Understanding impulsive aggression: Angry rumination and reduced self-control capacity are mechanisms underlying the provocation-aggression relationship

Interpersonal provocation is a common and robust antecedent to aggression. four studies identified angry rumination and reduced self-control as mechanisms underlying the provocation-aggression relationship. following provocation,participants demonstrated decreased self-control on an unpleasant task relative to a control condition (study 1). when provoked,rumination reduced self-control and increased aggression. this effect was mediated by reduced self-control capacity (study 2). state rumination following provocation,but not anger per se,mediated the effect of trait rumination on aggression (study 3). bolstering self-regulatory resources by consuming a glucose beverage improved performance on a measure of inhibitory control following rumination (study 4). these findings suggest that rumination following an anger-inducing provocation reduces self-control and increases aggression. bolstering self-regulatory resources may reduce this adverse effect. © 2011 by the society for personality and social psychology,inc.