Individual differences in the social expression of aggression: from social representations of indirect aggression

Forrest, S., 2002. Individual differences in the social expression of aggression: from social representations of indirect aggression. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

This thesis adopts a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of inquiry to explore individual differences in adult aggressive expression. Based upon an 'idiothetic' orientation, the research explores and measures personal perceptions of direct aggression and indirect aggression. The first stage of research investigates 'social representations' of aggression theory. Participants (N = 337) completed the Expagg and Revised Expagg measuring instrumental and expressive social representations of aggression. The second stage began by examining individual's perceptions of aggression idiographically, and continued to investigate indirect aggression victimisation and utilisation. Using two series of semi-structured interviews (n1 = 4; n2 = 8) interpretative thematic analysis (using the Miles & Huberman approach) was conducted. Perceptions of aggression were argued to be more complex and personal than sets of instrumental/expressive beliefs. Indirect aggression victimisation was related to internalisation and self-blame attributions. Participants comprehend indirect aggression as being about the establishment and maintenance of power and control within specific groups/dyads.

The final stage of research involved the creation of a behavioural typology based upon a descriptive thematic analysis of the interview data. This resulted in the identification of five distinct types of adult indirect aggression, and led to the development of the Indirect Aggression Scales (IAS). These were administered to a large sample (N = 588), and analysed in terms of trends within the data, and psychometric properties. Findings were discussed in terms of how they contributed to existing theory, and the utility of indirect aggression in understanding adult aggressive expression across a variety of contexts. The implications of this research and plans for future investigation were also comprehensively discussed.

Item Type:	Thesis
Creators:	Forrest, S.
Date:	2002
ISBN:	9781369312690
Identifiers:	Number Type PQ10182971 Other
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	26 Aug 2020 08:24
Last Modified:	21 Jun 2023 10:33
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/40515

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