The effects of thwarting of aggression on subsequent aggression

In the first of 2 studies, male undergraduates were either angered or not angered by a confederate and then randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions (no thwarting, nonarbitrary thwarting, and arbitrary thwarting) in a 2 × 3 factorial design. Following the thwarting manipulation, participants were given an opportunity to aggress against the confederate. It was hypothesized that: (a) greater aggression would be displayed by the angry participants, and (b) thwarting of both classes of aggression (angry and-nonangry) would lead to an increase in subsequent aggression. Both hypotheses were confirmed – participants in the angry condition displayed more aggression, and thwarting increased subsequent aggressivity. Additionally, the amount of aggression displayed increased linearly from the no-thwarting to the nonarbitrary thwarting to the arbitrary thwarting condition for both classes of aggression. In the second study, a delayed posttest was employed to determine the durability of aggression following the arbitrary thwarting of an instigation to aggress. It was found that the aggression aroused by arbitrary thwarting was maintained for at least one day.