Gender differences in social representations of aggression: The phenomenological experience of differences in inhibitory control?

Abstract

Women are more likely than men to experience acts of aggression as expressive (a loss of self-control) than as instrumental (control over others). We propose that this might arise from differences in behavioural restraint. If women have better inhibitory control, aggressive behaviour should occur less frequently yet should be experienced as more emotionally 'out of control' because women can tolerate higher levels of anger before inhibitory control is breached. Participants (N = 606) aged 13-24 completed the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2) and Expagg. A more expressive view of aggression was associated with higher levels of STAXI anger control and higher levels of MPQ constraint. However, it was the harm avoidance component of constraint, rather than control versus impulsivity, that was the stronger predictor. While behavioural inhibition is built on an infrastructure of fear, the latter may be more important in explaining gender differences in social representations of aggression.

Intimate partner violence: Are the risk factors similar for men and women, and similar to other types of offending?

“…Typically, studies tend not to find sex differences in the experience or expression of anger in adults (Archer, 2004;Costa, Terracciano, & McCrae, 2001;Driscoll, Zinkivskay, Evans, & Campbell, 2006), although some have found a sex difference in the female direction (e.g., Brebner, 2003;Ramirez, Santisteban, Fujihara, & Van Goozen, 2002). However, men and women may differ in the ways that they express anger, with men being more likely to physically and verbally aggress against their target (e.g., Timmers, Fischer, & Manstead, 1998), and women being more likely to cry (e.g., Vingerhoets, Cornelius, Van Heck, & Becht, 2000) or talk to someone external to the situation (Simon & Nath, 2004).…”

“…They are, therefore, less able to control or restrain their emotions or behavior, and are more likely to express their anger in the form of overt aggression than are those with high self-control. They will, therefore, tend to act impulsively in response to provocation (Alexander, Allen, Brooks, Cole, & Campbell, 2004;Driscoll et al, 2006).…”

The embodied self: Making a fist enhances men’s power-related self-conceptions

“…At least in Western cultures, men tend to accept and use bodily force more easily than women (Felson, 2002). Consequently, men are more likely to associate their own use of physical force with gaining influence, whereas women are less likely to do so (Alexander, Allen, Brooks, Cole, & Campbell, 2004;Driscoll, Zinkivskay A., Evans, & Campbell, 2006;Eagly & Steffen, 1986;Campbell, 1999). This makes men more likely to experience making a fist in situations in which they want to achieve or actually achieve power.…”

Intent to harm or injure? Gender and the expression of anger

“…frustration-aggression, psychoanalytic and inhibitory dysfunction theories). Driscoll et al [2006] recently showed that the individuals with higher expressive than instrumental beliefs show greater anger control and a stronger ability to exercise behavioural constraint. The E scale then reflects not just an individual's belief that aggression is a loss of selfcontrol but also an individual's actual ability to control the direct injurious expression of their anger.…”

“…Each scale is composed of five statements on which the respondent rates the extent of their agreement or disagreement on a 5-point scale. Previous Cronbach's a values are between .75 and .78 for the instrumental scale and between .63 and .73 for the expressive scale [Driscoll et al, 2005[Driscoll et al, , 2006Muncer and Campbell, 2004]. Questionnaires were anonymous: Participants indicated their sex but not their name after responding to the items.…”