1
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Chen B, Zhang C, Feng F, Xian H, Zhao Y. The association between social class and aggression: A meta-analytic review. Soc Sci Med 2024; 340:116432. [PMID: 38039768 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Substantial evidence links social class with aggression. Despite lower social class being recognized as a risk factor for high levels of aggression, the findings of this association have been inconsistent. Some studies have indeed illustrated that a social class level is inversely associated with aggression, while other studies have demonstrated positive or null associations. OBJECTIVE To clarify previously inconsistent findings, this meta-analysis assesses the overall magnitude of this relationship and examines the potential moderators. METHODS A total of 268 studies met the inclusion criteria, and we used 546 effect sizes in 357 independent samples from these studies. A random-effects meta-analytic model was employed and several moderator analyses were conducted. RESULTS Overall, social class shared a small but significant negative relationship with aggression (r = -0.092). Moderator analyses suggested that study-level (e.g., type of study, and national differences), sample-level (e.g., age), class-level (e.g., type, assessment, and source of social class), and aggression-level (e.g., type of aggression) characteristics accounted for heterogeneity in the relationship. Additional analyses also revealed the robustness of these effects with little evidence of publication bias. CONCLUSIONS Living in disadvantaged socioecological environments, lower-class individuals may exhibit more aggression to adapt to threats. Moreover, the relationship between social class and aggression is not fixed and can change with specific contexts, and aggression is not an essential feature of a particular social group. This research hopes to inspire future studies to explore the association between social class and aggression more thoroughly. Additionally, it provides insights into how to reduce aggression among lower-class individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Chen
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China; Faculty of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
| | - Chao Zhang
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
| | - Fan Feng
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
| | - Hua Xian
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
| | - Yufang Zhao
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China; Center for Studies of Education and Psychology of Minorities in Southwest China, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
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2
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Kruglanski AW, Ellenberg M, Szumowska E, Molinario E, Speckhard A, Leander NP, Pierro A, Di Cicco G, Bushman BJ. Frustration-aggression hypothesis reconsidered: The role of significance quest. Aggress Behav 2023; 49:445-468. [PMID: 37282763 DOI: 10.1002/ab.22092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
One of the oldest scientific theories of human aggression is the frustration-aggression hypothesis, advanced in 1939. Although this theory has received considerable empirical support and is alive and well today, its underlying mechanisms have not been adequately explored. In this article, we examine major findings and concepts from extant psychological research on hostile aggression and offer an integrative conception: aggression is a primordial means for establishing one's sense of significance and mattering, thus addressing a fundamental social-psychological need. Our functional portrayal of aggression as a means to significance yields four testable hypotheses: (1) frustration will elicit hostile aggression proportionately to the extent that the frustrated goal serves the individual's need for significance, (2) the impulse to aggress in response to significance loss will be enhanced in conditions that limit the individual's ability to reflect and engage in extensive information processing (that may bring up alternative, socially condoned means to significance), (3) significance-reducing frustration will elicit hostile aggression unless the impulse to aggress is substituted by a nonaggressive means of significance restoration, (4) apart from significance loss, an opportunity for significance gain can increase the impulse to aggress. These hypotheses are supported by extant data as well as novel research findings in real-world contexts. They have important implications for understanding human aggression and the conditions under which it is likely to be manifested and reduced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arie W Kruglanski
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Molly Ellenberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Ewa Szumowska
- Institute of Psychology, Department of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Erica Molinario
- Department of Psychology - The Water School, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, USA
- Institute of Psychology, Department of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University Krakow, Krakow, Poland
| | - Anne Speckhard
- Founding Director - International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE), Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - N Pontus Leander
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
- Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
| | - Antonio Pierro
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Rome, "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Gabriele Di Cicco
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Rome, "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Brad J Bushman
- School of Communication, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
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3
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Buades-Rotger M, Smeijers D, Gallardo-Pujol D, Krämer UM, Brazil IA. Aggressive and psychopathic traits are linked to the acquisition of stable but imprecise hostile expectations. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:197. [PMID: 37296151 PMCID: PMC10256845 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02497-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Individuals with hostile expectations (HEX) anticipate harm from seemingly neutral or ambiguous stimuli. However, it is unclear how HEX are acquired, and whether specific components of HEX learning can predict antisocial thought, conduct, and personality. In an online sample of healthy young individuals (n = 256, 69% women), we administered a virtual shooting task and applied computational modelling of behaviour to investigate HEX learning and its constellation of correlates. HEX acquisition was best explained by a hierarchical reinforcement learning mechanism. Crucially, we found that individuals with relatively higher self-reported aggressiveness and psychopathy developed stronger and less accurate hostile beliefs as well as larger prediction errors. Moreover, aggressive and psychopathic traits were associated with more temporally stable hostility representations. Our study thus shows that aggressiveness and psychopathy are linked with the acquisition of robust yet imprecise hostile beliefs through reinforcement learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Macià Buades-Rotger
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Danique Smeijers
- Division Diagnostics, Research, and Education, Forensic Psychiatric Center Pompestichting, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - David Gallardo-Pujol
