NCJ Number
135866
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1992) Pages: 3-18
Date Published
1992
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study used a classic aggression paradigm to assess the relationship between aggressive and nonaggressive college males (74) regarding aggressive behavior in response to frustration.
Abstract
Subjects were exposed to no-frustration, low-frustration, or high-frustration conditions, during which a female confederate thwarted their attainment of a goal. Subjects then had the opportunity to apply an electric shock to the confederate. Intensity and duration of the shock were the dependent measures. Frustration conditions did not result in a significant main effect, but aggression in subjects' relationship histories produced a significant main effect for both the intensity and duration of the shock. There was also a significant repeated measured effect for both the intensity and duration of the shock. Relationship-aggressive males reported higher rates of verbal, emotional, and physical abuse in relationships as well as more physically abusive experiences from parents and more fights with other males. For males with a history of relationship aggression, situational cues may not be as important for eliciting aggression as their propensity for aggression which may be stimulated by a situation with aggressive components. 2 figures, 1 table, and 28 references