Are You Insulting Me? Exposure to Alcohol Primes Increases Aggression Following Ambiguous Provocation

William C. Pedersen; Eduardo A. Vasquez; Bruce D. Bartholow; Marianne Grosvenor; Ana Truong

doi:10.1177/0146167214534993

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Are You Insulting Me? Exposure to Alcohol Primes Increases Aggression Following Ambiguous Provocation

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Are You Insulting Me? Exposure to Alcohol Primes Increases Aggression Following Ambiguous Provocation

William C. Pedersen, Eduardo A. Vasquez, Bruce D. Bartholow, Marianne Grosvenor and Ana Truong

Personality & social psychology bulletin, Vol.40(8), pp.1037-1049

08/01/2014

DOI: 10.1177/0146167214534993

PMCID: PMC4284138

PMID: 24854477

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Abstract

Considerable research has shown that alcohol consumption can increase aggression and produce extremes in other social behaviors. Although most theories posit that such effects are caused by pharmacological impairment of cognitive processes, recent research indicates that exposure to alcohol-related constructs, in the absence of consumption, can produce similar effects. Here we tested the hypothesis that alcohol priming is most likely to affect aggression in the context of ambiguous provocation. Experiment 1 showed that exposure to alcohol primes increased aggressive retaliation but only when an initial provocation was ambiguous; unambiguous provocation elicited highly aggressive responses regardless of prime exposure. Experiment 2 showed that alcohol prime exposure effects are relatively short-lived and that perceptions of the provocateur's hostility mediated effects of prime exposure on aggression. These findings suggest modification and extension of existing models of alcohol-induced aggression.

aggression

alcohol

priming

provocation

Details

Title: Subtitle: Are You Insulting Me? Exposure to Alcohol Primes Increases Aggression Following Ambiguous Provocation
Creators: William C. Pedersen - California State University, Long Beach
Eduardo A. Vasquez - University of Kent
Bruce D. Bartholow - University of Missouri
Marianne Grosvenor - California State University, Long Beach
Ana Truong - California State University, Long Beach
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Personality & social psychology bulletin, Vol.40(8), pp.1037-1049
DOI: 10.1177/0146167214534993
PMID: 24854477
PMCID: PMC4284138
NLM abbreviation: Pers Soc Psychol Bull
ISSN: 0146-1672
eISSN: 1552-7433
Language: English
Date published: 08/01/2014
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984446448002771

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