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Ego‐depletion and aggressive behavior
Author(s) -
Barlett Christopher,
Oliphant Hannah,
Gregory Wesley,
Jones Dorian
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
aggressive behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.223
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1098-2337
pISSN - 0096-140X
DOI - 10.1002/ab.21648
Subject(s) - id, ego and super ego , poison control , injury prevention , human factors and ergonomics , suicide prevention , medical emergency , psychology , occupational safety and health , social psychology , medicine , pathology
Multiple theoretical frameworks postulate that ego‐depletion can influence aggressive behavior. Our experimental study assessed whether ego‐depletion is related to aggressive behavioral change and whether provocation moderated this effect. Aggression was measured by asking participants to take raffle tickets from an ostensible partner. First, participants were randomly assigned to either high or low ego‐depletion (by having them memorize a short or long number throughout the entire study) prior to engaging in the first ticket exchange. Participants were then either provoked (or not) by having their “partner” take more or fewer tickets than the partner originally requested. The ticket exchange occurred three times to assess behavioral change. Results showed that aggression was highest for ego depleted participants who were provoked. Implications are discussed in terms of the General Aggression Model and the Strength Model of Self‐Control. Aggr. Behav. 42:533–541, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.