Catharsis And Aggression: The Effects Of The Sex Of The Annoyer

Eighty subjects (40 males, 40 females) were run individually in a design that involved three phases. In the first phase, either a male or female confederate annoyed the subject. In the next phase, the subject was provided with the opportunity of a cathartic experience by aggressing against either the original confederate that annoyed him (or her), a different confederate of the same sex as the original confederate, or a confederate of the opposite sex of that of the original confederate. A control group was given no opportunity to aggress during this phase. In the third phase, each subject was then given the opportunity to give socially sanctioned shocks to the confederate who annoyed him (or her).