superovulation response. Each cornu uteri was flushed with foley catheters using a 3-way Y catheter. In the evaluation of embryo recovery, embryos were classified as transferable and non-transferable embryos . In South Anatolian Red cattle, the response to superovulation was found as average 7.8 corpus luteum and 2.8 anovulatory follicule for 10 donors which performed superovulation protocols. After uterine flushing, 5 UFOs, 3 non-transferable embryos and 2 transferable embryos were obtained from 10 animals.
 As a result, superovulation response and embryo recovery of SAR cattle was tried to be evaluated. In this study, although the superovulation response was good, the reason for the low embryo recovery rate may be due to the low reproductive performance in SAR cattle. And also, it has been concluded that the hormonal imbalance of these aggressive animals and the difficulties that occur during uterine flushing affect embryo recovery. It was thought that more studies should be done, different superovulation protocols should be tried and OPU technic should be evaluated in order to increase the rate of transferable embryos from SAR cattle. In addition, it was concluded that different techniques should be tried while performing uterine flushing procedures.

Self-mutilation Before or During Incarceration? A Study Conducted on Inmates in Bucharest Rahova Penitentiary

Self-injurious behavior prevails in teenagers, as they have deficiencies in abstract thinking, a cognitive immaturity. Adults resort to such practices to get rid of problematic situations, to draw attention to themselves, or when they are looking for help. The forms of manifestation include hair pulling, the production of excoriations on the skin, ingestion of toxic substances, objects, such as needles, razor blades, acute voluntary drug intoxication. If the practice of mutilation finds its essence, in traditions, customs or law, self-mutilation is a deliberate act, which depends on the will of each individual. Psychosocial, affective, and cognitive factors, the level of education and culture have greater or lesser weights in the subject's decision. The ambient environment and social context also play a role that can be decisive in self-aggressive behavior. Self-mutilation represents such behavior, which has been studied for years, without reaching definitive conclusions. This paper is looking at the causes and sources that push inmates to resort to self-harm and how to proceed in these cases, as well as the treatment and multidisciplinary assistance necessary to limit these deviant behaviors. The universe of the penitentiary offers an environment whose essential coordinates are due to failure, stress, despair, and of pathological origin. The peculiarities of this institution clearly leave their mark on authentic human experiences. What prompts the inmates to resort to such practices as self-agression? What is the symbolic language of self-harm? What are their intentions: to communicate something, to overcome a problem, to transfer emotional pain into a physical one, to show that they are different, to defend themselves, to punish themselves or others, to see blood, to check if they are alive? Does human aggression depend only on environment and education, or also on the hereditary factor?

Drunken snakes and sober owls: ancient authors on the relationship between animals and wine.

In the article, ancient concepts linking animals and wine are discussed. This paper provides a description of animals that in antiquity were considered to be especially fond of grapes and wine, as well as animals that were, for various reasons, given wine to drink by humans, and animals that in ancient literature had an averse association with wine. In the paper, the author attempts to answer the following questions, what was the conceptual framework for the tales about drunk animals? In what circumstances were observations of animals becoming inebriated conducted? Which animal species were considered as most susceptible to the effects of wine? Last, was wine believed to affect animals and humans in a similar way? Ancient literature provides a set of extant information about animals that willingly become inebriated with grapes or are given wine by humans, which deserves a separate analysis. The ancient authors commonly interspersed narration with information about the animals and invoked personal experiences of contact with the described animal and information obtained from those who had the opportunity to conduct 'zoological' observations or even medical experiments. There is a large group of animals that appear in ancient accounts consuming alcohol in the form of fermented fruit and wine. The ancients held the mostly incorrect belief that snakes had an enormous predilection for wine; moreover, contemporary research confirms that, as the ancients rightly observed, insects and birds do display a fondness for fermented fruit and wine. It was correctly observed that an excess of wine induced extreme states, such as sleepiness and aggression in animals, in a manner similar to humans. Accounts in ancient literature show a close association between animals and wine existed among the Greeks and Romans.

