Both partners' negative emotion drives aggression during couples' conflict.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Conflict Resolution

Background:

• Intimate partner aggression is influenced by emotional experiences and expressions.
• Theoretical models suggest partner emotion perception can create a Violence Escalation Cycle.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of intra- and interpersonal negative emotions in reactive aggression within couples.
• To examine the impact of facial affect displays on aggression.
• To test the efficacy of temporal delays (breaks) in reducing aggression.

Main Methods:

• A lab-based aggression task was employed in a primary study (n=104) and a replication (n=58).
• Analyses included intra- and interpersonal negative emotion, facial affect displays, and aggression.
• Experimental manipulations involved forced breaks and elective breaks.

Main Results:

• Both individual and partner-perceived negative emotions predicted reactive aggression, showing retaliation but not escalation.
• Prototypic negative emotion displays had a compounding effect on aggression.
• Forced and elective breaks significantly reduced aggression by lowering emotional arousal and impulsive actions.

Conclusions:

• Negative emotions play a significant role in couple's aggression, but escalation is not inevitable.
• Temporal delays, or breaks, are effective interventions for reducing aggression by mitigating impulsive responses.
• Findings support interventions aimed at preventing impulsive actions during provoked states to decrease couple aggression.