A finding commonly obtained in research using the Buss "aggression machine" is a main effect for trial blocks, indicating an escalation in shock intensity over trials. Theoretical explanations for this effect were tested in a modified verbal operant-conditioning situation. In Experiment 1, subjects could administer any of 10 levels of positive reinforcement to a "learner" for correct verbal responses or any of 10 levels of negative reinforcement to a learner for incorrect responses. Half of the subjects were required to begin with weak, and half with strong, reinforcements. Results indicated that, regardless of condition, subjects gave more intense reinforcements as the learning trials progressed. Those who administered negative reinforcements devalued the learner relative to those who administered positive reinforcements. In Experiment 2, a role-playing procedure was used in which subjects administered either positive or negative reinforcements to a learner whose performance either did or did not improve over trials. Again, in all experimental groups, subjects administered increasingly intense reinforcements over trials. The results are interpreted as supporting a disinhibition theory of anti-and prosocial behavior.Much current experimental work on aggression employs what has been referred to as the "aggression machine" (Buss, 1961) as a means of generating the dependent measure (e.g.,
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