On the Complexity of Aggressive Behavior: Contextual and Individual Factors in the Taylor Aggression Paradigm
As many paths lead to aggression, understanding which situations and which person-specific traits facilitate or impede aggressive behavior is crucial. Provocation is among one of the most frequently reported predictors of aggressive behavior. However, it remains unclear whether the reaction to provo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00521/full |
| _version_ | 1818969872498950144 |
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| author | Carmen Weidler Ute Habel Ute Habel Philippa Hüpen Dilsa Akkoc Frank Schneider Frank Schneider Julie A. Blendy Lisa Wagels Lisa Wagels |
| author_facet | Carmen Weidler Ute Habel Ute Habel Philippa Hüpen Dilsa Akkoc Frank Schneider Frank Schneider Julie A. Blendy Lisa Wagels Lisa Wagels |
| author_sort | Carmen Weidler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As many paths lead to aggression, understanding which situations and which person-specific traits facilitate or impede aggressive behavior is crucial. Provocation is among one of the most frequently reported predictors of aggressive behavior. However, it remains unclear whether the reaction to provocation is universal across different forms of aggression and whether individuals differ in their reactivity to such signals. Using the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP), we investigated the influence of individual and contextual factors on physical and non-physical aggression in healthy men and women. The impact of trait aggression, sex, provocation, and the success of a competition against a fictitious opponent on aggressive behavior was examined in three different versions of the TAP. While equal provocation and punishment modalities were used in the first two versions, monetary deductions in the first and heat stimulus in the second study, the third experiment used non-physical provocation to trigger physical punishment. Trial-by-trial analyses revealed that provocation, independent of its specific nature, is a strong predictor for aggressive behavior, especially in highly aggressive participants. Although women initially showed less aggression than men, sex differences were diminished under prolonged, increasing provocation when provocation and punishment modality were identical. Only when modalities diverged, women, compared with men, were more hesitant to punish their opponent. These results, thus, extend evidence that women show lower levels of aggression under low provocation. However, high levels of provocation have similar effects on males’ and females’ reactive aggressive behavior across different forms of aggression. When competing for money, losing against the fictitious opponent was functioning as an additional provocative signal stimulating aggressive responses. Differences in aggressive responding have to be interpreted in the context of the specific type of provocation and aggression that is investigated since these modalities are shown to interact with individual characteristics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T14:27:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7649dfac6fbc46e6832635da8528e1fe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T14:27:29Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-7649dfac6fbc46e6832635da8528e1fe2022-12-21T19:37:43ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402019-07-011010.3389/fpsyt.2019.00521458538On the Complexity of Aggressive Behavior: Contextual and Individual Factors in the Taylor Aggression ParadigmCarmen Weidler0Ute Habel1Ute Habel2Philippa Hüpen3Dilsa Akkoc4Frank Schneider5Frank Schneider6Julie A. Blendy7Lisa Wagels8Lisa Wagels9Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, GermanyDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, GermanyJARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, GermanyDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, GermanyDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, GermanyDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, GermanyUniversity Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, GermanyDepartment of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, PA, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, GermanyJARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, GermanyAs many paths lead to aggression, understanding which situations and which person-specific traits facilitate or impede aggressive behavior is crucial. Provocation is among one of the most frequently reported predictors of aggressive behavior. However, it remains unclear whether the reaction to provocation is universal across different forms of aggression and whether individuals differ in their reactivity to such signals. Using the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP), we investigated the influence of individual and contextual factors on physical and non-physical aggression in healthy men and women. The impact of trait aggression, sex, provocation, and the success of a competition against a fictitious opponent on aggressive behavior was examined in three different versions of the TAP. While equal provocation and punishment modalities were used in the first two versions, monetary deductions in the first and heat stimulus in the second study, the third experiment used non-physical provocation to trigger physical punishment. Trial-by-trial analyses revealed that provocation, independent of its specific nature, is a strong predictor for aggressive behavior, especially in highly aggressive participants. Although women initially showed less aggression than men, sex differences were diminished under prolonged, increasing provocation when provocation and punishment modality were identical. Only when modalities diverged, women, compared with men, were more hesitant to punish their opponent. These results, thus, extend evidence that women show lower levels of aggression under low provocation. However, high levels of provocation have similar effects on males’ and females’ reactive aggressive behavior across different forms of aggression. When competing for money, losing against the fictitious opponent was functioning as an additional provocative signal stimulating aggressive responses. Differences in aggressive responding have to be interpreted in the context of the specific type of provocation and aggression that is investigated since these modalities are shown to interact with individual characteristics.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00521/fullaggressionTaylor Aggression Paradigmaggressive behaviorsex differencesprovocation |
| spellingShingle | Carmen Weidler Ute Habel Ute Habel Philippa Hüpen Dilsa Akkoc Frank Schneider Frank Schneider Julie A. Blendy Lisa Wagels Lisa Wagels On the Complexity of Aggressive Behavior: Contextual and Individual Factors in the Taylor Aggression Paradigm Frontiers in Psychiatry aggression Taylor Aggression Paradigm aggressive behavior sex differences provocation |
| title | On the Complexity of Aggressive Behavior: Contextual and Individual Factors in the Taylor Aggression Paradigm |
| title_full | On the Complexity of Aggressive Behavior: Contextual and Individual Factors in the Taylor Aggression Paradigm |
| title_fullStr | On the Complexity of Aggressive Behavior: Contextual and Individual Factors in the Taylor Aggression Paradigm |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the Complexity of Aggressive Behavior: Contextual and Individual Factors in the Taylor Aggression Paradigm |
| title_short | On the Complexity of Aggressive Behavior: Contextual and Individual Factors in the Taylor Aggression Paradigm |
| title_sort | on the complexity of aggressive behavior contextual and individual factors in the taylor aggression paradigm |
| topic | aggression Taylor Aggression Paradigm aggressive behavior sex differences provocation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00521/full |
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