Aggressive and Nonaggressive Boys' Physiological and Cognitive Processes in Response to Peer Provocations

Abstract

This study examined physiological and social-cognitive correlates of aggression in an in vivo laboratory provocation situation. Fifty-one male participants (ages 9 to 13) were selected based on teacher aggression screenings, ranging from normative to high levels. A provocation was induced by the experimenter communicating a threat from an unseen "peer" in the laboratory. Bivariate linear regression analyses showed that aggression significantly predicted heart rate at both pre- and postinduction, and aggression significantly predicted attributions of intent following the provocation. Results indicated that aggression was a significant predictor of changes in hostile attribution and heart rate following the threat induction. A positive correlation also was found between heart rate change and attribution change. The findings suggest that both physiological and social-cognitive processes should be addressed in clinical interventions with aggressive children.

Real‐time hostile attribution measurement and aggression in children

“…This suggests that physiological arousal cues were a key part of the formation of verbal hostile/angry attributions. Previous research has indicated that moderately aggressive boys who perceived a threat showed an increase in hostile attributions along with an increase in heart rate (Williams, Lochman, Phillips, & Barry, 2003). The results of this study provide additional evidence that increased emotional arousal is associated with increased hostile attributions, and their relation is likely bidirectional.…”

“…Emotion was measured in terms of arousal reactivity by Williams, Lochman, Phillips, and Barry (2003) who found that moderately aggressive boys exhibited increased heart rate and increased hostile attributions when a threat was introduced. In a test of Lemerise and Arsenio's (2000) theoretical model including emotion, hostile attributions, and aggression, boys' report of their own anger was related positively to their hostile attributions, as well as to their aggression (Orobio de Castro, Merk, Koops, Veerman, & Bosch, 2005).…”

Gender differences in the association between cardiovascular reactivity and aggressive conduct☆

“…Some research has provided support for the hypothesis that heart reactivity to stress is positively associated with aggressive behavior patterns (see Dodge and Pettit, 2003;Harden et al, 1995;Lorber, 2004;Waschbusch et al, 2002;Williams et al, 2003). For example, Williams et al (2003) reported that aggression was positively related to increases in HR among boys told that a peer with whom they were going to work on a task was in a bad mood and wanted to pick a fight with them. In another study, adolescents who exhibited high levels of HR reactivity when observing a videotape of a peer conflict were rated by teachers as exhibiting more externalizing behaviors than their peers (see Dodge and Pettit, 2003).…”

Woede, wraak en leedvermaak

“…Experimentele manipulaties in het aanbieden van sociale informatie, het sturen van interpretatie van deze informatie en het beı¨nvloeden van sociale probleemoplossing leiden tot de verwachte veranderingen in reactieve en proactieve agressie binnen de testsituaties (Lochman & Dodge, 1998;Orobio de Castro, Slot, Bosch, Koops, & Veerman, 2003;Williams, Lochman, Phillips, & Barry, 2003).…”