Outrageous
The Biological Bases for Aggressiveness and Nonaggressiveness in Presidents
Rose McDermott
Foreign Policy Analysis, forthcoming
Abstract:
Leaders remain subject to the same biological determinants and pressures that affect other humans. Yet, they also differ in their ability to regulate and marshal their emotions just as they diverge in their other skills, talents, limitations, and abilities. In particular, some are better at channeling their emotions to help shape foreign policy more efficiently than others. One of the most potent and powerful emotions with which leaders have to contend, particularly under conditions of provocation, is anger. Anger can influence judgment and decision making in systematic and predictable ways. Individual heritable differences can influence the conditions under which anger leads to aggressive action. Such differences can influence not only the environments into which leaders select, but also the ways they process and interpret information; these determinations can decisively influence the outcome of significant public policies, including decisions on conflict and war. As a result, emotion regulation can play a strategic role in leadership. Examples from several recent presidencies illustrate how such individual differences play out on the world stage.
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Silvia Bergmüller
Aggressive Behavior, May-June 2013, Pages 182-200
Abstract:
This study examined the relationship between countries' dominant cultural values (i.e., individualism and collectivism) and (a) school principals' perceptions of aggressive student behavior and (b) students' self-reports of being aggressively victimized in school. Data on student aggression and victimization were collected across 62 countries in nationally representative samples of fourth and eighth graders (N = 428,566) and their principals (N = 15,043) by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007. Students were asked about three forms of aggressive victimization: physical, verbal, and relational; principals about two forms of aggressive student behavior: physical and verbal. Country-level regression analyses revealed that the level of cultural individualism, according to the individualism index (IDV) by Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minkov (2010), was not significantly related to either form of student-reported victimization. However, school principals reported aggressive student behavior more often the more individualist, and hence less collectivist, their country's culture. This relation was evident in the principals' reports on 4th and 8th grade students' aggressive behavior for both physical and verbal aggression. Multilevel analyses revealed that cultural individualism was still a powerful predictor of principal-reported aggressive student behavior after controlling for school and country characteristics. The discussion outlines reasons why principals' reports of aggressive student behavior are probably more valid indicators of student aggression than student self-reports of victimization, thereby supporting the hypothesis of culture-dependency of aggression.
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Exposure to violence reduces empathetic responses to other's pain
Xiuyan Guo et al.
Brain and Cognition, July 2013, Pages 187-191
Abstract:
Past researches showed that empathy for pain not only triggers a resonance mechanism between other and self, but also is modulated by contextual factors. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the present study demonstrated that short-term media violence exposure reduced both pain ratings and also the activation of anterior insula and anterior mid-cingulate cortex to other's pain. Thus, violence exposure modulated empathic responses to other's pain based on a physiological desensitization.
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Low Skin Conductance Activity in Infancy Predicts Aggression in Toddlers 2 Years Later
Erika Baker et al.
Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Low autonomic nervous system activity is claimed to be a biomarker for aggressive and antisocial behavior. Although there is evidence that low skin conductance activity (SCA) accounts for variation in the severity of antisocial behavior and predicts the onset of aggression in children and adults, it is unknown whether SCA measured in infancy can predict the development of aggression. We measured SCA in 70 typically developing 1-year-old infants at baseline, during an orienting habituation paradigm, and during a fear challenge. We also observed the infants' fear behavior, and each mother rated her infant's temperament and her attachment to her child. At follow-up, mothers rated the children at 3 years old for aggressive and nonaggressive behavior problems. Low infant SCA predicted aggressive behavior, but there was no association between SCA and nonaggressive behavior problems. Mothers' ratings of the infants' temperament and their maternal attachment and the infants' observed fearlessness did not predict later aggression. These results suggest that SCA is a specific biomarker for aggression in low-risk samples of infants.
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Changes in testosterone mediate the effect of winning on subsequent aggressive behavior
Justin Carré et al.
