title: The effects of individual and context on aggression in repeated social interaction.
abstract: In two studies using variations of the Prisoner's Dilemma game, we explore the impact of individual traits and social context on aggressive behavior. In the first study, we compared defection rates in the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma when participants were presented with a payoff matrix (Description condition) or learned payoffs through experience (Experience condition). Interpersonal trust and maximizing tendency led to relatively less defection in the Description condition than in the Experience condition, demonstrating that individual characteristics manifest differently depending on the information available to decision-makers. In the second study, we employed a new game paradigm, the Intergroup Prisoner's Dilemma with Intragroup Power Dynamics, to examine the way that power motives influence extreme aggressive behavior. We discovered that certain individuals exhibit very high levels of defection, but only when they play with particular combinations of predefined strategies, further suggesting how the confluence of individual factors and context can induce aggression.
authors: School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota, 213 Murphy Hall, 206 Church Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. jolie@umn.edu
authors: Jolie M
authors: JM
authors: Martin
authors: Ion
authors: I
authors: Juvina
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Lebiere
authors: Cleotilde
authors: C
authors: Gonzalez
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D005716:Game Theory; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D011209:Power, Psychological; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D035502:Trust; D055815:Young Adult