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Alcohol and Aggression: A Replication Study Controlling for Potential Confounding Variables

NCJ Number
139858
Journal
Aggressive Behavior Volume: 18 Dated: (1992) Pages: 21-28
Author(s)
R Gustafson
Date Published
1992
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Thirty male subjects assigned at random to either an alcohol or a control group participated in an experiment designed to test whether the Taylor reaction time paradigm generates a valid measure of aggression when used in alcohol research and when identified confounding influences are controlled.
Abstract
The alcohol group drank 1.2 ml of 100 percent alcohol/kg body weight and the control group an equivalent amount of tonic. Intoxicated subjects were more aggressive than controls when provoked and when not provoked. To the extent that the shock setting is a valid measure of human physical aggression, it is concluded that the Taylor reaction time procedure reliably indicates that a high dose of alcohol increases physical aggression in human males. 24 references