Psychoneuroendocrinology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Testosterone concentrations rise rapidly in the context of competitive interactions and remain elevated in winners relative to losers. Theoretical models suggest that this divergent neuroendocrine response serves to mediate future dominance behaviours. Although research in animal models provides compelling support for this model, evidence for its applicability to human social behaviour is limited. In the current study, men and women were randomly assigned to experience a series of victories or defeats, after which aggressive behaviour was assessed using a well-validated behavioural measure. Winning produced elevated testosterone concentrations relative to losing in men, but not women. More importantly, testosterone reactivity to competition mediated the effect of winning on subsequent aggressive behaviour in men, but not women. We discuss limitations of the current study (e.g., the status manipulation may have affected other variables not measured in the study including competitiveness and physical activity expended), as well as discuss a potential neural mechanism underlying the effect of testosterone reactivity on aggressive behaviour.
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MAOA and Male Antisocial Behavior: A Review
Robert Eme
Aggression and Violent Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
Of all the risk factors for the development of antisocial behavior, "maleness" is by far the most robust predictor. Among the numerous biological factors that have been identified as increasing risk for antisocial behavior, one of the most well-supported has inexplicably received very little attention with regard to implications for explaining why maleness is such a robust predictor. That factor is the low activity form of the monoamine oxidase-A gene. A major reason for this inattention to the MAOA-L gene appears to be the failure to appreciate that its location on the X chromosome reflects the enormous biological disadvantage of the male compared to the female. This article, after presenting a brief overview of the research which establishes that MAOA-L is one of the most well-supported biological risk factors for antisocial behaviors, explained how the enormous male biological disadvantage related to the sex difference in the prevalence of MAOA-L and thus helped explain why maleness is the most robust predictor of antisocial behavior.
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The Association Between Peer and Own Aggression is Moderated by the BDNF Val-Met Polymorphism
Tina Kretschmer, Frank Vitaro & Edward Barker
Journal of Research on Adolescence, forthcoming
Abstract:
Peer antisocial behavior robustly predicts adolescents' own behavior, but not all adolescents are equally vulnerable to their peers' influence and genetic factors may confer vulnerability. This study used data of n = 3,081 adolescents from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children to examine whether brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a polymorphism that affects psychological functioning, moderates the association between affiliation with aggressive peers at age 10 and own aggression at age 15. A significant gene-environment interaction was found, where those who affiliated with aggressive peers in childhood showed increased risk of being aggressive in adolescence if they carried the BDNF met-met variant compared with val-val carriers. Our findings underline the importance of both biological and social factors for adolescent development.
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Malena Ivarsson et al.
Psychosomatic Medicine, May 2013, Pages 390-396
Objective: To study cardiac, sleep-related, and emotional reactions to playing violent (VG) versus nonviolent video games (NVG) in adolescents with different gaming habits.
Methods: Thirty boys (aged 13-16 years, standard deviation = 0.9), half of them low-exposed (≤1 h/d) and half high-exposed (≥3 h/d) to violent games, played a VG/NVG for 2 hours during two different evenings in their homes. Heart rate (HR) and HR variability were registered from before start until next morning. A questionnaire about emotional reactions was administered after gaming sessions and a sleep diary on the following mornings.
Results: During sleep, there were significant interaction effects between group and gaming condition for HR (means [standard errors] for low-exposed: NVG 63.8 [2.2] and VG 67.7 [2.4]; for high-exposed: NVG 65.5 [1.9] and VG 62.7 [1.9]; F(1,28) = 9.22, p = .005). There was also a significant interaction for sleep quality (low-exposed: NVG 4.3 [0.2] and VG 3.7 [0.3]); high-exposed: NVG 4.4 [0.2] and VG 4.4 [0.2]; F(1,28) = 3.51, p = .036, one sided), and sadness after playing (low-exposed: NVG 1.0 [0.0] and VG 1.4 [0.2]; high-exposed: NVG 1.2 [0.1] and VG 1.1 [0.1]; (F(1,27) = 6.29, p = .009, one sided).
