Naturalistic studies of aggressive behavior: Aggressive stimuli, victim visibility, and horn honking.

Abstract

Three studies extended laboratory research on aggression to a naturalistic setting which involved horn honking from drivers as a measure of aggression; the studies were adapted from Doob and Gross. The results from a survey (Study 1) of 59 drivers suggested that they were frequently irritated by and aggressive toward other drivers. A second study (using a 3 X 2 factorial design with 92 male drivers) indicated that manipulations of a rifle in an aggressive context and victim visibility (dehumanization) both significantly influenced horn honking rates subsequent to obstruction at a signal light. A third study with 137 male drivers and 63 female drivers examined the interactive effects of a rifle, an aggressively conno'tated bumper sticker, and individual subject characteristics (sex and an exploratory index of self-perceived status) on horn honking. The results for three studies in naturalistic settings offer possible extensions of laboratory based findings on aggression. The role of inhibitions in modifying the pattern of results was also discussed.

Guns/no guns and the expression of social hostility

“…For those subjects who accepted the negative feedback as genuine, GUNS/NO GUNS 307 response suppression might have occurred for a different reason. Turner et al (1975), in the horn-honking experiment described earlier, found that male drivers of older vehicles, and females, emitted fewer honks in the presence of a rifle and an aggressive bumper sticker. This is interpreted as inhibition of aggressive responding (horn-honking) toward a higher status person.…”

“…Turner et al (1975), for example, actually found that male drivers of older vehicles, and female drivers of all vehicles, engaged in more horn-honking when no rifle or bumper sticker was present. Although these results are interpreted as reflecting inhibition produced by the rifle in an aggressive context, other interpretations are obviously possible.…”

Gender differences in aggression as a function of provocation: A meta-analysis.

“…However, researchers who report gender differences in aggression tend to use experimental paradigms in which participants are not provoked (Lando, Johnson-Payne, Gilbert, & Deutsch, 1977). Yet, when the experimental paradigm includes a provocation before their opportunity to aggress, gender differences often are not found (e.g., Ahmed, 1982;Dor-Shav & Dolgin, 1981;Frodi, 1978;Golin & Romanowski, 1977;Turner, Layton, & Simons, 1975). Moreover, in several studies that vary both gender of participant and level of provocation, women exhibit less aggression than men under relatively neutral conditions but behave slightly more aggressively than men when provoked (e.g., Anderson, 1993;Fischer, Kelm, & Rose, 1969;Schuck, Schuck, Hallam, Mancini, & Wells, 1971;Taylor & Epstein, 1967).…”

Aggression, Pleasure, and Cognitive Dissonance

“…Subjects may give only desirable answers to the hypothetical situations described to them [33]. Also, high self-awareness magnifies the correlates between self-reports and behavior [34]. A meta-analysis has found a positive correlation between aggression, measured by self-reports, and personality dimensions [35].…”