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A Study of Male and Female Aggressive Responding Under Conditions Providing an Escape Response

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Abstract

Aggressive responding was compared between 21 men and 21 women using the © Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm which provides both the opportunity to aggress and to escape provocation. Subjects were between the ages of 18 and 23 years old and reported no drug use history. The hypothesis was that females would emit more escape, but fewer aggressive, responses than males. Results showed that men and women did not significantly differ in the number of aggressive responses emitted, F(1, 36) =.19, p <.67, or the number of escape responses emitted, F(1, 36) =.02, p <.89, although a significant gender by race interaction was found, F(2, 36) = 6.17, p <.005. These results are consistent with the notion that gender differences in aggressive behavior are not large under laboratory conditions, and they suggest that the availability of an escape option in this paradigm does not have the expected reductive effect on female aggressive responding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas—Houston Health Science Center, 1300 Moursund, Room 335, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Terry J. Allen, Donald M. Dougherty, Howard M. Rhoades & Don R. Cherek

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  1. Terry J. Allen
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  2. Donald M. Dougherty
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  3. Howard M. Rhoades
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  4. Don R. Cherek
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Additional information

This research was supported by Grant DA-03166 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Donald M. Dougherty was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Da-07147).

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Allen, T.J., Dougherty, D.M., Rhoades, H.M. et al. A Study of Male and Female Aggressive Responding Under Conditions Providing an Escape Response. Psychol Rec 46, 651–664 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395190

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