TY - JOUR
T1 - “Thou Shalt Kill”
T2 - Practicing self-control supports adherence to personal values when asked to aggress
AU - Denson, Thomas F.
AU - Wilkowski, Benjamin M.
AU - DeWall, C. Nathan
AU - Friese, Malte
AU - Hofmann, Wilhelm
AU - Ferguson, Elizabeth L.
AU - Capper, Miriam M.
AU - Kasumovic, Michael M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2017/3/1
Y1 - 2017/3/1
N2 - Poor self-control is a root cause of aggression and criminality. But people can improve their self-control through repetitive practice. Because self-control involves acting in accordance with personal values, practicing self-control can promote attainment of value-consistent goals. The present research tested the hypothesis that practicing self-control could both decrease and increase obedient aggression. In Experiment 1, relative to the active control group, participants who practiced self-control were more hesitant to engage in mock violence (e.g., “cutting” the experimenter's throat with a rubber knife), especially for participants high in dispositional empathy. In Experiment 2, practicing self-control increased obedience to kill insects, but only among participants who felt little moral responsibility for their actions. There was a trend for decreased killing among participants who felt morally responsible for their actions. Our findings suggest that when asked to behave aggressively, self-control promotes adherence to personal values, which may or may not fuel aggression.
AB - Poor self-control is a root cause of aggression and criminality. But people can improve their self-control through repetitive practice. Because self-control involves acting in accordance with personal values, practicing self-control can promote attainment of value-consistent goals. The present research tested the hypothesis that practicing self-control could both decrease and increase obedient aggression. In Experiment 1, relative to the active control group, participants who practiced self-control were more hesitant to engage in mock violence (e.g., “cutting” the experimenter's throat with a rubber knife), especially for participants high in dispositional empathy. In Experiment 2, practicing self-control increased obedience to kill insects, but only among participants who felt little moral responsibility for their actions. There was a trend for decreased killing among participants who felt morally responsible for their actions. Our findings suggest that when asked to behave aggressively, self-control promotes adherence to personal values, which may or may not fuel aggression.
KW - Aggression
KW - Bug killing
KW - Empathy
KW - Moral responsibility
KW - Self-control training
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85007609353&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85007609353&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jesp.2016.09.001
DO - 10.1016/j.jesp.2016.09.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85007609353
SN - 0022-1031
VL - 69
SP - 71
EP - 78
JO - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
JF - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
ER -