Contingencies for Aggression in the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm.

Aggression can be seen as a behavior that arranges conditions that functions as aversive for other organisms. The Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP) is a laboratory task designed to measure this phenomenon with human participants. Different versions of the PSAP program contingencies that may differentially interfere in the measurement of aggressive behavior. This article aims to identify the contingencies embedded in these versions and to suggest areas for future investigations. The literature was systematically searched, and six PSAP versions were identified. Three of these versions have added contingencies to the aggression task that may have confounded the measure of aggression with other positive and negative reinforcement processes. The PSAP versions may be organized into one or two aggressive response options, presence or absence of control response for the responding measured as aggressive, and availability of an independent escape response. These settings potentially establish various overlapping behavioral processes. Empirical solutions are suggested to improve the analysis of aggressive and other behaviors in the task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]