pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Ostracism Increases Automatic Aggression: The Role of Anger and Forgiveness - PubMed

️Tue Jan 01 2019

Ostracism Increases Automatic Aggression: The Role of Anger and Forgiveness

Denghao Zhang et al. Front Psychol. 2019.

Abstract

While research on the "ostracism-aggression" link has focused on controlled processes in aggression, little effort has been devoted to examining the relation between ostracism and automatic aggression. Based on theories of aggression, we found that ostracized participants reported higher levels of automatic aggression than included participants (Studies 1 and 2). Furthermore, the association between ostracism and automatic aggression was mediated by anger and was especially prominent for people low in forgiveness (as compared to people high in forgiveness; Study 3). The implications of these findings are discussed.

Keywords: anger; automaticity; forgiveness; implicit association test; ostracism.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

**Figure 1**
Anger partially mediates the effect of ostracism on automatic aggression in Study 3. Note: *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.

**Figure 2**
Effects of ostracism and forgiveness on anger in Study 3.

Cited by

Troll story: The dark tetrad and online trolling revisited with a glance at humor.
Volkmer SA, Gaube S, Raue M, Lermer E. Volkmer SA, et al. PLoS One. 2023 Mar 10;18(3):e0280271. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280271. eCollection 2023. PLoS One. 2023. PMID: 36897846 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.

References

1. Al-Mubak R. H., Enright R. D., Cardis R. (1995). A forgiveness education program with parentally love-deprived college students. J. Moral Educ. 24, 427–443. 10.1080/0305724950240405 - DOI
1. Anderson C. A., Bushman B. J. (2002). Human aggression. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 53, 27–51. 10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135231, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
1. Anderson C. A., Carnagey N. L., Eubanks J. (2003). Exposure to violent media: the effects of songs with violent lyrics on aggressive thoughts and feelings. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 84, 960–971. 10.1037/0022-3514.84.5.960 - DOI - PubMed
1. Ayduk O., Gyurak A., Luerssen A. (2008). Individual differences in the rejection–aggression link in the hot sauce paradigm: the case of rejection sensitivity. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 44, 775–782. 10.1016/j.jesp.2007.07.004, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Banse R., Fischer I. (2002). Implicit and explicit aggressiveness and the prediction of aggressive behavior. Poster presented at the 11th Conference on Personality of the European Association of Personality Psychology, Jena 21–25 July 2002.

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Ostracism Increases Automatic Aggression: The Role of Anger and Forgiveness - PubMed