1. The voodoo doll task: Introducing and validating a novel method for studying aggressive inclinations.
- Author
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Dewall CN, Finkel EJ, Lambert NM, Slotter EB, Bodenhausen GV, Pond RS Jr, Renzetti CM, and Fincham FD
- Subjects
- Female, Humans, Male, Reproducibility of Results, Sex Factors, Young Adult, Aggression psychology, Violence psychology
- Abstract
Aggression pervades modern life. To understand the root causes of aggression, researchers have developed several methods to assess aggressive inclinations. The current article introduces a new behavioral method-the voodoo doll task (VDT)-that offers a reliable and valid trait and state measure of aggressive inclinations across settings and relationship contexts. Drawing on theory and research on the law of similarity and magical beliefs (Rozin, Millman, & Nemeroff [1986], Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 703-712), we propose that people transfer characteristics of a person onto a voodoo doll representing that person. As a result, causing harm to a voodoo doll by stabbing it with pins may have important psychological similarities to causing actual harm to the person the voodoo doll represents. Nine methodologically diverse studies (total N = 1,376) showed that the VDT had strong reliability, construct validity, and convergent validity. Discussion centers on the importance of magical beliefs in understanding the causes of aggressive inclinations., (© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)
- Published
- 2013
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