Relational and overt aggression in preschool.

This research was designed as an initial attempt to assess relational aggression in preschool-age children. Our goal was to develop reliable measures of relational aggression for young children and to use these instruments to address several important issues (e.g., the relation between this form of aggression and social–psychological adjustment). Results provide evidence that relationally aggressive behaviors appear in children's behavioral repertoires at relatively young ages, and that these behaviors can be reliably distinguished from overtly aggressive behaviors in preschool-age children. Further, findings indicate that preschool girls are significantly more relationally aggressive and less overtly aggressive than preschool boys. Finally, results show that relational aggression is significantly related to social–psychological maladjustment (e.g., peer rejection) for both boys and girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationships between overt and fantasy aggression.

The interrelationships among aggressive needs, anticipation of punishment, and overt aggressive behavior in 29 lower-class boys were investigated in this study. Three hypotheses were tested: 1) among lower class boys, those having a relatively great amount of fantasy aggressive needs indulge in more overt aggressive behavior than those who have relatively few aggressive fantasy needs; 2) Ss whose TAT stories included a great deal of punishment press relative to the number of their aggressive needs demonstrate less overt aggression than Ss whose ratios of punishment press to aggressive needs are low; and 3) Those with low punishment press/aggressive fantasy ratio show more aggression in their behavior than those with high P/A ratio. All three hypotheses were supported by the data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The measurement of overt aggression from fantasy.

"A set of specially devised pictures was individually administered to 118 boys aged 6-1 to 10-2 and the stories scored for five different categories of aggressive content. On the basis of teacher ratings of fighting behavior with age mates, the sample was divided into five groups differing in degree of overt aggressivity. The children who were rated as most likely to initiate fighting behavior produced significantly more fighting themes than those boys rated as extremely nonaggressive." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of frustration and anxiety on overt aggression.

A study of the frustration-aggression hypotheses. Ss were required to count backwards from 100 by 3. A high and low level of frustration situation was constructed, with the "high" being characterized by a threat of electric shock if E was dissatisfied with Ss performance, and E interrupting S by making sarcastic and insulting comments. Following this, E made predictions on what might be S's response on a questionnaire assessing attitudes towards driving, and S was allowed to administer shock to E when S felt E was in error. Measures of frequency and duration of shock and pressure exerted in depressing a shock plunger were obtained as well as GSR and answers to an anxiety questionnaire. The findings generally confirmed the frustration-aggression thesis. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4HK46H. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between overt and fantasy aggression as a function of maternal response to aggression.

44 boys and their mothers were studied in order to explore the relationship between fantasy and overt expressions of aggression as a function of maternal attitudes and practices towards aggression. "Support was found for the hypothesis that under conditions of maternal encouragement of aggression, a greater degree of correspondence exists between fantasy and overt aggression of children than under conditions of maternal discouragement of aggression." 19 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation of ego control to overt aggression and dependency.

"36 nursery school children were scored on indices of aggressive and dependent behavior manifested during a two-week observation period. These scores were related to two measures of ego control derived from performance in a delay of gratification and in a cosatiation situation. There is a significant negative relationship between amount of expressed aggression and ego-control as assessed by the cosatiation measure. The delay measure is also negatively related to aggression, though not significantly." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of overt aggression on physiological arousal level.

Ss were exposed to frustrating conditions involving frustrators of high and low status, with or without an opportunity to give the frustrator an electric shock. Tension level (TL) was measured by systolic blood pressure. TL increased under conditions of frustration; returned to prefrustration level when S was able to retaliate against low-status frustrator, with or without retaliation against low-status frustrator, with or without retalition against high-status frustrators, and remained high only when S was not able to express aggression against low-status frustrators. The results suggested that under certain conditions overt aggression was tension reducing; under others, TL may be reduced by other behavior, e.g., withdrawal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perception-action relationships in strategic-type settings: covert and overt processes

In this paper, we present a new approach to studying the perception-action linkage in sport. The approach and the sport-specific paradigms associated with it are aimed at exploring the 'covert' processes underlying decision-making and decision alterations before and during the course of action execution. The approach introduced here is based on Coles' (1989) work applying the chronometric approach in various paradigms using warning and imperative stimuli (i.e. valid and invalid cueing). Coles also demonstrated the efficacy of the 'lateralized readiness potential' as a measure which reflects the correct and incorrect activation of motor responses (i.e. the covert processes underlying error elicitation). The chronometric approach, which takes into account the warning and imperative stimuli as well as action initiation, execution and alteration, is recommended for the study of expertise behaviour in sport. It is predicted that lateralized readiness potential patterns will differ between experts and novice performers. Several hypotheses are derived, and paradigms suggested, to explore the 'covert processes' underlying expertise in the motor domain.     

