Self-Control and Aggression

Abstract

Psychological science has largely neglected the role of self-control in studying aggression. Fortunately, the past half decade has witnessed a surge of research on this long-neglected topic, including two self-control-informed integrative theories of aggression. Robust experimental evidence demonstrates that self-control failures frequently predict aggression and, conversely, that bolstering self-control decreases aggression. Research on rumination also suggests that maladaptive anger regulation decreases self-control and, consequently, increases aggression. Advances from social-affective and cognitive neuroscience suggest that the neural mechanisms involved in emotion regulation and cognitive control mediate the relationship between deficient self-control and aggression.

A Functional Polymorphism of the MAOA Gene Is Associated with Neural Responses to Induced Anger Control

“…Within the context of reactive aggression, both serotonin augmentation and behavioral self-control training lower aggressive outbursts (Denson, DeWall, & Finkel, 2012;Berman, McCloskey, Fanning, Schumacher, & Coccaro, 2009). These interventions may help people with the MAOA-L genotype better control aggressive responses.…”

Personal prayer counteracts self-control depletion

“…Apparently, participants who had prayed for another person were better able to control their aggressive impulses than participants who had only thought about this person. From the perspective of the strength model of self-control, a provocation may be functionally equivalent to a resource depletion task in that it impairs self-control and is commonly associated with subsequent impulsive (aggressive) behavior (Denson, DeWall, & Finkel, 2012). Praying counteracted this effect of impaired self-control after provocation.…”

Do they Aggress Earlier? Investigating the Effects of Ego Depletion on Police Officers’ Use of Force Behavior

“…Since ego depletion may negatively affect the actual behavioral response in police-citizen encounters, it would be beneficial to focus on different strategies in order to mitigate these effects. First, the individual tolerance level can be bolstered by training (Denson et al , 2012Miles et al 2016). Denson et al (2012), for instance, showed that students who practiced self-control for 2 weeks by using their non-dominant hand for everyday tasks showed reduced anger when subsequently provoked by a fictitious fellow student.…”

“…First, the individual tolerance level can be bolstered by training (Denson et al , 2012Miles et al 2016). Denson et al (2012), for instance, showed that students who practiced self-control for 2 weeks by using their non-dominant hand for everyday tasks showed reduced anger when subsequently provoked by a fictitious fellow student. Likewise, in line with the argument of training under operational constraints in order to foster skill transfer (Driskell et al 2008;Staller et al 2017;Wollert et al 2011), training under ego-depleted conditions may provide the individual with the experience to cope with this internal state while displaying optimal behavior.…”

“…Despite such a capacity for self-regulation, there are numerous examples in everyday life in which self-control fails. Risky sexual behavior, overeating, drug and alcohol abuse, and aggression can exemplify consequences of a failure to regulate behavior (Baumeister et al 1993;Denson et al 2012;DeWall et al 2011;Finkel et al 2009;Quinn and Fromme 2010;Slotter et al 2012;Stinson et al 2008).…”