title: Identifying cognitive predictors of reactive and proactive aggression.
abstract: The aim of this study was to identify implicit cognitive predictors of aggressive behavior. Specifically, the predictive value of an attentional bias for aggressive stimuli and automatic association of the self and aggression was examined for reactive and proactive aggressive behavior in a non-clinical sample (N = 90). An Emotional Stroop Task was used to measure an attentional bias. With an idiographic Single-Target Implicit Association Test, automatic associations were assessed between words referring to the self (e.g., the participants' name) and words referring to aggression (e.g., fighting). The Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP) was used to measure reactive and proactive aggressive behavior. Furthermore, self-reported aggressiveness was assessed with the Reactive Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ). Results showed that heightened attentional interference for aggressive words significantly predicted more reactive aggression, while lower attentional bias towards aggressive words predicted higher levels of proactive aggression. A stronger self-aggression association resulted in more proactive aggression, but not reactive aggression. Self-reports on aggression did not additionally predict behavioral aggression. This implies that the cognitive tests employed in our study have the potential to discriminate between reactive and proactive aggression. Aggr. Behav. 41:51-64 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brugman
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lobbestael
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, Department of Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Arnoud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arntz
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, Forensic Psychiatric Centre de Rooyse Wissel, The Netherlands.|Department of Developmental Psychology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maaike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cima
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.|Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schuhmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.|Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Franziska
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dambacher
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.|Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Alexander T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Sack
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D000070379:Attentional Bias / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Taylor Aggression Paradigm; automatic processes; cognitive predictors; proactive aggression; reactive aggression