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On the Complexity of Aggressive Behavior: Contextual and Individual Factors in the Taylor Aggression Paradigm.

ABSTRACT: As many paths lead to aggression, understanding which situations and which person-specific traits facilitate or impede aggressive behavior is crucial. Provocation is among one of the most frequently reported predictors of aggressive behavior. However, it remains unclear whether the reaction to provocation is universal across different forms of aggression and whether individuals differ in their reactivity to such signals. Using the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP), we investigated the influence of individual and contextual factors on physical and non-physical aggression in healthy men and women. The impact of trait aggression, sex, provocation, and the success of a competition against a fictitious opponent on aggressive behavior was examined in three different versions of the TAP. While equal provocation and punishment modalities were used in the first two versions, monetary deductions in the first and heat stimulus in the second study, the third experiment used non-physical provocation to trigger physical punishment. Trial-by-trial analyses revealed that provocation, independent of its specific nature, is a strong predictor for aggressive behavior, especially in highly aggressive participants. Although women initially showed less aggression than men, sex differences were diminished under prolonged, increasing provocation when provocation and punishment modality were identical. Only when modalities diverged, women, compared with men, were more hesitant to punish their opponent. These results, thus, extend evidence that women show lower levels of aggression under low provocation. However, high levels of provocation have similar effects on males' and females' reactive aggressive behavior across different forms of aggression. When competing for money, losing against the fictitious opponent was functioning as an additional provocative signal stimulating aggressive responses. Differences in aggressive responding have to be interpreted in the context of the specific type of provocation and aggression that is investigated since these modalities are shown to interact with individual characteristics.

SUBMITTER: Weidler C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6669806 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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On the Complexity of Aggressive Behavior: Contextual and Individual Factors in the Taylor Aggression Paradigm.

Weidler Carmen C Habel Ute U Hüpen Philippa P Akkoc Dilsa D Schneider Frank F Blendy Julie A JA Wagels Lisa L

Frontiers in psychiatry 20190725

As many paths lead to aggression, understanding which situations and which person-specific traits facilitate or impede aggressive behavior is crucial. Provocation is among one of the most frequently reported predictors of aggressive behavior. However, it remains unclear whether the reaction to provocation is universal across different forms of aggression and whether individuals differ in their reactivity to such signals. Using the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP), we investigated the influence o ...[more]

PMID: 31404138

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Project description: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.

Project description:IntroductionThe Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP) is a well-established tool for assessing provocation-induced reactive aggression. We introduce an interactive version, the iTAP, with real-time opponents across 60 trials, including five simulated provocation trials in the middle. In this quasi-experimental study, we evaluate the effectiveness of the paradigm to investigate reactive aggression in interacting participants. The design allows us to employ the TAP in settings of high familiarity dyads, addressing an existing gap.MethodTwenty-eight healthy same-sex adult sibling pairs (N = 56) competed against each other in the iTAP, exemplifying high familiarity through their social and emotional co-development, and mutual knowledge. Additionally, we explore naturally arising aggression types in terms of sibling pairs' reciprocal aggression trajectories across trials. Lastly, we investigate situational and personal variables influencing reactive aggression on the iTAP within high familiarity dyads.ResultsIn line with non-interactive TAP versions, siblings employed a global "tit-for-tat" strategy in response to heightened provocation: Aggression increased during manipulated trials of increasing provocation, persisted during real interaction and declined in the final block, suggesting sibling co-regulation which was underscored by the convergence in within-pair aggression level. We found no gender differences in these dynamics but a trend for higher initial aggression levels within brother pairs and higher responsiveness to increased provocation in sister pairs. Overall aggression levels were related to situational variables including trial outcome (lost, won, and tie), Further, siblings' state anger correlated positively with aggression scores on the iTAP. Aggression was not reliably related to personal variables predicting aggression. We identified subgroups of sibling pairs with distinct provocation-aggression patterns related to differences in reported behavioral motivations and emotional states. The results highlight situational over personal variables in determining aggressive behavior on the task in this sample of healthy adults. While no direct link between sibling relationship quality and aggression was found, the overall behavior was likely influenced by the familiarity between siblings and the specific context of their relationship.ConclusionThe iTAP demonstrates promise as a tool for studying reciprocal aggressive behavior. The emergence of different interaction patterns underscores the ecological validity introduced by the interactive context, which complements the standard versions of the TAP.