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ulrike M Krämer
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM), University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Inti A Brazil
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Division Diagnostics, Research, and Education, Forensic Psychiatric Center Pompestichting, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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4
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Understanding the relations between narcissistic rivalry and reactive aggression: The roles of status-seeking motivation, hostile attribution bias and mindfulness. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2023.112154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
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5
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Timmerman JR, Volpe V. Aspects of campus climate and mental health threats: The role of hypervigilance. JOURNAL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH : J OF ACH 2023; 71:695-704. [PMID: 33830884 DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2021.1904954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Objective: This study sought to examine if hypervigilance is one mechanism through which aspects of less supportive campus climates are associated with mental health symptoms for college students. Participants: Data from 386 undergraduate college students attending a small college in the northeastern United States were collected. Methods: Participants completed online surveys which employed established measures of study variables. Results: Hypervigilance mediated the association between subjective social status and symptoms of anxiety and depression; lower subjective social status was associated with greater hypervigilance and greater hypervigilance was associated with more symptoms of anxiety and depression. Less sense of community was also directly associated with more anxiety, depression, and somatic symptoms. Conclusions: Hypervigilance may be an adaptive strategy to protect against psychosocial harm for low status members of the campus community, but may damage longer-term mental health. Implications for higher education administrators are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna R Timmerman
- Department of Education and Counseling, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - V Volpe
- Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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6
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Guo Y, Xia LX. Relational model of relative deprivation, revenge, and cyberbullying: A three-time longitudinal study. Aggress Behav 2023. [PMID: 36842166 DOI: 10.1002/ab.22079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023]
Abstract
Cyberbullying is a new form of aggression and can have serious consequences. Although the influencing factors of cyberbullying have been explored in the literature, less is known of the longitudinal effects of relative deprivation on cyberbullying and the mediating mechanisms underlying the effect. In this study, we explored these problems. A total of 1143 undergraduates (62.9% women, mean age = 19.46, standard deviation [SD] = 0.95) participated in three rounds of a longitudinal survey with an interval of 6 months and completed a series of self-reported questionnaires assessing relative deprivation, revenge, and cyberbullying. The results of random intercept cross-lagged panel model showed that at between-person level, the random intercepts of relative deprivation, revenge, and cyberbullying were positively associated with each other. At within-person level, relative deprivation and revenge could predict each other over time, and revenge longitudinally predicted cyberbullying. Moreover, revenge mediated the longitudinal effect of relative deprivation on cyberbullying. The results support and develop the view of the general aggression model and deepen our understanding of the development mechanism of cyberbullying.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongfen Guo
- Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ling-Xiang Xia
- Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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7
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Boccadoro S, Wagels L, Henn AT, Hüpen P, Graben L, Raine A, Neuner I. Proactive vs. Reactive Aggression Within Two Modified Versions of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:749041. [PMID: 34658808 PMCID: PMC8511695 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.749041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP) has been widely used to measure reactive aggression following provocation during competitive interactions. Besides being reactive, aggression can be goal-directed (proactive aggression). Our study presents a novel paradigm to investigate proactive aggression during competitive interactions. Sixty-seven healthy participants competed in two modified versions of the TAP against an ostensible opponent while skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded. During the proactive TAP (pTAP), only the participant could interfere with the ostensible opponent’s performance by blurring the screen. In the reactive TAP (rTAP), the opponent repeatedly provoked the participant by blurring the screen of the participant, impeding their chance to win. In both versions, the blurriness levels chosen by the participant served as a measure of aggression (unprovoked in the pTAP and provoked in the rTAP). In the pTAP, trial-by-trial mixed model analyses revealed higher aggression with higher self-reported selfishness. SCRs decreased with increasing proactive aggression. An interaction effect between gender and proactive aggression for the SCRs revealed increased SCRs at higher aggression levels in females, but lower SCRs at higher aggression levels in males. In the rTAP, SCRs were not associated with reactive aggression but aggression increased with increasing provocation and especially after losing against the opponent when provoked. While males showed higher aggression levels than females when unprovoked, reactive aggression increased more strongly in females with higher provocation. Mean levels of aggression in both tasks showed a high positive correlation. Our results highlight that, despite being intercorrelated and both motivated by selfishness, proactive and reactive aggression are differentially influenced by gender and physiological arousal. Proactive aggression is related to lower physiological arousal, especially in males, with females showing the opposite association. Reactive aggressive behavior is a result of individual responses to provocation, to which females seem to be more sensitive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Boccadoro
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Lisa Wagels
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,JARA-BRAIN Institute Brain Structure and Function, INM-10, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
| | - Alina Theresa Henn
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Philippa Hüpen
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,JARA-BRAIN Institute Brain Structure and Function, INM-10, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
| | - Lia Graben
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Adrian Raine
- Department of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Irene Neuner
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany.,JARA-BRAIN-Translational Medicine, Aachen, Germany
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8
