| The present meta-analysis examined the potential moderating role of individual differences in aggressive disposition on the relationship between provocation and aggression. Convergent evidence shows that although provocation is related to aggression, this relationship is attenuated by level of personality trait. Overall, provocation-difference effects are stronger for high trait individuals than for low trait individuals. However, this interaction effect appears to be primarily related to traits measuring susceptibility to provocation, but not to personality traits measuring a general proneness to behave aggressively. Traits related to aggression-proneness tap into individual variations in aggression-related knowledge structures, whereas traits related to susceptibility to provocation tap into individual variations in reactivity to threats to self-concept or self-regulation difficulties. Since highly aggression-prone individuals tend to have chronically accessible aggression-related cognitive structures, they tend to react aggressively even in situations where there is not a clear provocation, thus explaining the main effects often found in studies using such traits as predictors of aggression. Individuals who are susceptible to provocation, on the other hand, only respond aggressively to provocations that threaten their self-concepts. The findings support theoretical models that include individual differences as potential antecedents of aggressive behavior, and suggest the two distinct classes of individual trait differences will lead to different predictions regarding their potential to moderate the relationship between provocation and aggression. |