Conclusions: Different combinations of the extent of (low versus high) previous VG and experimental exposure to a VG or an NVG are associated with different reaction patterns - physiologically, emotionally, and sleep related. Desensitizing effects or selection bias stand out as possible explanations.
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From Fistfights to Firefights: Trait Aggression and Support for State Violence
Nathan Kalmoe
Political Behavior, June 2013, Pages 311-330
Abstract:
Aggression is a fundamental component of human behavior, yet is mostly absent from scholarship on mass political behavior. This study proposes and tests a theory of state violence attitudes in which citizens develop preferences from aggressive personality traits. In an original nationally-representative survey, trait aggression strongly predicts support for violent state policies, as does its subcomponent trait anger, rivaling the power of partisanship. More provocatively, the well-documented gender gap in state violence attitudes replicated here is not attributable to sex differences in aggressive personality. This work builds on recent advances in political personality research and highlights the important role of aggression in political behavior.
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Seth Gitter et al.
Aggressive Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
Previous work has shown that playing violent video games can stimulate aggression toward others. The current research has identified a potential exception. Participants who played a violent game in which the violence had an explicitly prosocial motive (i.e., protecting a friend and furthering his nonviolent goals) were found to show lower short-term aggression (Study 1) and show higher levels of prosocial cognition (Study 2) than individuals who played a violent game in which the violence was motivated by more morally ambiguous motives. Thus, violent video games that are framed in an explicitly prosocial context may evoke more prosocial sentiments and thereby mitigate some of the short-term effects on aggression observed in previous research. While these findings are promising regarding the potential aggression-reducing effects of prosocial context, caution is still warranted as a small effect size difference (d = .2-.3), although nonsignificant, was still observed between those who played the explicitly prosocial violent game and those who played a nonviolent game; indicating that aggressive behavior was not completely eliminated by the inclusion of a prosocial context for the violence.
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Jean-Baptiste Pingault et al.
PLoS ONE, May 2013
Background: Research shows that children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder are at elevated risk of criminality. However, several issues still need to be addressed in order to verify whether hyperactivity in itself plays a role in the prediction of criminality. In particular, co-occurrence with other behaviors as well as the internal heterogeneity in ADHD symptoms (hyperactivity and inattention) should be taken into account. The aim of this study was to assess the unique and interactive contributions of hyperactivity to the development of criminality, whilst considering inattention, physical aggression and family adversity.
Methodology/Principal Findings: We monitored the development of a population-based sample of kindergarten children (N = 2,741). Hyperactivity, inattention, and physical aggression were assessed annually between the ages of 6 and 12 years by mothers and teachers. Information on the presence, the age at first charge and the type of criminal charge was obtained from official records when the participants were aged 25 years. We used survival analysis models to predict the development of criminality in adolescence and adulthood: high childhood hyperactivity was highly predictive when bivariate analyses were used; however, with multivariate analyses, high hyperactivity was only marginally significant (Hazard Ratio: 1.38; 95% CI: 0.94-2.02). Sensitivity analyses revealed that hyperactivity was not a consistent predictor. High physical aggression was strongly predictive (Hazard Ratio: 3.44; 95% CI: 2.43-4.87) and its role was consistent in sensitivity analyses and for different types of crime. Inattention was not predictive of later criminality.
Conclusions/Significance: Although the contribution of childhood hyperactivity to criminality may be detected in large samples using multi-informant longitudinal designs, our results show that it is not a strong predictor of later criminality. Crime prevention should instead target children with the highest levels of childhood physical aggression and family adversity.
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John Light et al.
Journal of Research on Adolescence, forthcoming
Abstract:
Antisocial behavior typically increases during early adolescence, but the possibility of seasonal variation has not been examined. In this study, trajectories of antisocial behavior were estimated for early adolescent boys and girls. Data were obtained from a 3-year longitudinal study of 11 middle schools in the western United States (n = 5,742), with assessments completed four times per academic year. Antisocial behavior increased steadily throughout 6th grade, but beginning in 7th grade for boys and 8th grade for girls it declined during the school year. Significant increases between Grades 6-7 and 7-8 were found for both genders. Trajectories varied by contextual and individual-level social victimization and gender. Implications for theoretical development and future studies are discussed.
