The Impact Of Attributional Processes On Triggered Displaced Aggression By Different Trigger Intensity

Aggression is behavior intended to harm another person. Aggression is direct when an individual is provoked and inflicts harm against the provoker. Aggression is displaced when the target is innocent of any wrongdoing. Aggression is triggered displaced when the target is not totally innocent but emits a mildly irritating behavior. The triggered displaced aggression paradigm (TDA; Miller, Pedersen, Earleywine, & Pollock,2003) provides an experimental vehicle for exploring such occurrences.The current study examined the role of attributional processes on triggered displaced aggression and investigated the effect of trigger intensity through these attributional processes.In Study 1, all participants received an initial provocation that consisted of insulting and derogatory feedback from the experimenter following participants’ fail of a difficult task. Then participants were subsequently exposed to a mild or moderately strong triggering event from a second bogus participant.Consistent with expectations, regardless of trigger intensity, attributions for a triggering event predicted the degree of aggression towards targets. Furthermore, results indicated that inconsistent information could facilitate attributional processes on triggered displaced aggression.Study 2 served as a verification of the effect of attributional processes founded in study 1. In study 2, all participants both experienced an initial provocation as in study 1 and a moderately strong triggering event. Consistent with expectations, compared with participants who were in a controlled condition, participants received information regarding external attribution expressed less aggression. Moreover, the results of study 2 indicated the main role of external attribution was reducing instigation from the trigger rather than eliciting inhibition in triggered displaced aggression.