The impact of stress and aggression on information processing

Bertsch, K.¹, Khan, R.¹, Kruk, M. R.², and Naumann, E.^1
1Department of Psychology, University of Trier; ²Department of Medical Pharmacology, Leiden University

The results from animal and clinical studies indicate that a change in the processing of conflict-relevant information might be one important link in the 'vicious circle' of stress and aggression. Therefore, we investigated in two EEG experiments the relation between stress, aggression, resting EEG activity, and the processing of conflict-related stimuli. In both experiments, we provoked half of the participants with the Taylor Aggression Paradigm, after which all participants performed an emotional Stroop task with emotional facial expressions. In the second experiment, we also administered either 20 mg hydrocortisone or a placebo a priori to the experiment. Preliminary results indicate that the interaction of stress and aggression influences the processing of emotional faces. The results show a strong relationship between stress, aggression, and the processing of conflict-relevant signals and might further explain the elicitation and escalation of aggressive behavior.

Symposium 18: Biology of Aggression
12.06.2009, 14:00-15:00
Hörsaal Nord