Effects of anger and trigger identity on triggered displaced aggression among college students: based on the "kicking the barking dog effect".

Abstract

Background: Drawing on the "kicking the barking dog effect", this study investigated the individual and group-level mechanisms underlying triggered displaced aggression (TDA).

Methods: Three experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of anger and hostile attribution on TDA, examining these factors at both the individual and group levels. The preliminary experiment investigated how emotions affect subsequent cognition at an individual level with the aim of understanding the underlying generative process of TDA. Experiment 1 explored the relationship between anger, hostile attribution, and subsequent aggressive behaviors at an individual level, while also discussing the underlying generative process of TDA. Experiment 2 investigated the relationship between anger, hostile attribution, and subsequent aggressive behaviors from a group-level perspective, while also delving into the impact of trigger identity on the underlying generative process of TDA.

Results: When individuals were exposed to both a provocation and a subsequent triggering situation, they demonstrated stronger hostile attribution and displayed more aggressive behavior directed toward the trigger. This study found that hostile attribution played a complete mediating role in the influence of anger on TDA, while the triggering situation itself had a moderating role. In the presence of triggering situations, individuals exhibited stronger hostile attribution as their level of anger increased. In the absence of a triggering situation, changes in anger level did not have a significant effect. In the presence of a triggering situation, the identity of the trigger played a moderating role in the process of "anger → hostile attribution → TDA". When the trigger belonged to an in-group, individuals exhibited stronger hostile attribution toward the out-group and subsequently displayed greater TDA.

Conclusion: These findings expand the applicability of the "kicking the barking dog effect" and offer suggestions for controlling the escalation of intergroup conflicts.