The interactive relations between trait hostility, pain, and aggressive thoughts

Abstract

A recent model of affective aggression [Anderson et al., 1996] proposes that individual differences and situational factors can affect aggressive behavior through cognitive, affective, and arousal pathways. An experiment tested the relations of trait hostility and physical pain to aggressive thoughts (the cognitive path) and state hostility (the affective path). The experiment found an interaction between pain and trait hostility on aggressive thoughts. Trait hostile participants who experienced pain rated ambiguous words (e.g., alley) as more similar to aggressive words (e.g., hit) than did the other groups. State hostility was positively related to trait hostility and was increased by the experience of pain. These results demonstrate the heuristic utility of the Anderson et al. Model. Aggr. Behav. 24:161–171, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.