title: Sugar or spice: Using I3 metatheory to understand how and why glucose reduces rejection-related aggression.
abstract: Social rejection can increase aggression, especially among people high in rejection sensitivity. Rejection impairs self-control, and deficits in self-control often result in aggression. A dose of glucose can counteract the effect of situational factors that undermine self-control. But no research has integrated these literatures to understand why rejection increases aggression, and how to reduce it. Using the I(3) model of aggression, we proposed that aggression would be highest under conditions of high instigation (rejection), high impellance (high rejection sensitivity), and low inhibition (drinking a beverage sweetened with a sugar substitute instead of glucose). As predicted, aggression was highest among participants who experienced social rejection, were high in rejection sensitivity, and drank a placebo beverage. A dose of glucose reduced aggression, especially among rejected people high in rejection sensitivity. These findings point to the importance of self-control in understanding why social rejection increases aggression, and how to prevent it.
authors.affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfundmair
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.
authors.forename: C Nathan
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: DeWall
authors.affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Veronika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fries
authors.affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Babette
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Geiger
authors.affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Krämer
authors.affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krug
authors.affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Frey
authors.affiliation: Alpen-Adria University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria.
authors.forename: Nilüfer
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aydin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010919:Placebos; D012929:Psychological Distance; D011582:Psychological Theory; D000068356:Self-Control; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010919:Placebos; D005947:Glucose
keywords: I3 model; aggression; glucose; rejection; self-control