Male aggression is linked to social pressure, a study shows

When their husband is in danger, some men respond strongly, but not all. New research from Duke University reveals who might be motivated by such threats – younger men who have a sense of righteousness rely heavily on the opinions of others.

“Our findings suggest that the more social pressure a man feels to be masculine, the more aggressive he or she will be,” said Adam Stanaland, Ph.D. candidate in psychology and public policy by the Duke and lead author of the study.

“When these men feel that they are not living up to strict gender norms, they may feel the need to be aggressive in order to assert humanity – to be‘ human ’. “

The pair considered studies of 195 undergraduate students and a random collection of 391 men aged 18 to 56.

Study participants were asked a series of questions about “sexual experience.” For men, these included questions on stereotypical topics such as sports, automation mechanics, and home repairs. After responding, participants were randomly told that their score was higher or lower than the average person score of their gender.

To mimic world threats to humans, men who received a low score were told they were “less human than the average person.”

After obtaining their question scores, participants were asked to complete the series of word snippets by adding missing letters, to indicate their state of mind. The results were surprising, showing aggressive thoughts among certain men but not others.

Men with a sense of masculinity coming from within looked carefree by getting a low score. It was a different story for men with a more fragile sense of masculinity, whose feelings of violence depended on others. That group included men who said they were behaving “like a man” because of social pressures such as the desire to fit in, to like or to date.

Men with a more sensitive awareness of violence than fragmented words responded by forming words with violent connections rather than neutral meaning. For example, when they received the letters “ki” and were asked to complete the word, they wrote “kill” instead of, say, “kiss.” When given the letters “blo,” they typed “blood” instead of a word like “blow” or “warm.”

These aggressive responses were strongest among the youngest study participants, men aged 18 to 29 years. The response was milder among middle-aged men between the ages of 30 and 37, and even milder among the oldest group of participants, men aged 38 years and older.

“It is clear that younger men are more aware of threats to their righteousness,” Stanaland said.

In those years, as men try to find or assert their place in society, male identities may become more fragile. In many places, this means that younger men are constantly being hit by threats to their human beings. They have to prove humanity every day of their lives. “

Adam Stanaland, Lead study author and PhD candidate in Psychology and Public Policy, Duke University

Female students did not show an aggressive-like response when their gender was at risk.

Men’s aggressive responses did not end with the study questionnaire, the researchers noted. The study’s designers received violent threats from some of the men who received low scores – further evidence that the study hit zero.

Stanaland said it hopes to further investigate the forces that shape human aggression.

“Men report aggressive behavior in all sorts of areas,” Stanaland said. “Some are trying to prove their point by being aggressive.

“Male violence, terrorism, violence against women, political aggression – fragile violence may explain many of these behaviors. It is in everyone’s interest to better understand this phenomenon.” the research was funded by the Charles Lafitte Foundation Program in Psychological Research at Duke University.