Kicking the (Barking) Dog Effect: The Moderating Role of Target Attributes on Triggered Displaced Aggression

Abstract

Sometimes aggression is displaced onto a target who is not totally innocent, but emits a mildly irritating behavior called a triggering event. In three studies we examine stable personal attributes of targets that can impact such triggered displaced aggression (TDA). Lower levels of TDA were directed to targets whose attitudes were similar as compared to dissimilar to those of the actor (Experiment 1), and to targets who were in-group as compared to out-group members (Experiment 2). Conceptually replicating the findings of Studies 1 and 2, the manipulated valence of the target (viz. liked, neutral, and disliked) functioned in a similar manner, with positive valence serving a buffering function against a triggering action that followed an initial provocation (Experiment 3). The results from all three studies are consistent with Cognitive Neoassociationist theory (Berkowitz, 1993).

The sexual objectification of girls and aggression towards them in gang and non-gang affiliated youth

“…It is also possible that objectifying girls stigmatizes them, which is then perceived as a negative attribute or characteristic of those individuals. This process has important implications for the facilitation of aggression because it has been shown that provoked individuals are more aggressive towards their target when the latter possess negative characteristics, such as out-group membership (Pedersen,16 Bushman, Vasquez, & Miller, 2008). Thus, the stigma induced by objectification may be perceived as a negative characteristic of the objectified, which subsequently primes objectifying individuals for more intense aggressive response.…”

Personalization and differentiation as moderators of triggered displaced aggression towards out‐group targets

“…In prior research, in-group membership decreased TDA such that the TDA in this condition was at the same levels as in the no-trigger conditions (Pedersen et al, 2006). Expecting personalization and differentiation to have little effect on aggression toward in-group members, we therefore focused on a condition that elicits higher baseline levels of aggression-an outgroup target condition-thereby increasing the likelihood of interesting results.…”

“…As noted, researchers have invoked prejudice 1 and negative priming (Pedersen et al, 2006) to explain the greater displacement of aggression towards triggering out-group members relative to triggering ingroup members. To develop methods of reducing such out-group-directed aggression, we made the following assumption: processes that reduce intergroup bias should also reduce the aggression that is often a consequence of bias.…”

“…In one study, researchers manipulated the category of the target and found that higher levels of aggression were displaced towards out-group relative to in-group targets (Pedersen et al, 2006). The authors proposed two potential explanations for this effect.…”

“…Our goal here, however, was not to test these potential explanations, but rather, to assess the efficacy of promising methods to reduce aggression towards out-group members, in the context of the TDA paradigm. Given the aggression-augmenting effect of out-group membership on aggressive behavior (Carlson et al, 1990;Marcus-Newhall et al, 2000;Pedersen et al, 2006) it is important to examine processes or techniques that may counter it. Towards this goal, we assume that a reduction in aggression toward out-group members can be accomplished by employing techniques that effectively reduce intergroup bias.…”