Effects of nicotine deprivation and irritability on physical aggression in male smokers.

Thirty-five continuing male smokers were randomly assigned to either a deprived or a nondeprived condition. On the basis of self-reported trait irritability, participants were then assigned to 1 of 4 groups: deprived-high irritable, deprived-low irritable, nondeprived-high irritable, and nondeprived-low irritable. Aggression was measured with a modified version of the Taylor aggression paradigm. Self-reported smoking urge was assessed throughout the reaction time competition. Results indicated that the deprived-high-irritable group displayed the highest levels of aggressive behavior. Positive associations between urge ratings and aggression indexes were detected only in the deprived-high-irritable group. Results support the existence of an interactive effect of nicotine deprivation and trait irritability on physical aggression and highlight the role of smoking urge as an important factor in the deprivation-aggression link.

Contributing factors in the aggressive crisis.

Uncontrollable acts of violence, or "aggressive crises," result from one's reduced ability to regulate the expression of aggressive behavior in interpersonal situations. Identification of factors that predict the risk for violence is extremely important to emergency mental health providers in the field. This article discusses psychiatric, constitutional, and situational factors associated with potentiating the aggressive crisis. Based on the literature reviewed it can be argued that it is important to understand constitutional factors that contribute to the propensity of a given client to behave aggressively and that these factors interact with a wide range of situational determinants. While the aggressive crisis should be anticipated when certain conditions are met, its occurrence remains difficult to predict.

Effects of olfactory stimuli on urge reduction in smokers.

This study examined the possibility that exposure to olfactory stimuli can reduce self-reported urge to smoke. After an initial assessment of self-reported urge, nicotine-deprived smokers evaluated the pleasantness of a series of 8 odors. Facial expressions during odor presentations were coded with P. Ekman and W. V. Friesen's (1978a) Facial Action Coding System. After odor administration, participants were exposed to smoking cues. Next, participants were administered their most pleasant, least pleasant, or a control odor (water) and reported their urge to smoke. Results indicated that sniffing either a pleasant or unpleasant odor reduced reported urge to smoke relative to the control odor. Reported pleasantness of the odors did not differentially affect urge reduction. Odors eliciting negative-affect-related expressions, however, were less effective than odors that did not elicit negative-affect-related expressions in reducing reported urge. Results of this preliminary investigation provide support for the consideration of odor stimuli as an approach to craving reduction.

Measurement of laboratory aggression: a new response-choice paradigm.

40 undergraduate student volunteers were tested on a new Response-choice Aggression Paradigm. Men and women were provoked in a reaction time competition by receiving electric shocks and were allowed to respond to a confederate with similar shocks or to refrain from any retaliation. Analysis indicated positive association between a self-report measure of physical aggression and laboratory responses on the paradigm, and positive associations among aggression indices of the task. The results confirm earlier findings of sex differences in aggression and offer new measures of aggression "flashpoint" as a step closer to aggressive behavior in naturalistic settings.