%0 Journal Article
%T The voodoo doll task: Introducing and validating a novel method for studying aggressive inclinations
%J Aggressive behavior
%D 2013
%A Dewall, C. Nathan
%A Finkel, Eli J.
%A Lambert, Nathaniel M.
%A Slotter, Erica B.
%A Bodenhausen, Galen V.
%A Pond, Richard S.
%A Renzetti, Claire M.
%A Fincham, Frank D.
%V 39
%N 6
%P 419-439
%X 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.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I John Wiley and Sons
%@ 0096-140X
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ab.21496