Abstract
Manhood honor ideology is a cluster of attitudes and beliefs regarding reputational ideals that compels defensive reactions in response to perceived masculinity threats. This extreme form of masculinity has been associated with violent acts around the world, but honor ideology has not been studied widely in laboratory settings. Honor Ideology for Manhood (HIM) scores in this sample of college men (N = 202) was associated with aggression exhibited in the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP). HIM scores were associated with higher mean shock intensities and durations administered to a fictitious opponent in a reaction time task. Baseline shock intensity was increased by 60% among men with elevated HIM scores. Shock durations were substantially longer in the Mild (59%) and De-escalation (62%) phases. TAP provocation effects across the sample (shock intensity, ηp2 = .381; shock duration, ηp2 = .078) were large and consistent with prior research. While support was found for elevated aggressiveness among men espousing high manhood honor, retaliatory responses to provocation did not differ between HIM extremes. Distinctions between the concepts of trait aggression and situational reactivity to provocation were discussed along with factors that may qualify the present results. A call was made for additional controlled research regarding the interaction of this trait with situational variables that constitute perceived provocation among men with elevated manhood honor.
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Appreciation is expressed to our lab assistants who included Cody Breen, Sage Ballantyne, Matthew Evans, Shane Knutson, Tyler Kolander, Sara Kuhn, Zach Lee, Brady Nerpel, Colton Pogalz, Abrianna Ratzak, Chassidy Strege, and Jenna Wolff.
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Alan R. King: Writing - original draft, preparation. Mara Norton-Baker: Writing - original draft, preparation. Tiffany D. Russell: Writing - original draft, preparation. All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.
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King, A.R., Norton-Baker, M. & Russell, T.D. Manhood honor as a predictor of laboratory-provoked aggression. Curr Psychol 43, 12897–12904 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05331-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05331-4