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Aggression

Aggression

Humans engage in aggression when they seek to cause harm or pain to another person. Aggression takes two forms depending on one’s motives: hostile or instrumental. Hostile aggression is motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain; a fight in a bar with a stranger is an example of hostile aggression. In contrast, instrumental aggression is motivated by achieving a goal and does not necessarily involve intent to cause pain (Berkowitz, 1993); a contract killer who murders for hire...

Bullying

Bullying

A modern form of aggression is bullying. As you learn in your study of child development, socializing and playing with other children is beneficial for children’s psychological development. However, as you may have experienced as a child, not all play behavior has positive outcomes. Some children are aggressive and want to play roughly. Other children are selfish and do not want to share toys. One form of negative social interactions among children that has become a national concern is bullying.

Secondary Motives: Affiliation Motivation and Aggression Motivation

Secondary Motives: Affiliation Motivation and Aggression Motivation

Affiliation motivation is the intrinsic desire to connect with others and belong to a social group, which plays a crucial role in forming and maintaining personal relationships. This type of motivation is essential for psychological well-being, as it provides individuals with a sense of community and support. An example of this is a student who joins a study group in order to feel a sense of connection. People with high affiliation motivation actively seek social approval, take satisfaction in...

Conduct Disorder

Conduct Disorder

Conduct disorder is a complex mental health diagnosis characterized by a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior that violates societal norms, the rights of others, or age-appropriate rules. The diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder require the presence of at least three problematic behaviors within the past 12 months, with at least one occurring in the past six months. These behaviors are grouped into four categories: aggression toward people and animals; destruction of property;...

Behavior Modification

Behavior Modification

Behavioral approaches have often been criticized for ignoring mental processes and focusing solely on observable behavior. However, these approaches provide an optimistic perspective for individuals seeking to change their behaviors. Rather than concentrating on intrinsic personality traits, behavioral approaches suggest that even longstanding habits can be modified by changing the reward contingencies that maintain them.
A real-world application of operant conditioning principles is applied...

Self-Report Tests of Personality

Self-Report Tests of Personality

Self-report inventories are objective personality assessments that use multiple-choice items or numbered scales, typically ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). They are often called Likert scales after Rensis Likert. These inventories are widely used due to their ease of administration and cost-effectiveness. One of the most prominent examples is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), initially developed in the 1940s to assess abnormal personality traits.

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The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress

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The Modified Overt Aggression Scale: how valid in this environment?

D C Chukwujekwu¹, P C Stanley

¹Department of Mental Health, University of Port-Harcourt, Port Harcourt. dondozie2005@yahoo.com

Nigerian Journal of Medicine : Journal of the National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria

|August 9, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS) demonstrates discriminant validity in Nigeria. This validated tool accurately measures aggression in psychiatric patients within this region.

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Area of Science:

Psychiatry
Psychometric validation
Aggression research

Background:

The Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS) is established for aggression studies in developed nations.
Its applicability in developing regions remains underexplored.
This study addresses the need to validate MOAS in an African context.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine the discriminant validity of the MOAS.
To assess the MOAS's utility for studying aggression in Nigerian psychiatric in-patients.
To establish MOAS as a reliable instrument in this specific environment.

Main Methods:

A cohort of 40 aggressive psychiatric patients (meeting ICD-10 criteria) and 40 non-aggressive healthy controls (medical students, hospital staff) were recruited.
The Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS) was administered to all participants to assess aggression levels.
Random selection ensured a representative sample for the study.

Main Results:

Males exhibited higher mean global weighted scores than females across both aggressive and non-aggressive groups.
The mean global weighted score for aggressive patients was 13.70 ± 7.25, compared to 0.65 ± 1.01 for non-aggressive subjects.
A statistically significant difference in mean scores confirms the MOAS's discriminant validity.

Conclusions:

The Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS) is confirmed as a valid instrument for aggression assessment in this Nigerian setting.
The findings support the MOAS's utility in psychiatric research within developing countries.
This validation enhances cross-cultural aggression research capabilities.