Project description:Background Little is known about the psychological risks of dispatched citizen responders who have participated in resuscitation attempts. Methods and Results A cross-sectional survey study was performed with 102 citizen responders who participated in a resuscitation attempt from July 23, 2018, to August 22, 2018, in the Capital Region of Denmark. Psychological distress, defined as symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, was assessed 3 weeks after the resuscitation attempt and measured with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised. Perceived stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale. Individual differences were assessed as the personality traits of agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness to experience with the Big Five Inventory, general self-efficacy, and coping mechanisms (Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory). Associations between continuous variables were examined with the Pearson correlation. The associations between psychological distress levels and contextual factors and individual differences were analyzed in multivariable linear regression models to determine factors independently associated with psychological distress levels. The mean overall posttraumatic stress disorder score was 0.65 of 12; the mean perceived stress score was 7.61 of 40. The most common coping mechanisms were acceptance and emotional support. Low perceived stress was significantly associated with high general self-efficacy, and high perceived stress was significantly associated with high scores on neuroticism and openness to experience. Non-healthcare professionals were less likely to report symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Conclusions Citizen responders who participated in resuscitation reported low levels of psychological distress. Individual differences were significantly associated with levels of psychological distress and should be considered when engaging citizen responders in resuscitation.

Project description:OBJECTIVE:To assess the relationship between periodontal treatment needs by elderly Brazilians and contextual as well as individual variables. METHODS:A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the need for clinical periodontal treatment, based on National Oral Health Survey (SB Brasil 2010) data on the presence of dental calculus, shallow (3-5 mm) and deep (? 6 mm) periodontal pockets, and gingival bleeding in elderly people (n = 7,619). The contextual variables included the Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI), income inequality (Gini Index) and coverage of the municipal population by the Family Health Strategy (FHS) program oral health teams.<0} The individual variables were sex, income, education level and self-reported skin color. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI95%) between periodontal treatment needs and the contextual as well as individual variables. RESULTS:Gingival bleeding was found in 20.7% of the elderly analyzed (n = 1,577), dental calculus in 34% (n = 2,590), shallow periodontal pockets in 15.6% (n = 1,189), and deep periodontal pockets in 4.2% (n = 320). Individual factors were correlated with all the outcomes assessed. Sex was a protective factor in regard to gingival bleeding (OR = 0.87; CI95% 0.76-1.00), dental calculus (OR = 0.86; CI95% 0.75-0.99), shallow periodontal pockets (OR = 0.69; CI95% 0.60-0.80) and deep periodontal pockets (OR = 0.58; CI95% 0.45-0.74). It was found that fewer women needed treatment. Elderly people who self-reported having nonwhite skin had higher chances of needing periodontal treatment. Skin color was a risk factor for gingival bleeding (OR = 1.32; CI95% 1.14-1.53), dental calculus (OR = 1.32; CI95%1.14-1.54) and shallow periodontal pockets (OR = 1.27; CI95% 1.09-1.49). Education level was associated with the presence of dental calculus (OR = 0.77; CI95% 0.66-0.89), shallow periodontal pockets (OR = 0.86; CI95% 0.73-1.00) and deep periodontal pockets (OR = 0.74; CI95% 0.57-0.97), thus acting as a risk factor for undereducated elderly people. There was a correlation between population coverage by the Family Health Strategy (FHS) program oral health teams and the presence of gingival bleeding (OR = 0.67; CI95% 0.52-0.88), shallow periodontal pockets (OR = 0.76; CI95% 0.58-0.98) and deep periodontal pockets (OR = 0.62; CI95% 0.44-0.89), making these teams act as a protective factor. CONCLUSIONS:This study showed evidence of the sociocontextual as well as individual sociodemographic characteristics influencing periodontal treatment needed by elderly Brazilians, based on the clinical features of periodontal disease. The results suggest the existence of inequality related to periodontal treatment needs among elderly Brazilians, especially in regard to sex and ethnicity, in addition to a potentially positive impact from the expansion of the Family Health Strategy (FHS) program oral health teams.

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On the Complexity of Aggressive Behavior: Contextual and Individual Factors in the Taylor Aggression Paradigm.

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On the Complexity of Aggressive Behavior: Contextual and Individual Factors in the Taylor Aggression Paradigm.

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