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B J Bushman

Publications and source records attributed to B J Bushman.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Is it time to pull the plug on the hostile versus instrumental aggression dichotomy?

Psychologists have often categorized human aggression as hostile or instrumental. Hostile aggression is "hot," impulsive behavior that is motivated by a desire to hurt someone; instrumental aggression is "cold," premeditated behavior used as a means to some other end. This dichotomy was useful to the early development of aggression theories and continues to capture important features of nonhuman aggression, but it has outlived its usefulness as a descriptor of fundamentally different kinds of human aggression. It is confounded with the automatic-controlled information-processing dichotomy, and it fails to consider aggressive acts with multiple motives. Knowledge structure models of aggression easily handle these problems. Taking extreme measures to preserve the hostile-instrumental dichotomy will delay further advances in understanding and controlling human aggression. Therefore, this seems a proper time to "pull the plug" and allow the hostile-instrumental aggression dichotomy a dignified death.

Aggression↗
PubMed2001

Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: a meta-analytic review of the scientific literature.

Research on exposure to television and movie violence suggests that playing violent video games will increase aggressive behavior. A metaanalytic review of the video-game research literature reveals that violent video games increase aggressive behavior in children and young adults. Experimental and nonexperimental studies with males and females in laboratory and field settings support this conclusion. Analyses also reveal that exposure to violent video games increases physiological arousal and aggression-related thoughts and feelings. Playing violent video games also decreases prosocial behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Do people aggress to improve their mood? Catharsis beliefs, affect regulation opportunity, and aggressive responding.

Do people aggress to make themselves feel better? We adapted a procedure used by G. K. Manucia, D. J. Baumann, and R. B. Cialdini (1984), in which some participants are given a bogus mood-freezing pill that makes affect regulation efforts ineffective. In Study 1, people who had been induced to believe in the value of catharsis and venting anger responded more aggressively than did control participants to insulting criticism, but this aggression was eliminated by the mood-freezing pill. Study 2 showed similar results among people with high anger-out (i.e., expressing and venting anger) tendencies. Studies 3 and 4 provided questionnaire data consistent with these interpretations, and Study 5 replicated the findings of Studies 1 and 2 using measures more directly concerned with affect regulation. Taken together, these results suggest that many people may engage in aggression to regulate (improve) their own affective states.

Acting Out↗
PubMed1999

Catharsis, aggression, and persuasive influence: self-fulfilling or self-defeating prophecies?

Does media endorsement for catharsis produce a self-fulfilling or a self-defeating prophecy? In Study 1, participants who read a procatharsis message (claiming that aggressive action is a good way to relax and reduce anger) subsequently expressed a greater desire to hit a punching bag than did participants who read an anticatharsis message. In Study 2, participants read the same messages and then actually did hit a punching bag. This exercise was followed by an opportunity to engage in laboratory aggression. Contrary to the catharsis hypothesis and to the self-fulfilling prophecy prediction, people who read the procatharsis message and then hit the punching bag were subsequently more aggressive than were people who read the anticatharsis message.

Aggression↗
PubMed1998

Threatened egotism, narcissism, self-esteem, and direct and displaced aggression: does self-love or self-hate lead to violence?

It has been widely asserted that low self-esteem causes violence, but laboratory evidence is lacking, and some contrary observations have characterized aggressors as having favorable self-opinions. In 2 studies, both simple self-esteem and narcissism were measured, and then individual participants were given an opportunity to aggress against someone who had insulted them or praised them or against an innocent third person. Self-esteem proved irrelevant to aggression. The combination of narcissism and insult led to exceptionally high levels of aggression toward the source of the insult. Neither form of self-regard affected displaced aggression, which was low in general. These findings contradict the popular view that low self-esteem causes aggression and point instead toward threatened egotism as an important cause.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Effects of warning and information labels on consumption of full-fat, reduced-fat, and no-fat products.