Overt and relational aggression in Russian nursery-school-age children: parenting style and marital linkages

Maternal and paternal parenting styles and marital interactions linked to childhood aggressive behavior as described in Western psychological literature were measured in an ethnic Russian sample of 207 families of nursery-school-age children. Results corroborated and extended findings from Western samples. Maternal and paternal coercion, lack of responsiveness, and psychological control (for mothers only) were significantly correlated with children's overt aggression with peers. Less responsiveness (for mothers and fathers) and maternal coercion positively correlated with relational aggression. Some of these associations differed for boys versus girls. Marital conflict was also linked to more overt and relational aggression for boys. When entered into the same statistical model, more marital conflict (for boys only), more maternal coercion, and less paternal responsiveness were found to be the most important contributors to overt and relational aggression in younger Russian children.     

Etiology and measurement of relational aggression: A multi-informant behavior genetic investigation.

Although the study of relational aggression is gaining attention in the literature, little is known about the underlying causes of this behavior and the relative validity of various informants. These issues were addressed in a sample of 1,981 6- to 18-year-old twin pairs (36% female, 34% male, 30% opposite-sex). Relational aggression was assessed via maternal and self-report using a structured interview. Univariate models estimated genetic and environmental influences by informant and examined evidence for gender differences. A psychometric model combined data from both informants to estimate etiologic influences that were both common to the informants and informant specific. In both sexes, the latent variable reflecting the mother’s and child’s shared perception of the child’s relational aggression was substantially influenced by both additive genetic (63%) and shared environmental (37%) influences, although this latent variable accounted for much greater variance in the maternal report (66%) than it did in the youth report (9%). In addition, informant-specific additive genetic and shared environmental influences were found only for the youth report, with all remaining variance in the mother’s report attributed to nonshared environmental influences. Results are discussed in the context of measuring relational aggression and the importance of multiple informants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonrational processes in ethical decision making.

Most current ethical decision-making models provide a logical and reasoned process for making ethical judgments, but these models are empirically unproven and rely upon assumptions of rational, conscious, and quasilegal reasoning. Such models predominate despite the fact that many nonrational factors influence ethical thought and behavior, including context, perceptions, relationships, emotions, and heuristics. For example, a large body of behavioral research has demonstrated the importance of automatic intuitive and affective processes in decision making and judgment. These processes profoundly affect human behavior and lead to systematic biases and departures from normative theories of rationality. Their influence represents an important but largely unrecognized component of ethical decision making. We selectively review this work; provide various illustrations; and make recommendations for scientists, trainers, and practitioners to aid them in integrating the understanding of nonrational processes with ethical decision making. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Product assortment and individual decision processes.

Research presented in this article examines the impact of product assortment on individuals' decisions. Four experiments report converging evidence that the impact of assortment is moderated by the degree to which individuals have articulated attribute preferences, whereby individuals with an articulated ideal point are more likely to prefer larger assortments than individuals without articulated preferences. The data further show that choices made from large assortments are associated with more selective, alternative-based, and confirmatory processing for individuals with articulated preferences and more comprehensive, attribute-based, and comparative processing for those without articulated preferences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relational benefits of relational aggression: Adaptive and maladaptive associations with adolescent friendship quality.

Two longitudinal studies examined associations between relational aggression and friendship quality during adolescence. In Study 1, 62 adolescents in Grades 6 (25.8%), 7 (32.3%), and 8 (41.9%) completed assessments of friendship affiliations, relational and overt aggression, and friendship quality at 2 time points, 1 year apart. Results using actor partner interdependence modeling indicated that high levels of relational aggression predicted increases in self-reported positive friendship quality 1 year later. In Study 2, 56 adolescents in Grades 9 (66.7%) and 10 (33.3%) attended a laboratory session with a friend in which their conversations were videotaped and coded for relationally aggressive talk. Target adolescents completed measures of positive and negative friendship quality during the laboratory session and during a follow-up phone call 6 months later. Analyses revealed that high levels of relationally aggressive talk at Time 1 predicted increases in negative friendship quality 6 months later. In addition, among adolescents involved in a reciprocal best friendship, high levels of observed relationally aggressive talk predicted increases in positive friendship quality over time. Taken together, these studies provide support for the idea that relational aggression may be associated with adaptive as well as maladaptive outcomes within the dyadic context of adolescent friendship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual decision processes in an assessment center.

