An aggression machine v. determinants in reactive aggression revisited

Abstract

The relations between reactive aggression, situational cues, and emotion regulation were examined by means of the Pulkkinen Aggression Machine (PAM) task. In the PAM, provocation and response were systematically varied under two conditions: the impulsive aggression condition and the controlled aggression condition. In the impulsive condition, no information about the attacker was provided, while in the controlled condition the attackers were specified in terms of sex, age, and physical strength. The task was administered to 109 children aged 8 to 13 years. Boys (n = 61) and girls (n = 48), as well as subgroups of Adjusted (n = 67) and Maladjusted (n = 26) children were compared. The results confirmed earlier findings showing that there is a strong relationship between attack and response intensity. However, this relationship was consistently modified by the effects of situation and personality-related variables. This meant that, while for the impulsive condition response intensity was closely tied to stimulus intensity, in the controlled condition this effect was modulated by the characteristics of the opponent: the more equal the opponent the stronger the retaliations displayed. The Maladjusted children reacted more intensively in the impulsive condition and to minor provocation in the controlled condition than the Adjusted children. This suggests that the intensity of the elicited aggression in the Maladjusted group was particularly dependent on contextual rather than internal control. Aggr. Behav. 27:430-445, 2001.

Effects of physical provocations on heart rate reactivity and reactive aggression in children

“…The findings do not appear to extrapolate to the present study since the participants who displayed a decrease of HR did not exhibit the most intense levels of reactive aggression. We have demonstrated in the related paper, however, that the effects of negative emotionality apply primarily under the conditions of minor provocation [Juuja¨rvi et al, 2001]. Those individuals who were considered susceptible to high levels of negative affect retaliated slight pushes or pinches with an intensity that exceeded the intensity of the provocations.…”

“…Consequently, 109 children (61 boys and 48 girls) completed the recording of the electrocardiogram (ECG) during the PAM. The overall effects of situational factors on the intensity of reactive aggression in this sample have been reported already in Juuja¨rvi et al [2001]. The main analyses of the present study were conducted with a randomly drawn sub-sample of 48 children (24 boys and 24 girls) due to pieces of missing ECG data (n = 28), outliers (n = 3), and the uneven size and gender composition of the groups obtained by means of the hierarchical cluster analysis.…”

“…The intensity of the simulated provocation and retaliations ranged from harmless interactions to punches in the face, but the characteristics of the attacker and the possible consequences of the defence were varied. Both the original and replication data showed that the intensity of reactive aggression was on par with the intensity of the physical provocations if the participants were free to imagine their opponent and defend themselves in any way they wished [Juuja¨rvi et al, 2001;Pitka¨nen, 1973a]. In contrast, the participants attenuated the intensity of their reactions against opponents who were bigger or smaller than themselves, once the identity of the attacker was specified.…”

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This article presents complementary data on the relationship between the intensity of offensive and defensive aggression that was investigated by means of the computerised Pulkkinen Aggression Machine (PAM) paradigm [Juuja¨rvi et al, 2001; Aggr. Behav.

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“…In the present paper, we report cardiovascular data pertaining to the relationship between simu-lated physical provocations and retaliations among the children who completed the computerised Pulkkinen Aggression Machine (PAM) paradigm [Juuja¨rvi et al, 2001]. The children imagined themselves to be in a quarrel that escalated into reciprocal physical aggression.…”