Effects of alcohol intake and induced frustration on fire-starting disposition
Main Article Content
The object of the present study was to see whether there are tendencies towards reactive arson, measured as the relationships among frustration, intoxication, and a disposition to start fires. One hundred individuals, 50 men and 50 women, participated. All were students and were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 experimental groups, namely control, placebo, frustration, alcohol, and alcohol + frustration. A projective test was devised which required the participant to complete a short story where the content involved a person who had suffered humiliation and persecution and who was fingering a box of matches in his/her pocket. Results indicated that frustration in-creases the probability of starting fires, but, in this study, alcohol did not increase the degree of relation to fire. Results also suggest that there are strong cognitive barriers in a population of university students against fantasizing about starting fires.
Acknowledgement is due to reviewers including
Dr. Paul Valliant
Department of Psychology
Laurentian University
Sudbury
Ontario
Canada.
T. Norlander, Department of Psychology, Karlstad University, SE-65188 Karlstad, Sweden. Phone: 76547001178; Email: [email protected]