Analyzed individual ratings made by 46 assessors working in an assessment center for the selection of entry-level managers. 10 Ss' ratings (each of whom had rated more than 200 assessees) were individually subjected to confirmatory factor analyses (using linear structural relations) and examined within a lens model framework. Support was found for both a formal and informal method of arriving at an overall assessment rating. Subgroup analyses suggest that there was little effect of assessee sex on the way Ss arrived at a rating. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuroendocrine regulation and physical and relational aggression: The moderating roles of child maltreatment and gender.

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the association between circadian rhythms of cortisol and physical and relational aggression. Morning arrival, prelunch, and afternoon predeparture salivary cortisol were assessed among 418 maltreated and nonmaltreated children (52% maltreated; 49% female) attending a summer day camp. Counselors and peers rated participants' involvement in physically and relationally aggressive behaviors. Results indicated that physical aggression was associated with heightened cortisol following morning arrival and relatively steep declines in cortisol over the day, whereas relational aggression was associated with low cortisol following morning arrival and blunted diurnal change in cortisol. Moreover, maltreatment was a significant moderator of this relationship such that aggression was related to greater cortisol dysregulation among nonmaltreated than among maltreated children. The findings suggest that physiological correlates of aggression may differ for physical and relational forms of aggression and among maltreated versus nonmaltreated populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test formats change source-monitoring decision processes.

The authors manipulated in 4 experiments how participants made source-monitoring decisions (SMDs). In Experiments 1 and 2, asking whether items were encountered from specific sources produced asymmetries that depended on the source that was queried. Such testing also differed from a standard source test in which all potential sources were considered simultaneously. Across the 2 experiments, the results were also a function of the combination of sources tested. This pattern of findings persisted in Experiments 3 and 4 when relative source judgments were made from pairs of items presented at test from which participants were asked to pick the item from a particular source. The results are discussed in terms of how specific queries focus SMD processes toward or away from particular qualitative characteristics that vary in diagnosticity concerning the origin of a memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auditory signal detection and decision processes in the nervous system.

Neuronal unit activity was recorded from auditory nuclei, the dorsal hippocampus, and the cerebellum in New Zealand White rabbits behaviorally detecting a threshold-level, constant intensity white noise stimulus. Results show that stimulus-evoked neuronal unit activity was present and identical on both detection and nondetection trials in auditory nuclei but was dichotomous in the hippocampus and in the cerebellum, the latter 2 systems predicting the occurrence of behavioral detection. It is concluded that the behavioral absolute threshold is not determined by differential activation of neurons in the primary auditory relay nuclei. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relational disorders and relational processes in diagnostic practice: Introduction to the special section.

The special section addresses a number of salient issues that will arise as the revision process for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) unfolds and the role of relational processes in mental health is considered. This collection of articles, which emphasize historical, conceptual, and empirical contributions to the discussion, is intended to stimulate debate in the field and to serve as a resource for individuals charged with proposing new diagnostic guidelines. Jointly, the articles make it clear that the authors can improve on the current treatment of relational processes in the DSM and that there is a solid foundation of family research that can inform any discussion on this topic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating biological and social processes in relation to early-onset persistent aggression in boys and girls.

This study examined the relationship between biological and social risk factors and aggressive behavior patterns in an Australian high-risk sample of 370 adolescents. Perinatal, temperamental, familial, sociodemographic, and behavioral data were collected during interviews completed during pregnancy, immediately postpartum, and when the children were 6 months old and 5, 14, and 15 years old. Youths were given tests of verbal and neuropsychological functioning at the age 5 and age 15 follow-ups. Youths were divided into early-onset persistent aggression, adolescent-onset aggression, and nonaggressive behavior groups. Results revealed that the interaction of biological and social risk factors was significantly related to early-onset persistent aggression. Gender and developmental phase of measurement moderated the relationship between biosocial risks and the outcomes of early-onset persistent aggression and adolescent-onset aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of three types of aggression on vascular processes.

"Eighty college-age-subjects underwent either a frustrating or nonfrustrating experience and subsequently were placed in one of four aggression-conditions: Physical, Verbal, Fantasy, or No Aggression. The intent of this 2 X 4 factorial design experiment was to measure the effects of each type of aggression on frustration-produced-elevations in systolic blood pressure and heart rate. The results indicated that frustrated subjects who were given an opportunity to physically or verbally aggress against the frustrator, manifested returns on both physiological measures to the levels of the Low Frustration control subjects. Frustrated subjects in the Fantasy and No Aggression conditions exhibited significantly elevated systolic pressures and heart rates at the post-aggression-recording of these measures." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)