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Kendra Lewis et al.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, June 2013, Pages 622-630
Background: Youth problem behaviors remain a public health issue. Youth in low-income, urban areas are particularly at risk for engaging in aggressive, violent, and disruptive behaviors.
Purpose: To evaluate the effects of a school-based social-emotional learning and health promotion program on problem behaviors and related attitudes among low-income, urban youth.
Design: A matched-pair, cluster RCT.
Setting/participants: Participants were drawn from 14 Chicago Public Schools over a 6-year period of program delivery with outcomes assessed for a cohort of youth followed from Grades 3 to 8. Data were collected from Fall 2004 to Spring 2010, and analyzed in Spring 2012.
Intervention: The Positive Action program includes a scoped and sequenced K-12 classroom curriculum with six components: self-concept, social and emotional positive actions for managing oneself responsibly, and positive actions directed toward physical and mental health, honesty, getting along with others, and continually improving oneself. The program also includes teacher, counselor, family, and community training as well as activities directed toward schoolwide climate development.
Main outcome measures: Youth reported on their normative beliefs in support of aggression and on their bullying, disruptive, and violent behaviors; parents rated youths' bullying behaviors and conduct problems; schoolwide data on disciplinary referrals and suspensions were obtained from school records.
Results: Multilevel growth-curve modeling analyses conducted on completion of the trial indicated that Positive Action mitigated increases over time in (1) youth reports of normative beliefs supporting aggressive behaviors and of engaging in disruptive behavior and bullying (girls only) and (2) parent reports of youth bullying behaviors (boys only). At study end-point, students in Positive Action schools also reported a lower rate of violence-related behavior than students in control schools. Schoolwide findings indicated positive program effects on both disciplinary referrals and suspensions. Program effect sizes ranged from -0.26 to -0.68.
Conclusions: These results extend evidence of the effectiveness of the Positive Action program to low-income, minority, urban school settings, and to middle school-aged youth.
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Lorena Estrada-Martínez et al.
Youth & Society, June 2013, Pages 221-242
Abstract:
Youth violence is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among Blacks and Latinos. Violent behaviors within Latino subgroups and the reasons for subgroup differences are not well understood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 16,615), this study examined the risk for violent behaviors among an ethnically diverse sample of youth, with special attention to different Latino subgroups. Family dynamics were examined as moderators between neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and violent behaviors who lived in neighborhoods with different racial/ethnic compositions. Results indicated that neighborhood SES was positively associated with risk for violent behaviors among youth living in predominately Black and Latino neighborhoods, but negatively in predominately White neighborhoods. Additionally, family cohesion, parental engagement, and adolescent autonomy differentially impacted the relationship between neighborhood SES and youth violent behaviors for youth living in predominately Latino neighborhoods.
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Effects of Oxytocin on Women's Aggression Depend on State Anxiety
Anne Campbell & Markus Hausmann
Aggressive Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
Research on oxytocin (OT) indicates that it has stress reducing effects. This leads to opposing predictions of decreased and increased aggression which we examine in this study. Following completion of a state anxiety measure and administration of OT or a placebo, female participants took part in a competitive aggression game (PSAP) for a monetary prize which, if won, would be paid to a loved one. In the game, three options were available: participants could earn points; attack their opponent by deducting points; and defend themselves against point deduction by their opponent. There was no main effect of OT on these responses, however there was an interaction with state anxiety. In the placebo condition, women higher in state anxiety showed a significantly higher ratio of Attack-to-Earn responses than low anxiety women. Under oxytocin, there was a significant reduction in their Attack:Earn ratio resulting in no significant difference between high and low state anxiety groups. There was a similar trend for the Defend:Earn ratio. The reduction of reactive aggression in state anxious women supports the view that OT may decrease negative behavior and increase constructive behavior even under conditions of provocation.