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Full-Text Articles in Biological Psychology

If It Feels Good, View It: Selective Exposure And Desensitization Moderate The Association Between Video Gameplay And Pleasure-Oriented Aggression, Mejdy M. Jabr Dec 2016

If It Feels Good, View It: Selective Exposure And Desensitization Moderate The Association Between Video Gameplay And Pleasure-Oriented Aggression, Mejdy M. Jabr

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A number of studies have indicated that violent video gameplay is associated with higher levels of aggression, and desensitization to violent content contributes to this association. Utilizing a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task, the current study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate selective attention (N1 activation), cognitive control (N2 activation), and desensitization (P3 activation) as neurocognitive mechanisms potentially underlying the association between gameplay and subtypes of aggression. Results showed video game players and non-players differed significantly in brain activation when engaged with violent imagery. N1 and P3 amplitude moderated the association between gameplay and pleasure-oriented aggression. Follow-up analyses further …


Neural Mechanisms Of Action Switching Moderate The Relationship Between Effortful Control And Aggression, Eric L. Rawls Aug 2016

Neural Mechanisms Of Action Switching Moderate The Relationship Between Effortful Control And Aggression, Eric L. Rawls

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Aggression and violence are social behaviors that exact a significant toll on human societies. Individuals with aggressive tendencies display deficits in effortful control, particularly in affectively charged situations. However, not all individuals with poor effortful control are aggressive. This study uses event-related potentials (ERPs) to decompose the chronology of cognitive functions underlying the link between effortful control and aggression. Specifically, this study investigates which ERPs moderate the effortful control - aggression association. We examined three successive ERP components (P2, N2 and P3) for stimuli that required effortful control. Results indicated that N2 activation, but not P2 or P3 activation, moderated …


The Contribution Of A Polygenic Risk Score To Individual Differences In Aggressive Behavior: The Moderating And Mediating Roles Of Stressful Events, Christa C. Christ Apr 2016

The Contribution Of A Polygenic Risk Score To Individual Differences In Aggressive Behavior: The Moderating And Mediating Roles Of Stressful Events, Christa C. Christ

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Although aggression can be beneficial in certain situations (e.g. playing sports, self-defense), excessive and inappropriate aggression can lead to adverse physical and psychological health outcomes in both perpetrators and victims. Genetic susceptibility to negative environments can increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior in the context of situational risk factors. Low efficiency of serotonin neurotransmission and exposure to stress appear to play a prominent role in the etiology of aggressive behavior. A set of three studies assessed the contribution of polygenic risk (TPH2 rs4570625, SLC6A4 5-HTTLPR+rs25531, HTR1B rs13212041, MAOA uVNTR) to aggressive behavior, including alcohol-related aggression, in university students at varying …


Does The Pain Of Rejection Promote The Pleasure Of Revenge? A Neural Investigation Of Cingulo-Striatal Contributions To Violence, David Chester Jan 2016

Does The Pain Of Rejection Promote The Pleasure Of Revenge? A Neural Investigation Of Cingulo-Striatal Contributions To Violence, David Chester

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Aggression is a dynamic and costly feature of human behavior. One reliable cause of aggression is social rejection, though the underlying mechanisms of this effect remain to be fully understood. Previous research has identified two psychological processes that are independently linked to aggressive retaliation: pain and pleasure. Given recent findings that pain magnifies the experience of pleasure, I predicted that the pain of rejection would promote the pleasure of aggression and thus, aggression itself. I also expected that this indirect effect of aggressive pleasure would only be observed among individuals with weaker self-regulatory abilities that are necessary to cope with …