War among animals in Greek thought

Abstract Ethologists have observed that some animals use organised violence against members of their own species. Some well-known scholars call this form of animal aggression war, deliberately omitting the quotation marks. And how was it in antiquity? Was war believed to be part of the animal world? The aim of the presented article is to analyse the ancient written sources in search of correlations between the notion of war and animals, and to determine what conceptual assumptions lie at the heart of this correlation. In light of the preserved records, it seems that the conviction about the existence of an inherent correlation between war and the animal world emerged slowly; that is, basic military terms (polemos, machē, etc.) were used with respect to animals reluctantly in the beginning and rather metaphorically, but gained popularity over time. Even though animals appear in the military context beginning from Homer's Iliad, Aristotle was most probably the first one to explicitly formulate a thesis about the presence of war (polemos) in the animal world. Aristotle's concept of war comes down to a series of duels fought between animals. It seems that what made it easier for Aristotle to transfer the notion of a battle (machē) from the human world to the animal world was the Greek tendency to present duels between soldiers as being equivalent to a clash between two armies.

Psychoanalyzing democracies: Antagonisms, paranoia, and the productivity of depression

Psychoanalyzing democracies: Antagonisms, paranoia, and the productivity of depression

The Dysfunction of Carcinogenesis- and Apoptosis-Associated Genes that Develops in the Hypothalamus under Chronic Social Defeat Stress in Male Mice.

Chronic social stress caused by daily agonistic interactions in male mice leads to a mixed anxiety/depression-like disorder that is accompanied by the development of psychogenic immunodeficiency and stimulation of oncogenic processes concurrently with many neurotranscriptomic changes in brain regions. The aim of the study was to identify carcinogenesis- and apoptosis-associated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the hypothalamus of male mice with depression-like symptoms and, for comparison, in aggressive male mice with positive social experience. To obtain two groups of animals with the opposite 20-day social experiences, a model of chronic social conflict was used. Analysis of RNA-Seq data revealed similar expression changes for many DEGs between the aggressive and depressed animals in comparison with the control group; however, the number of DEGs was significantly lower in the aggressive than in the depressed mice. It is likely that the observed unidirectional changes in the expression of carcinogenesis- and apoptosis-associated genes in the two experimental groups may be a result of prolonged social stress (of different severity) caused by the agonistic interactions. In addition, 26 DEGs were found that did not change expression in the aggressive animals and could be considered genes promoting carcinogenesis or inhibiting apoptosis. Akt1, Bag6, Foxp4, Mapk3, Mapk8, Nol3, Pdcd10, and Xiap were identified as genes whose expression most strongly correlated with the expression of other DEGs, suggesting that their protein products play a role in coordination of the neurotranscriptomic changes in the hypothalamus. Further research into functions of these genes may be useful for the development of pharmacotherapies for psychosomatic pathologies.

“Good in Every Thing”: Erasmus and Communal Virtue in As You Like It

This essay explores the Erasmian humanism and ecosociable sensibility of As You Like It. Both Shakespeare and Erasmus cultivated recreation and play, practiced an irenic and ecumenical approach to wisdom, respected women's virtuous capacity, and acknowledged their kinship with other creatures. Like The Praise of Folly and Erasmus's writings on friendship and peace, As You Like It builds a multidimensional portrait of virtue as lively, gracious, embodied, performative, hospitable, and always open to irony — aware of the costs and conditions of virtue in the world. In his irenic writings, Erasmus lays out an account of human nature that highlights human beings’ vulnerability, sociability, and creaturely state. How does a naturally gentle species become bellicose? Echoing the teachings of Pythagoras, Erasmus finds the origins of war in the killing of animals, first in self-defense and then in the hunt. In As You Like It, Shakespeare traces the emergence of human and animal aggression from acts of self-preservation and care, and he stages a softened Augustinianism in a created world that is “very good” (Gen. 1:31). His Erasmian sensibility is also Orphic and Pythagorean. This essay supplements Renaissance humanism with Rabbinic and post-Rabbinic readings of Genesis in order to construe the virtue of magnanimity as a hospitable stance toward different wisdom traditions.

Deletion of the P/Q-Type Calcium Channel from Serotonergic Neurons Drives Male Aggression in Mice.

