Beyond the evil empire: Horseplay and aggression

Abstract

The dominant mode of studying the antecedents of human aggression in psychology has been to look for these precursors in negative life events, for example, being physically punished, observing models using aggressive means, or experiencing forms of privation or frustration. In contrast, within the ethological literature, certain playful activities, in particular “play fighting,” have been interpreted as crucial precursors of later social activities, both aggressive and nonaggressive. Among humans, horseplay, which may be considered synonymous with play fighting, has only rarely been mentioned in psychological literature and scarcely ever in relation to aggression. Within this study, college students rated the extent to which they had engaged in horseplay and in aggressive acts with same‐sex friends and boyfriends or girlfriends over the past 3 years. Analyses indicated that a broad range of playful and aggressive activities was reported by a large proportion of the sample. Results also indicated strong relationships between the tendency to horseplay and to aggress. The relationship was strongest for men with men friends and for women with boyfriends. In general, having steady relationships increased the likelihood that both horseplay and aggressive acts would occur. Weekend alcohol consumption was related to playful activities; heavier use correlated with greater aggressive activities of men with men only. The study suggests that it is useful to broaden the base for conceptualizing aggression to take into account the ways in which playful and friendly activities can facilitate those that are regarded as antisocial and aggressive.

A victimization survey of female-perpetrated assaults in the United Kingdom

“…In contrast to this, however, a study of American college students found the incidence of young women actually kicking or punching males was relatively high and similar at 23% and 27%, respectively. However, in line with this study, females were also found to use a wide range of aggressive acts against males [Gergen 1990].…”

“…Thus, studies of dating relationships, as well as married/cohabiting relationships, have invariably found both incidences of men reporting victimization and women reporting perpetration at levels at or above the reverse case [for discussion and references see Carrado et al, 1996 andMorse, 1995]. It is also suggested that social norms, such as chivalry for male behavior, make it socially unacceptable for males to aggress toward a female [Gergen, 1990;Steinmetz, 1977] and that males in committed relationships may recognize the damage they may do to a relationship by assaulting their partner [Archer and Ray, 1989]. However, the slap the cad scenario that has been discussed in relation to the prevalence of female to male assaults in intimate relationships [Straus, 1993] may have been operative in the incidences of the victimization of male intimates and male strangers or social acquaintances.…”

“…Whereas males both receive and perpetrate more aggression, these studies indicate that females are not unaggressive either physically or otherwise. Other researchers in the US have also found surprisingly high rates of female physical aggression against others by self-report study [e.g., Gergen, 1990;Lidz et al, 1993]. For instance, seeking to determine the accuracy of hospital clinicians' predictions of violence to others, Lidz et al [1993] found a slightly higher rate of assaults by communitybased females, than males, and noted the inability of clinicians to predict violence by females as opposed to males.…”

The relation between scores on the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire and aggressive acts, impulsiveness, competitiveness, dominance, and sexual jealousy

“…Although most aggression scales ask about aggression in general, some have specified whether the target is a same-sex other or a member of the opposite sex [Gergen, 1990;Harris, 1992;Hilton et al, 2000;Richardson and Green, 1999]. When such specifications have been made, the findings for sex differences in physical aggression show a marked contrast.…”

“…The frequency scale consisted of 25 aggressive actions that were taken from three sources all describing act-based measures of aggression [Gergen, 1990;Harris, 1992;Richardson and Green, 1999]. There are four dimensions, same-sex and partner direct and indirect aggression (Appendix A).…”