Chewing on It Can Chew You Up: Effects of Rumination on Triggered Displaced Aggression.

TLDR

Ruminating about a provocation raises the chance that a minor annoyance will trigger displaced aggression. The authors examined rumination by having participants ruminate for 8 hours, replicating earlier findings. All three studies show that rumination about a provocation increases the likelihood that a minor trigger will lead to displaced aggression.

Abstract

Ruminating about a provocation increases the likelihood of displaced aggression following a minor annoyance (trigger). In Study 1, provoked participants who ruminated for 25 min were more aggressive toward a fumbling confederate than were distracted participants. Provocation-induced negative affect was positively related to aggression but only among those who ruminated. Study 2 conceptually replicated Study 1 and also found that the more negatively people reacted to the trigger, the more likely the trigger was to increase displaced aggression. Study 3 replicated the findings of Studies 1 and 2 by using an 8-hr rumination period. All 3 studies suggest that ruminating about a provocation increases the likelihood that a minor triggering annoyance will increase displaced aggression.