Citation

Dewall CN, Finkel EJ, Lambert NM, Slotter EB, Bodenhausen GV, Pond RS, Renzetti CM, Fincham FD. Aggressive Behav. 2013; 39(6): 419-439.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, International Society for Research on Aggression, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ab.21496

PMID

23878068

Abstract

Aggression pervades modern life. To understand the root causes of aggression, researchers have developed several methods to assess aggressive inclinations. The current article introduces a new behavioral method-the voodoo doll task (VDT)-that offers a reliable and valid trait and state measure of aggressive inclinations across settings and relationship contexts. Drawing on theory and research on the law of similarity and magical beliefs (Rozin, Millman, & Nemeroff [1986], Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 703-712), we propose that people transfer characteristics of a person onto a voodoo doll representing that person. As a result, causing harm to a voodoo doll by stabbing it with pins may have important psychological similarities to causing actual harm to the person the voodoo doll represents. Nine methodologically diverse studies (total N = 1,376) showed that the VDT had strong reliability, construct validity, and convergent validity. Discussion centers on the importance of magical beliefs in understanding the causes of aggressive inclinations. Aggr. Behav. 9999:XX-XX, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en