Does Trait Hostility Moderate the Asymmetry in Victim-Perpetrator Perceptions of Aggressive Behaviors?

Abstract

Victims often perceive aggressive behaviors as being more harmful than do perpetrators—a so-called victim-perpetrator asymmetry. We examined whether this victim-perpetrator asymmetry was especially strong for individuals who were high in trait hostility. In two studies—one where participants recalled actual aggressive experiences and one where participants took the perspective of a person in a vignette—we found that victims who were high in trait hostility, relative to those who were low, viewed aggressive behaviors as being most harmful. We found somewhat inconsistent effects for whether perpetrators viewed the aggressive behaviors as more justified than victims did and whether trait hostility moderated this judgment. Collectively, the current findings show that victims who are high in trait hostility are especially likely to view an aggressive behavior as harmful, which potentially makes conflict resolution difficult for these individuals and increases the likelihood they would retaliate.

Do perpetrators and victims rely on different information when judging whether aggressive behaviors are justified?

“…It is well established that perpetrators judge their aggressive behaviors as more justified than victims do (e.g., Baumeister et al, 1990; Baumeister, 1996; McCarthy & Jensen, Wilson, et al, 2022; McCarthy & Rivers, 2022). The current studies examined some of the cognitive reasons for this difference.…”

“…How Justified was the Aggressive Behavior? Participants in the “self” conditions then rated “to what extent do you believe your [the other person's] behavior was justified” using a 7‐point scale with anchors “not at all justified” and “extremely justified.” This item is similar to the item used in McCarthy, Jensen, Wilson, et al (2022) and McCarthy and Rivers (2022).…”

“…People are not impartial judges about aggressive interactions in which they were personally involved: Perpetrators often describe their aggressive behaviors as reasonable responses to the situation whereas victims often describe the perpetrators' aggressive behaviors as severe and spiteful (e.g., Baumeister et al, 1990; Elshout et al, 2017). Differences between perpetrators' and victims' perceptions are even found when looking at the same aggressive behavior (e.g., Adams & Inesi, 2016; Leunissen et al, 2013; McCarthy & Rivers, 2022; Stillwell & Baumeister, 1997). Although perpetrators' and victims' judgments of aggressive behaviors can differ in many ways, the current studies test why one particular difference occurs: Why do perpetrators believe their aggressive behaviors are more justified than victims do (e.g., Baumeister, 1996; Ent & Parton, 2020; McCarthy & Rivers, 2022)?…”

“…Differences between perpetrators' and victims' perceptions are even found when looking at the same aggressive behavior (e.g., Adams & Inesi, 2016; Leunissen et al, 2013; McCarthy & Rivers, 2022; Stillwell & Baumeister, 1997). Although perpetrators' and victims' judgments of aggressive behaviors can differ in many ways, the current studies test why one particular difference occurs: Why do perpetrators believe their aggressive behaviors are more justified than victims do (e.g., Baumeister, 1996; Ent & Parton, 2020; McCarthy & Rivers, 2022)?…”

Perpetrators’, Victims’, and Witnesses’ Folk Explanations of Aggressive Behaviors

“…Perpetrators also report that their past aggressive behaviors were motivated by revenge (e.g., Ent & Parton, 2019), which implies, at least from the perpetrator's perspective, that a victim's earlier instigation ought to share some of the blame for their aggression. Victims also can try to minimize their blame by selectively recalling information that favors themselves (e.g., Elshout et al, 2017;McCarthy & Rivers, 2021;Stillwell & Baumeister, 1997), describing the perpetrator's behaviors as capricious and unpredictable (e.g., Baumeister et al, 1990), asserting the perpetrator's behavior was excessive (e.g., Elshout et al, 2017Elshout et al, , 2020, or some combination of these.…”