Do people aggress to improve their mood? Catharsis beliefs, affect regulation opportunity, and aggressive responding.

Abstract

Do people aggress to make themselves feel better? We adapted a procedure used by G. K. Manucia, D. J. Baumann, and R. B. Cialdini (1984), in which some participants are given a bogus mood-freezing pill that makes affect regulation efforts ineffective. In Study 1, people who had been induced to believe in the value of catharsis and venting anger responded more aggressively than did control participants to insulting criticism, but this aggression was eliminated by the mood-freezing pill. Study 2 showed similar results among people with high anger-out (i.e., expressing and venting anger) tendencies. Studies 3 and 4 provided questionnaire data consistent with these interpretations, and Study 5 replicated the findings of Studies 1 and 2 using measures more directly concerned with affect regulation. Taken together, these results suggest that many people may engage in aggression to regulate (improve) their own affective states.

Cites (4)

1. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales.
   Watson, David, Clark, Lee Anna, Tellegen, Auke · 1988 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
2. Biased assimilation and attitude polarization: The effects of prior theories on subsequently considered evidence
   Lord, Charles G., Ross, Lee, Lepper, Mark R. · 1979 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
3. Frustration-aggression hypothesis: Examination and reformulation.
   Berkowitz, Leonard · 1989 · Psychological Bulletin
4. Threatened egotism, narcissism, self-esteem, and direct and displaced aggression: Does self-love or self-hate lead to violence?
   Bushman, Brad J., Baumeister, Roy F. · 1998 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Show all 4 references

Cited by (23)

1. Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: Development, factor structure, and initial validation of the difficulties in emotion regulation scale
   Gratz, Kim L., Roemer, Lizabeth · 2004 · Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment
2. Why Does Social Exclusion Hurt? The Relationship Between Social and Physical Pain.
   MacDonald, Geoff, Leary, Mark R. · 2005 · Psychological Bulletin
3. Yielding to Temptation: Self‐Control Failure, Impulsive Purchasing, and Consumer Behavior
   Baumeister, Roy F. · 2002 · Journal of Consumer Research
4. The psychology of emotion regulation: An integrative review
   Koole, Sander L. · 2009 · Cognition & Emotion
5. Emotional distress regulation takes precedence over impulse control: If you feel bad, do it!
   Tice, Dianne M., Bratslavsky, Ellen, Baumeister, Roy F. · 2001 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

See all 610