title: Observational, physiological, and self-report measures of children's anger: relations to reactive versus proactive aggression.
abstract: The goal of this study was to examine the relations of reactive versus proactive aggression to children's anger, as assessed using observational, physiological, and self-report measures. Anger was hypothesized to be related to reactive aggression, but not to proactive aggression. Children (N = 272 second-grade boys and girls) participated in a procedure in which they lost a board game and prize to a confederate who cheated. Skin conductance reactivity and heart rate reactivity were measured throughout the procedure. Following the interaction, children viewed a videotape of the game and self-reported on their level of anger after each turn of the game. Observational coding of children's angry facial expressions and angry nonverbal behaviors was conducted. Reactive aggression, but not proactive aggression, was positively related to skin conductance reactivity and angry nonverbal behaviors, both at an aggregated level and in terms of rate of increase over the time span of the game.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Delaware, Newark 19716-2577, USA. jhubbard@udel.edu
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hubbard
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Smithmyer
authors.forename: Sally R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Ramsden
authors.forename: Elizabeth H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: Kelly D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Flanagan
authors.forename: Karen F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Dearing
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Relyea
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Simons
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D000786:Anger / Q000502:physiology*; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011603:Psychophysiology; D012650:Self Disclosure