Implications of Laboratory Studies of Aggression for the Control and Regulation of Violence

Abstract

Laboratory studies of imitative behavior indicate that observation of aggressive social models, either in real life or in fantasy productions, increases the probability that the observers will behave in an aggressive manner if the model is rewarded or does not receive punishment for aggressive behav ior. On the other hand, punishment administered to an aggres sive model decreases the probability that imitation will occur. The permanence of effects of exposure to models is, however, still in doubt. Studies of the effects of rewarding aggression indicate that aggressive habits may be developed and main tained through intermittent rewards and may be generalized to situations other than those in which they are learned. The effects of punishing aggression are complex, since, while punish ment may suppress a response, the punitive agent can function as an aggressive model whose behavior may be imitated by the recipient of aggression. Nevertheless, there is good evidence that anticipation of punishment is an important factor in the regulation of aggression. Widely prevalent hypotheses con cerning the displacement of aggression, the cathartic effects of vicarious or direct participation in aggressive activity, and the association between frustration and aggression are brought into question by the research findings of the past few years.