The Social Instigation and Control of Physical Aggression

Forty male undergraduates were subjects in an experiment testing persuasibility under conditions of aggression and nonaggression. Social pressure (aggressive or pacifist) was used to persuade subjects to administer either an intense shock or a mild shock, via an electrode, to opponents. Subjects wer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied social psychology 1973-12, Vol.3 (4), p.354-361
Main Authors: Borden, Richard J., Taylor, Stuart P.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Forty male undergraduates were subjects in an experiment testing persuasibility under conditions of aggression and nonaggression. Social pressure (aggressive or pacifist) was used to persuade subjects to administer either an intense shock or a mild shock, via an electrode, to opponents. Subjects were also tested alone and in the mere presence of an audience. Aggressive social pressure significantly increased shock settings toward a nonaggressive opponent. Pacifistic social pressure significantly decreased aggression against an unmitigating aggressive opponent. The social pressure manipulation influenced the subjects' subsequent alone behavior in the former, but not the latter case. Mere audience presence mildly facilitated aggressive responding toward both types of opponents.
ISSN:0021-9029
1559-1816
DOI:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1973.tb02402.x