Ostracism Increases Automatic Aggression: The Role of Anger and Forgiveness

Denghao Zhang; Sen Li; Lei Shao; Andrew H Hales; Kipling D Williams; Fei Teng

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02659

Ostracism Increases Automatic Aggression: The Role of Anger and Forgiveness

Front Psychol. 2019 Dec 5:10:2659. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02659. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Denghao Zhang¹, Sen Li², Lei Shao¹, Andrew H Hales³, Kipling D Williams⁴, Fei Teng⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.
² School of Education, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.
³ Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States.
⁴ Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States.
⁵ Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, The Base of Psychological Services and Counseling for "Happiness" in Guangzhou, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

While research on the "ostracism-aggression" link has focused on controlled processes in aggression, little effort has been devoted to examining the relation between ostracism and automatic aggression. Based on theories of aggression, we found that ostracized participants reported higher levels of automatic aggression than included participants (Studies 1 and 2). Furthermore, the association between ostracism and automatic aggression was mediated by anger and was especially prominent for people low in forgiveness (as compared to people high in forgiveness; Study 3). The implications of these findings are discussed.

Keywords: anger; automaticity; forgiveness; implicit association test; ostracism.