Aggressive behavior is one of the most conserved social interactions in nature and serves as a crucial evolutionary trait. Serotonin (5-HT) plays a key role in the regulation of our emotions, such as anxiety and aggression, but which molecules and mechanisms in the serotonergic system are involved in violent behavior are still unknown. In this study, we show that deletion of the P/Q-type calcium channel selectively from serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nuclei (DRN) augments aggressive behavior in male mice, while anxiety is not affected. These mice demonstrated increased induction of the immediate early gene c-fos and in vivo serotonergic firing activity in the DRN. The ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamus is also a prominent region of the brain mediating aggression. We confirmed a monosynaptic projection from the DRN to the ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamus, and silencing these projections with an inhibitory designer receptor exclusively activated by a designer drug effectively reduced aggressive behavior. Overall, our findings show that deletion of the P/Q-type calcium channel from DRN neurons is sufficient to induce male aggression in mice and regulating its activity may serve as a therapeutic approach to treat violent behavior.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In this study, we show that P/Q-type calcium channel is mediating aggression in serotonergic neurons from the dorsal raphe nucleus via monosynaptic projections to the ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamus. More importantly, silencing these projections reduced aggressive behavior in mice and may serve as a therapeutic approach for treating aggression in humans.

Clarifying the synergistic effects of emotion dysregulation and inhibitory control on physical aggression.

Rising rates of violence underscore the need to better understand how systems that regulate distress and impulse control jointly modulate aggression risk. The goals of the current study were to investigate the unique and interactive effects of emotional dysregulation and inhibitory control on the perpetration of physical aggression. We recruited a high-risk community sample of 206 adults (M/SDage =33.55/10.89 years old; 47.1% female) who reported a range of physically aggressive behaviors. All participants completed a self-report measure (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale), neuropsychological testing (Color Word Interference Test), and clinical interviewing (Lifetime History of Aggression Interview), and a subset of individuals (n=134) underwent a neuroanatomical scan. As expected, the interplay of emotional and inhibitory control explained unique variance in physical aggression above and beyond their main effects. The positive association between emotion dysregulation and aggression strengthened as inhibitory control decreased. Cortical thickness in two right prefrontal clusters, one that peaked in the superior frontal gyrus and one that peaked in the caudal middle frontal gyrus, was also associated with the interactive effects of emotional dysregulation and inhibitory control. Notably, thickness in the superior frontal gyrus mediated the association between emotion dysregulation and physical aggression at low levels of inhibitory control. Using a multilevel and multimethod approach, the present study revealed neuroanatomical correlates of emotion-cognition interactions that have translational relevance to violence perpetration. These findings extend previous work primarily focused on functional-based neural assessments and point to the utility of examining neuroanatomical correlates of emotion-cognition interactions for understanding human aggression.

The implicit rules of combat reflect the evolved function of combat: An evolutionary-psychological analysis of fairness and honor in human aggression

Aggression was a powerful selection pressure for our human ancestors. Aggressive contests would have selected not only for anatomical features (e.g., superior upper-body strength in adult males), but also for behavior-regulation adaptations for the conditional and cost-effective deployment of aggression. Here, we explore two concepts that appear to be part of the neurocognitive suite that regulates aggression. The first is the concept of a “fair fight”, which tags whether an aggressive bout can provide an unbiased estimate of the relative fighting ability of the combatants. The second concept is the “honorability” of a fighter, which tags whether an individual can be trusted to not inflict aggression in excess of what is needed to establish the relative fighting ability of the combatants. Eight predictions were derived from these hypotheses and tested experimentally with vignettes that varied relevant aspects of a fight. The results support the predictions. Fights are perceived as “fair” to the extent that the fighters avoid biased tactics that improve their probability of winning absent superior fighting ability (e.g., not attacking when the opponent is unprepared). Further, fighters are perceived as “honorable” when they minimize the danger to both combatants (e.g., not attacking after the opponent surrenders). We conclude by listing additional implications of the theory.

Dysfunction of AMPA receptor GluA3 is associated with aggressive behavior in human.

Inappropriate aggression in humans hurts the society, families and individuals. The genetic basis for aggressive behavior, however, remains largely elusive. In this study, we identified two rare missense variants in X-linked GRIA3 from male patients who showed syndromes featuring aggressive outbursts. Both G630R and E787G mutations in AMPA receptor GluA3 completely lost their ion channel functions. Furthermore, a guanine-repeat single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, rs3216834) located in the first intron of human GRIA3 gene was found to regulate GluA3 expression with longer guanine repeats (rs3216834-10G/-11G) suppressing transcription compared to the shorter ones (-7G/-8G/-9G). Importantly, the distribution of rs3216834-10G/-11G was elevated in a male violent criminal sample from Chinese Han population. Using GluA3 knockout mice, we showed that the excitatory neurotransmission and neuronal activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was impaired. Expressing GluA3 back into the mPFC alleviated the aggressive behavior of GluA3 knockout mice, suggesting that the defects in mPFC explained, at least partially, the neural mechanisms underlying the aggressive behavior. Therefore, our study provides compelling evidence that dysfunction of AMPA receptor GluA3 promotes aggressive behavior.