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Chen B, Wu X, Geniole SN, Ge Q, Chen Q, Zhao Y. Neural activity during provocation and aggressive responses in people from different social classes. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-01925-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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9
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Buades-Rotger M, Göttlich M, Weiblen R, Petereit P, Scheidt T, Keevil BG, Krämer UM. Low Competitive Status Elicits Aggression in Healthy Young Men: Behavioral and Neural Evidence. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:1123-1137. [PMID: 33959776 PMCID: PMC8599182 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Winners are commonly assumed to compete more aggressively than losers. Here, we find overwhelming evidence for the opposite. We first demonstrate that low-ranking teams commit more fouls than they receive in top-tier soccer, ice hockey, and basketball men's leagues. We replicate this effect in the laboratory, showing that male participants deliver louder sound blasts to a rival when placed in a low-status position. Using neuroimaging, we characterize brain activity patterns that encode competitive status as well as those that facilitate status-dependent aggression in healthy young men. These analyses reveal three key findings. First, anterior hippocampus and striatum contain multivariate representations of competitive status. Second, interindividual differences in status-dependent aggression are linked with a sharper status differentiation in the striatum and with greater reactivity to status-enhancing victories in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Third, activity in ventromedial, ventrolateral, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is associated with trial-wise increases in status-dependent aggressive behavior. Taken together, our results run counter to narratives glorifying aggression in competitive situations. Rather, we show that those in the lower ranks of skill-based hierarchies are more likely to behave aggressively and identify the potential neural basis of this phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Macià Buades-Rotger
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.,Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.,Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Martin Göttlich
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Ronja Weiblen
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | | | - Thomas Scheidt
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Brian G Keevil
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University Hospital of South Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Ulrike M Krämer
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.,Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.,Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM), University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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10
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Beware of the ‘Bad Guys’: Economic Inequality, Perceived Competition, and Social Vigilance. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.5334/irsp.497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
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11
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Zajenkowska A, Bower Russa M, Rogoza R, Park J, Jasielska D, Skrzypek M. Cultural Influences on Social Information Processing: Hostile Attributions in the United States, Poland, and Japan. J Pers Assess 2020; 103:489-497. [PMID: 32546010 DOI: 10.1080/00223891.2020.1774380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Social information processing (SIP) theory suggests that attributions play a central role in influencing behavior in the course of social-relational exchanges. Within the SIP framework, social context has been shown to impact how social events are perceived. As a key feature of social context, culture likely plays a central role in shaping attributional processing. This study examined differences in hostile attributional patterns in three cultures with varying levels of collectivism, individualism, and power distance: Poland, United States, and Japan (N = 707). We used the Ambiguous Intentions and Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ) to compare attributional patterns across cultures. This measure uses five distinct vignettes to assess attributional responding within a range of interpersonal contexts. We examined whether the five-factor structure of the AIHQ maintained across these three cultures. Additionally, we investigated whether variations in attributional patterns occurred cross culturally in response to these ambivalent situations involving varying types of social relationships. Results confirmed acceptable patterns of measurement invariance across American, Japanese, and Polish samples and indicated that specific social-relational features in the vignettes significantly influenced attributional responding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Zajenkowska
- Institute of Psychology, Maria Grzegorzewska University, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Mary Bower Russa
- College of Liberal Arts and Science, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, USA
| | - Radosław Rogoza
- Institute of Psychology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Dorota Jasielska
- Institute of Psychology, Maria Grzegorzewska University, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Marta Skrzypek
- Institute of Psychology, Maria Grzegorzewska University, Warsaw, Poland
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12
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Financial strain, maternal attributions, emotion knowledge and children's behavioral readiness for school. JOURNAL OF APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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13
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Davis J, Wetherell G, Henry P. Social devaluation of African Americans and race-related conspiracy theories. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.2531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- James Davis
- Psychology; Benedictine University; Lisle IL USA
| | | | - P.J. Henry
- Psychology; NYU Abu Dhabi; Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
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14
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Abstract
Abstract. Crowdsourcing platforms provide an affordable approach for recruiting large and diverse samples in a short time. Past research has shown that researchers can obtain reliable data from these sources, at least in domains of research that are not affectively involving. The goal of the present study was to test if crowdsourcing platforms can also be used to conduct experiments that incorporate the induction of aversive affective states. First, a laboratory experiment with German university students was conducted in which a frustrating task induced anger and aggressive behavior. This experiment was then replicated online using five crowdsourcing samples. The results suggest that participants in the online samples reacted very similarly to the anger manipulation as participants in the laboratory experiments. However, effect sizes were smaller in crowdsourcing samples with non-German participants while a crowdsourcing sample with exclusively German participants yielded virtually the same effect size as in the laboratory.
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