Controlled cruelty: New study finds aggression can arise from successful self-control

Date:
July 13, 2023
Source:
Virginia Commonwealth University
Summary:
A new study has found that aggression is not always the product
of poor self-control but, instead, often can be the product of
successful self- control in order to inflict greater retribution.


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FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new study by a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher has found
that aggression is not always the product of poor self-control but,
instead, often can be the product of successful self-control in order
to inflict greater retribution.

The new paper, "Aggression As Successful Self-Control," by corresponding
author David Chester, Ph.D., an associate professor of social psychology
in the Department of Psychology at VCU's College of Humanities and
Sciences, was published by the journal Social and Personality Psychology Compassand uses meta-analysis to summarize evidence from dozens of
existing studies in psychology and neurology.

"Typically, people explain violence as the product of poor self-control," Chester said. "In the heat of the moment, we often fail to inhibit our
worst, most aggressive impulses. But that is only one side of the story." Indeed, Chester's study found that the most aggressive people do not
have personalities characterized by poor self-discipline and that
training programs that boost self-control have not proved effective in
reducing violent tendencies. Instead, the study found ample evidence
that aggression can arise from successful self-control.

"Vengeful people tend to exhibit greater premeditation of their behavior
and self-control, enabling them to delay the gratification of sweet
revenge and bide their time to inflict maximum retribution upon those
who they believe have wronged them," Chester said. "Even psychopathic
people, who comprise the majority of people who commit violent offenses,
often exhibit robust development of inhibitory self-control over their
teenage years." Aggressive behavior is reliably linked to increased
-- not just decreased - - activity in the brain's prefrontal cortex, a biological substrate of self- control, Chester found. The findings make
it clear that the argument that aggression is primarily the product of
poor self-control is weaker than previously thought.

"This paper pushes back against a decades-long dominant narrative in
aggression research, which is that violence starts when self-control
stops," Chester said.

"Instead, it argues for a more balanced, nuanced view in which
self-control can both constrain and facilitate aggression, depending on
the person and the situation." The findings also argue for more caution
in the implementation of treatments, therapies and interventions that
seek to reduce violence by improving self- control, Chester said.

"Many interventions seek to teach people to inhibit their impulses, but
this new approach to aggression suggests that although this may reduce aggression for some people, it is also likely to increase aggression
for others," he said.

"Indeed, we may be teaching some people how best to implement their
aggressive tendencies." The findings surprised Chester, a psychologist
whose team frequently studies the causes of human aggression.

"Over the years, much of our research was guided by the field's
assumption that aggression is an impulsive behavior characterized by
poor self-control," he said. "But as we started to investigate the psychological characteristics of vengeful and psychopathic people,
we quickly realized that such aggressive individuals do not just have self-regulatory deficits; they have many psychological adaptations
and skills that enable them to hurt others by using self-control."
Chester and his team plan to continue exploring questions around
aggression and self-control based on the study's findings.

"Our research going forward is now guided by this new paradigm shift
in thinking: that aggression is often the product of sophisticated and
complex mental processes and not just uninhibited impulses," Chester said.

This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Mind_&_Brain
# Anger_Management # Behavior # Social_Psychology #
Psychology
o Science_&_Society
# Popular_Culture # Poverty_and_Learning #
Environmental_Policies # Public_Health
* RELATED_TERMS
o Aggression o Illusion_of_control o Gross_domestic_product
o Economic_growth o Attention-deficit_hyperactivity_disorder
o Hypothalamus o Human_brain o Automobile_emissions_control

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Materials provided by Virginia_Commonwealth_University. Original written
by Mary Kate Brogan. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. David S. Chester. Aggression as successful
self‐control. Social and
Personality Psychology Compass, 2023; DOI: 10.1111/spc3.12832 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230713141930.htm

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