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Understanding maladaptive responses to rejection: Aggression with an audience
Amber DeBono1, Rebekah L Layton2, Nicholas Freeman3
1a Winston-Salem State University.
The Journal of Social Psychology
|March 18, 2016
Summary
Aggressive responses to rejection are reduced when individuals perceive their actions as public. This social perception effect, even with neutral observers, diminishes aggression, highlighting the impact of social visibility on behavior.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Aggression following rejection is often maladaptive, as it deters future relationships.
- The visibility of aggressive responses may influence their occurrence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether public perception of aggression reduces aggressive behavior after rejection.
- To determine if social visibility, even to neutral parties, impacts aggressive responses.
Main Methods:
- Participants experienced rejection (Experiment 1) or were accepted/rejected in an online game (Experiment 2).
- Following rejection, participants had opportunities to aggress in public or private settings.
Main Results:
- Rejected participants displayed less aggression when the opportunity to aggress was public.
- Aggressive responses were significantly diminished when individuals were concerned about public perception compared to private actions.
Conclusions:
- Public visibility of aggressive responses can effectively reduce aggression after rejection.
- The fear of social judgment, even from neutral observers, plays a role in mitigating aggressive behavior.
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