Citation

Rajchert J, Konopka K, Huesmann LR. Curr. Psychol. 2017; 36(3): 417-427.

Affiliation

Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s12144-016-9430-6

PMID

28890635

PMCID

PMC5569125

Abstract

Research has shown that ostracism results in aggressive behavior towards the ostracising other, but also causes displaced aggression-aggression directed towards an innocent person. Our study investigated whether displaced aggressive responses to ostracism were increased by three types of aggression proneness (readiness for aggression) based on different mechanisms: emotional-impulsive, habitual-cognitive or personality-immanent. Participants (n = 118) played a Cyberball game in which they were either excluded or included, next prepared a hot sauce sample for another person as an indicator of aggression and completed the Readiness for Interpersonal Aggression Inventory.

RESULTS showed that ostracism evoked more aggression in participants with high rather than with low emotional-impulsive readiness for aggression. Only this type of readiness moderated the ostracism-aggression relationship indicating that mostly affective mechanisms induce displaced aggressive responses to exclusion.

Language: en

Keywords

Aggressive behavior; Ostracism; Readiness for aggression; Social exclusion