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The effects of alcohol and provocation on aggressive behavior in men and women
Peter R Giancola1, Emily L Helton, Abigail B Osborne
1Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506-0044, USA. peter@uky.edu
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the manner in which acute alcohol consumption and provocation affect aggressive behavior in men and women.
Method:
Subjects were 102 (56 men) healthy social drinkers between 21 and 35 years of age. Aggression was measured using a modified version of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm, in which electric shocks are received from and administered to a fictitious opponent during a competitive task.
Results:
Provocation was a stronger elicitor of aggression than either gender or alcohol. Under low provocation, men were more aggressive than were women. Under high provocation, men and women were equally aggressive, except in the case of extreme aggression, in which men again exhibited higher levels than did women. Alcohol increased aggression for men but not for women.
Conclusions:
These results are important because there now appears to be some convergence among studies indicating that, whereas provocation and alcohol are effective in lifting inhibitions against the expression of aggression for men, only provocation seems to be an effective aggression-elicitor for women.