Participants in a taste test study were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: warning label (e.g., "In this product, 90% of the calories come from fat. Warning: The U.S. Surgeon General has determined that eating high fat food increases your risk of heart disease."), information label (e.g., "In this product, 90% of the calories come from fat."), and no label. Participants rated how much they wanted to taste full-, reduced-, and no-fat cream cheeses, and they chose 1 type to eat. People in the warning- and no-label groups wanted to taste the full-fat product more than those in the information-label group. People in the warning- and information-label groups were less likely to eat the full-fat product than those in the no-label group. People reacted to the warning label but avoided the full-fat product. For products with credible and familiar risks, information labels may be more effective than warning labels because they don't arouse reactance.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the thinnest one of all? Effects of self-awareness on consumption of full-fat, reduced-fat, and no-fat products.

Two studies tested whether self-focusing situations influence people to avoid fatty food. In Study 1, college students tasted full-, reduced-, and no-fat cream cheese spreads on bagelettes. A large mirror was present in the room for some students and was absent for the remaining students. In Study 2, shoppers at large supermarkets tasted full-, reduced-, and no-fat margarine spread on bread. A large mirror was present on the table top for some shoppers and was absent for the remaining shoppers. In both studies, individuals in the mirror group ate less of the full-fat product than did those in the no-mirror group. The presence of a mirror did not influence consumption of reduced- and no-fat products, perhaps because people thought these products were not unhealthy. These findings support self-awareness theory and suggest that individuals on weight reduction programs may benefit from making food choices in self-focusing situations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Trait aggressiveness and hockey penalties: predicting hot tempers on the ice.

Previous studies examining the validity of measures of trait aggressiveness either have been retrospective studies or have used laboratory aggression as the criterion behavior. Can a measure of trait aggressiveness predict nonlaboratory physical aggression? The Physical Aggression subscale of the Aggression Questionnaire was completed by 91 high school hockey players prior to the start of the season. At the end of the season, these trait aggressiveness scores were regressed on minutes in the penalty box for aggressive penalties (e.g., fighting, slashing, tripping) and minutes in the penalty box for nonaggressive penalties (e.g., delay of game, illegal equipment, too many players). As expected, preseason trait aggressiveness scores predicted aggressive penalty minutes (r = .33) but not nonaggressive penalty minutes (r = .04).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Effects of alcohol on human aggression. Validity of proposed explanations.

In the present review, meta-analytic procedures were used to test the validity of three explanations of alcohol-related aggression: physiological disinhibition, expectancy, and indirect cause. According to the physiological disinhibition explanation, alcohol increases aggression directly by anesthetizing the center of the brain that normally inhibits aggressive responding. According to the expectancy explanation, alcohol increases aggression because people expect it to. According to the indirect cause explanation, alcohol increases aggression by causing changes within the person that increase the probability of aggression (e.g., by reducing intellectual functioning). The results from the review were inconsistent with the physiological disinhibition and expectancy explanations, but were consistent with the indirect cause explanation. Experimental manipulations that increased aggression (e.g., provocations, frustrations, aggressive cues) had a stronger effect on intoxicated participants than on sober participants.

Aggression↗
PubMed1997

Hot years and serious and deadly assault: empirical tests of the heat hypothesis.

Two archival studies examined the relation between year-to-year shifts in temperature and violent and property crime rates in the United States. Study 1 examined the relation between annual average temperature and crime rate in the years 1950-1995. As expected, a positive relation between temperature and serious and deadly assault was observed, even after time series, linear year, poverty, and population age effects were statistically controlled. Property crime was unrelated to annual average temperature. Study 2 examined the relation between the average number of hot days (> or = 90 degrees F) and the size of the usual summer increase in violence for the years 1950-1995. As expected, a positive relation was observed between number of hot days and magnitude of the summer effect, even after time series and linear year effects were statistically controlled. For property crime, the summer effect was unrelated to number of hot days.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Relation between perceived vulnerability to HIV and precautionary sexual behavior.

