@article{LutzKrahe2017, author = {Lutz, Johannes and Krahe, Barbara}, title = {Inducing sadness reduces anger-driven aggressive behavior}, series = {Psychology of violence}, volume = {8}, journal = {Psychology of violence}, number = {3}, publisher = {American Psychological Association}, address = {Washington}, issn = {2152-0828}, doi = {10.1037/vio0000167}, pages = {358 -- 366}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Objective: The incompatible response hypothesis states that inducing incompatible emotional states mitigates the effect of situational risk factors on aggressive behavior. The current study extended this approach to situated aggression control to withdrawal-related negative emotions. We proposed that even a negative affective state can be incompatible with aggression if its basic motivational orientation counteracts the approach orientation underlying anger and aggression. Specifically, we predicted that although it is inherently negative, sadness may reduce anger-driven aggressive behavior. Method: An experiment was conducted (N = 149) in which half the participants were angered by means of a frustrating number-sequences task, whereas the other half were asked to engage in a similar but nonfrustrating task. To counteract anger-driven aggressive behavior, sadness was induced in half the participants by asking them to recall a sad personal episode. Participants in the no-sadness group recalled an affectively neutral episode. Finally, participants were asked to choose the difficulty level of the number sequences that would ostensibly be assigned to future participants, with the number of difficult sequences chosen indicating the strength of the aggressive response. Results: As predicted, the induction of sadness buffered anger-related aggressive behavior. Anger translated into aggression in the control condition but not in the sadness condition. The aggression-inhibiting effect of the experience of sadness was found to be driven by the compensating coactivation of anger and sadness. Conclusions: The results support the extension of the incompatible response hypothesis to withdrawal-related negative emotions and shed further light on the underlying processes.}, language = {en} } @article{KraheLutzSylla2018, author = {Krahe, Barbara and Lutz, Johannes and Sylla, Isabel}, title = {Lean back and relax}, series = {European journal of social psychology}, volume = {48}, journal = {European journal of social psychology}, number = {5}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0046-2772}, doi = {10.1002/ejsp.2363}, pages = {718 -- 723}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Frustration is a powerful instigator of anger-based aggression. We hypothesized that the impact of a frustration on anger and aggressive behavior is reduced in a state of feeling relaxed, which is considered incompatible with the experience of anger. Seventy-nine participants received frustrating feedback either when sitting upright or sitting in a reclined position and were then given a chance to act aggressively toward the frustrator. Feelings of anger and relaxation were assessed before and after the frustration. Participants in the reclined position felt more relaxed than those sitting upright, which indirectly predicted less aggressive behavior via lower anger. The results are consistent with theories of incompatible states and embodiment and have implications for using body-related cues to mitigate anger-based aggression.}, language = {en} } @misc{RohlfHollKirschetal.2018, author = {Rohlf, Helena L. and Holl, Anna K. and Kirsch, Fabian and Krah{\´e}, Barbara and Elsner, Birgit}, title = {Longitudinal Links between Executive Function, Anger, and Aggression in Middle Childhood}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {382}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-409471}, pages = {14}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Previous research has indicated that executive function (EF) is negatively associated with aggressive behavior in childhood. However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies that have examined the effect of deficits in EF on aggression over time and taken into account different forms and functions of aggression at the same time. Furthermore, only few studies have analyzed the role of underlying variables that may explain the association between EF and aggression. The present study examined the prospective paths between EF and different forms (physical and relational) and functions (reactive and proactive) of aggression. The habitual experience of anger was examined as a potential underlying mechanism of the link between EF and aggression, because the tendency to get angry easily has been found to be both a consequence of deficits in EF and a predictor of aggression. The study included 1,652 children (between 6 and 11 years old at the first time point), who were followed over three time points (T1, T2, and T3) covering 3 years. At T1, a latent factor of EF comprised measures of planning, rated via teacher reports, as well as inhibition, set shifting, and working-memory updating, assessed experimentally. Habitual anger experience was assessed via parent reports at T1 and T2. The forms and functions of aggression were measured via teacher reports at all three time points. Structural equation modeling revealed that EF at T1 predicted physical, relational, and reactive aggression at T3, but was unrelated to proactive aggression at T3. Furthermore, EF at T1 was indirectly linked to physical aggression at T3, mediated through habitual anger experience at T2. The results indicate that deficits in EF influence the later occurrence of aggression in middle childhood, and the tendency to get angry easily mediates this relation.}, language = {en} } @article{RohlfHollKirschetal.2018, author = {Rohlf, Helena L. and Holl, Anna K. and Kirsch, Fabian and Krah{\´e}, Barbara and Elsner, Birgit}, title = {Longitudinal Links between Executive Function, Anger, and Aggression in Middle Childhood}, series = {Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience}, volume = {12}, journal = {Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience}, number = {27}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1662-5153}, doi = {10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00027}, pages = {1 -- 14}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Previous research has indicated that executive function (EF) is negatively associated with aggressive behavior in childhood. However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies that have examined the effect of deficits in EF on aggression over time and taken into account different forms and functions of aggression at the same time. Furthermore, only few studies have analyzed the role of underlying variables that may explain the association between EF and aggression. The present study examined the prospective paths between EF and different forms (physical and relational) and functions (reactive and proactive) of aggression. The habitual experience of anger was examined as a potential underlying mechanism of the link between EF and aggression, because the tendency to get angry easily has been found to be both a consequence of deficits in EF and a predictor of aggression. The study included 1,652 children (between 6 and 11 years old at the first time point), who were followed over three time points (T1, T2, and T3) covering 3 years. At T1, a latent factor of EF comprised measures of planning, rated via teacher reports, as well as inhibition, set shifting, and working-memory updating, assessed experimentally. Habitual anger experience was assessed via parent reports at T1 and T2. The forms and functions of aggression were measured via teacher reports at all three time points. Structural equation modeling revealed that EF at T1 predicted physical, relational, and reactive aggression at T3, but was unrelated to proactive aggression at T3. Furthermore, EF at T1 was indirectly linked to physical aggression at T3, mediated through habitual anger experience at T2. The results indicate that deficits in EF influence the later occurrence of aggression in middle childhood, and the tendency to get angry easily mediates this relation.}, language = {en} } @article{Lutz2016, author = {Lutz, Johannes}, title = {The Validity of Crowdsourcing Data in Studying Anger and Aggressive Behavior A Comparison of Online and Laboratory Data}, series = {Social psychology}, volume = {47}, journal = {Social psychology}, publisher = {Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1864-9335}, doi = {10.1027/1864-9335/a000256}, pages = {38 -- 51}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Crowdsourcing platforms provide an affordable approach for recruiting large and diverse samples in a short time. Past research has shown that researchers can obtain reliable data from these sources, at least in domains of research that are not affectively involving. The goal of the present study was to test if crowdsourcing platforms can also be used to conduct experiments that incorporate the induction of aversive affective states. First, a laboratory experiment with German university students was conducted in which a frustrating task induced anger and aggressive behavior. This experiment was then replicated online using five crowdsourcing samples. The results suggest that participants in the online samples reacted very similarly to the anger manipulation as participants in the laboratory experiments. However, effect sizes were smaller in crowdsourcing samples with non-German participants while a crowdsourcing sample with exclusively German participants yielded virtually the same effect size as in the laboratory.}, language = {en} }