Excitation and hedonic valence in the effect of erotica on motivated Intermale aggression

Abstract

The excitatory potential (low, high), the hedonic valence (negative, positive), and the type of content (erotic, non-erotic)

Affective information processing and the assessment of anxiety

“…Furthermore, between-emotion transfer has been shown. Both Zillmann's group (Zillmann, Bryant, Comisky, & Medoff, 1981) and Donnerstein and Hallam (1978) report that prior sexual arousal can potentiate aggression. Such excitation transfer appears to be independent of hedonic tone.…”

Why Observing Violence Increases the Risk of Violent Behavior By the Observer

“…Consequently, if a person is provoked or otherwise instigated to aggress right after being aroused by a violent film, heightened aggression can result (e.g., Geen & O'Neal, 1969). Third, if a person who is aroused by a violent film misattributes his or her arousal to a provocation by someone else, the propensity to behave aggressively in response to that annoyance is increased (e.g., Bryant & Zillmann, 1979;Zillmann, Bryant, Cominsky, & Medoff, 1981). Thus, people tend to react more violently to provocations immediately after watching exciting movies -violent, sexual, or otherwise exciting -than they do at other times.…”

The Role of Media Violence in Violent Behavior

“…First, a subsequent stimulus that arouses an emotion (e.g., a provocation arousing anger) may be perceived as more severe than it is because some of the emotional response stimulated by the media presentation is misattributed as due to the provocation transfer (25,102). For example, immediately following an exciting media presentation, such excitation transfer could cause more aggressive responses to provocation.…”

“…AROUSAL To the extent that mass media presentations arouse the observer, aggressive behavior may also become more likely in the short run for two possible reasons: excitation transfer (25,102) and general arousal (18,43). First, a subsequent stimulus that arouses an emotion (e.g., a provocation arousing anger) may be perceived as more severe than it is because some of the emotional response stimulated by the media presentation is misattributed as due to the provocation transfer (25,102).…”