Although virtually all major theories of health-protective behavior assume that precautionary behavior is related to perceived vulnerability, the applicability of this assumption to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) preventive behavior has recently been called into question. This article uses qualitative and quantitative methods to review and integrate the literature relevant to the relation between perceived vulnerability to HIV and precautionary sexual behavior. Specifically, the purpose of the article is to determine whether the extent research supports 2 hypotheses regarding this relation; (a) Perceptions of personal vulnerability to HIV are reflections of current and recent risk and precautionary behavior, and (b) these perceptions motivate precautionary sexual behavior. In addition, it examines the conceptual and methodological strengths and weaknesses of the empirical literature on these questions and provides recommendations for future research.

HIV↗
PubMed1995

Moderating role of trait aggressiveness in the effects of violent media on aggression.

Three studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that high trait aggressive individuals are more affected by violent media than are low trait aggressive individuals. In Study 1, participants read film descriptions and then chose a film to watch. High trait aggressive individuals were more likely to choose a violent film to watch than were low trait aggressive individuals. In Study 2, participants reported their mood before and after the showing of a violet or nonviolent videotape. High trait aggressive individuals felt more angry after viewing the violent videotape than did low trait aggressive individuals. In Study 3, participants first viewed either a violent or a nonviolent videotape and then competed with an "opponent" on a reaction time task in which the loser received a blast of unpleasant noise. Videotape violence was more likely to increase aggression in high trait aggressive individuals than in low trait aggressive individuals.

Aggression↗
PubMed1993

What's in a name? The moderating role of public self-consciousness on the relation between brand label and brand preference.

Products with bargain-brand labels are generally considered to be cheap or inferior in comparison with products with national brand labels. Publicly self-conscious individuals might accept products with national brand labels and reject products with bargain brand labels to enhance their public images. A field experiment was conducted to test this hypothesis. Three hundred twenty adults, frequenting public locations, tasted and rated either national brand or bargain brand peanut butters that had either national brand or bargain brand labels. They also completed the Public Self-Consciousness scale (A. Fenigstein, M. F. Scheier, & A. H. Buss, 1975). Ratings of products with national brand labels were expected to be positively correlated with level of public self-consciousness, whereas ratings of products with bargain brand labels were expected to be negatively correlated with level of public self-consciousness. The author's results confirmed both predictions.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Role of cognitive-emotional mediators and individual differences in the effects of media violence on aggression.

Two experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that observation of media violence elicits thoughts and emotional responses related to aggression. In Experiment 1, highly violent videotapes elicited more aggressive cognitions than did a less violent tape. This effect was moderated by the trait of stimulus screening. In Experiment 2, aggressive cognitions increased with the level of violence in the videotape, and physical assaultiveness influenced this effect. Hostility and systolic blood pressure were higher in response to the most violent video than in response to the other two. Hostility was influenced by emotional susceptibility and dissipation-rumination, and systolic blood pressure was influenced by emotional susceptibility and assaultiveness.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Effects of alcohol on human aggression: an integrative research review.

This review used quantitative and qualitative techniques to integrate the alcohol and aggression literature. The primary purpose of the review was to determine if a causal relation exists between alcohol and aggression. The main meta-analysis included 30 experimental studies that used between-subjects designs, male confederates, and male subjects who were social drinkers. Studies using other designs or subject populations were integrated with meta-analytic procedures when possible and summarized descriptively when not. The results of the review indicate that alcohol does indeed cause aggression. However, alcohol effects were moderated by certain methodological parameters.

Aggression↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Media violence and the American public. Scientific facts versus media misinformation.

Fifty years of news coverage on the link between media violence and aggression have left the U.S. public confused. Typical news articles pit researchers and child advocates against entertainment industry representatives, frequently giving equal weight to the arguments of both sides. A comparison of news reports and scientific knowledge about media effects reveals a disturbing discontinuity: Over the past 50 years, the average news report has changed from claims of a weak link to a moderate link and then back to a weak link between media violence and aggression. However, since 1975, the scientific confidence and statistical magnitude of this link have been clearly positive and have consistently increased over time. Reasons for this discontinuity between news reports and the actual state of scientific knowledge include the vested interests of the news, a misapplied fairness doctrine in news reporting, and the failure of the research community to effectively argue the scientific case.

Adult↗