Riled up praying mantises get bolder under threat

With a pair of beefed-up forelimbs ready for action, praying mantises look as prepared as any prize fighter, but these animals aren't just fighting for glory, the stakes are far higher: they're after dinner. Yet, even mighty praying mantises are vulnerable to larger predators, so there will be occasions when it would be wise to disregard a tasty treat to avoid ending up on someone else's menu. ‘Most behaviour needs to strike a balance’, says Jacob Bosse from Case Western Reserve University, USA. But it wasn't clear how much of an impact prior experience has on a praying mantis's reactions, so Bosse and colleagues, Gavin Svenson, Troy Bowers, Brendan Bourges-Sevenier and Roy Ritzmann (all from Case Western Reserve University, USA), decided to find out how Chinese praying mantises (Tenodera sinensis) responded to a threat after experiencing temptation.Bosse displayed a tempting worm-shaped blob shuttling back and forth on a screen to provoke praying mantises into an attack and filmed their reactions. Analysing the praying mantises’ responses, the team saw that 30% flung themselves aggressively at the screen to capture the fake feast while 25% were intrigued by the bobbing animation. However, when Bosse and the team tried to frighten other mantises with a rapidly looming blob, 90% of the insects took some form of evasive action, from flinching and turning away, to stepping back; some even fell off their perch. But how would the insects react to the terrifying blob threat when they had just been wound up by a passing worm snack?The team tempted the praying mantises with the TV worm on a screen before quickly activating the looming spot, and the results were surprising. The insects that had just reacted aggressively to the passing worm were less afraid of the looming threat – a few tried to get out of the way, ∼25% paid little attention, but ∼50% reared up and tried to repel the approaching threat, thrashing at it with their impressive forelimbs. ‘This thrashing response was unique to defensive trials that followed aggressive responses to simulated prey targets’, says Ritzmann. The praying mantises’ prior experiences dramatically impacted their reaction to a scary situation.The scientists also tested the insects’ responses as they aged and, even though the youngest mantises didn't seem to be too interested in the shuttling worm, the animals became far more aggressive in middle age (11–25 days), enthusiastically assaulting the screen worm, before becoming mellow again as they aged. Ritzmann explains that this increase in the animal's aggression levels, especially the females’, is probably related to their time of life. ‘Middle age, when the mantises – in particular females – were most aggressively attacking prey, is when they were developing egg cases and probably needed more food’, he explains. In addition, the males were more passive than the females.Finally, the researchers compared the reactions of wild praying mantises, caught on the Case Western Reserve University campus, with those of lab-reared animals – which had never faced a predator in their lives – and found the wild animals launched themselves aggressively at the passing animated worms without a second thought. ‘When they made the decision to attack, they tended to go right to it without dilly dallying around’, chuckles Ritzmann. In contrast, the insects that were reared in the lab seemed to ponder their lunch before attacking. ‘A lot of neuroethologists have told me anecdotal stories suggesting that lab-reared insects are more docile than wild caught, but this may be the first paper to actually test this’, says Ritzmann.

Is it OK to bully automated cars?

To integrate automated vehicles (AVs) into our transportation network, we should consider how human road users will interact with them. Human aggression toward AVs could be a new risk in mixed traffic and reduce AV adoption. Is it OK to drive aggressively toward AVs? We examined how identical aggressive behavior toward an AV or human driver is appraised differently by observers. In our 2 (scenario type: human driver vs. AV) × 2 (victim identity salience: low vs. high) between-subjects survey, we randomly allocated participants (N = 956) to one of four conditions where they viewed a video clip from an AV or a human driver showing a car suddenly braking continuously ahead of the AV or human driver’s car. The salience of victim identity influenced the observers’ appraisals of aggressive behavior. When asked to judge the front car’s behavior toward this AV or human driver (the victim identity is salient), they reported more acceptability and less risk perception, negative affect, and immoral judgment while judging this behavior toward the AV. When asked to judge the front car’s behavior (the victim identity not highlighted), they reported non-different appraisals. This finding implies that AVs might need to hide their identity to blend in visually and behaviorally as regular cars.