Abstract
High- and low-self-esteem male subjects were angered by a male confederate's critical reply to their autobiographical letter. A comparison with a nonangered group showed that this insulting reply led to aggression as measured by both administered shock and changes in self-rated hostility. Subjects who had been angered next heard one of three speeches by the experimenter: a speech in retaliation to the confederate's reply, a speech in retaliation to an unrelated incident, or a control, filler speech. Third-party retaliation related to the insulting reply reduced aggression, while third-party retaliation unrelated to the reply failed to reduce aggression in the overall analysis. Comparisons were also made within each level of self-esteem. There were no significant differences between the experimental treatments among the high-self-esteem subjects. Among low-self-esteem subjects, both related and unrelated retaliation significantly reduced subjects' aggression, but related retaliation was significantly more effective in reducing aggression than was unrelated retaliation. The results were interpreted as supporting equity and self-esteem explanations of hostile aggression.
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These studies were conducted as part of a doctoral dissertation in the Department of Psychology, University of Miami. The author wishes to express his gratitude to his chairman, Dr. Edward J. Murray; to Pedro Villa, who served as the second experimenter; and to Robert Anacreonte, Kenneth Koos, Joel Lerner, Carlos Pages, and Michael Sisbarro, who served as confederates.
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Kingsbury, S.J. Self-esteem of victim and the intent of third-party aggression in the reduction of hostile aggression. Motiv Emot 2, 177–189 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00993038
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00993038