Displaced Aggression Is Alive and Well
1. Definition, Conception, and Development
Theoretical Accounts
William C. Pedersen,
Jennifer Ellison,
Norman Miller,
William C. Pedersen
California State University, Long Beach, USA
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William C. Pedersen,
Jennifer Ellison,
Norman Miller,
William C. Pedersen
California State University, Long Beach, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Displaced aggression refers to aggressive retaliation toward a target other than an initial provocateur. Meta-analytic evidence confirms its reliability and robustness (mean effect size = +0.54) and indicates moderation by intensity of provocation, similarity of displacement target to provocateur, and negativity of the displaced aggression setting. Experimental research strongly supports this latter correlational finding, (1) confirming the importance of minor negative target actions to its elicitation, (2) showing no instances of it in the absence of a trigger, and (3) thereby establishing the construct validity of triggered displaced aggression. In this chapter, we review several additional moderators of displaced aggression as well as the effects of individual differences in the propensity to engage in it (viz., trait displaced aggression). We also emphasize rumination's role in eliciting it. Finally, we discuss the application of triggered displaced aggression to intergroup violence and the experimental evidence supporting the construct validity of vicarious retribution.
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