A person-oriented approach to the study of the implicit motive to aggress and the explicit trait of aggression

Open Access
- Author:
- Reichin, Sydney
- Graduate Program:
- Psychology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 20, 2024
- Committee Members:
- Ashley Linden-Carmichael, Outside Unit & Field Member
James LeBreton, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Kristin Buss, Program Head/Chair
Kenneth Levy, Major Field Member
Alicia Grandey, Major Field Member - Keywords:
- agressive personality
implicit motives
latent profile analysis
workplace deviance - Abstract:
- In this dissertation I explored the feasibility of adopting a person-oriented approach to the study of the implicit motive to aggress and the explicit trait of aggression. Specifically, I tested an integrative model theorized by researchers integrating the implicit motive to aggress and the explicit trait of aggression. This theory has been exclusively tested using variable-oriented approaches (e.g., regression), but I propose that adopting a person-oriented approach provided a better alignment of theory and method, thus offering a more powerful and appropriate test. In this dissertation, I explored whether profiles extracted using a latent profile analysis of implicit and explicit aggression were consistent with the hypothesized profiles identified in the integrative model for aggression. In Study 1, I leveraged three archival samples of college students and uncovered three of the four profiles that were initially proposed. In addition, I validated these profiles by exploring differences in behavioral manifestations of deviance. Specifically, I found that a profile of individuals scoring high on the explicit trait of aggression and low on the implicit motive to aggress was most likely to engage in expressions of hostility. I also found that a profile of individuals scoring high on the implicit motive to aggress and low on the explicit trait of aggression was most likely to engage in obstructionism and overt deviance. In Study 2, I largely replicated Study 1 in a sample of working adults using work-related measures of deviance. The same three profiles were uncovered. However, in Study 2, the profile of individuals scoring high on the explicit trait of aggression and low on the implicit motive to aggress were most likely to engage in expressions of hostility, obstructionism, and overt deviance. In both studies I also explored how results using a variable-oriented method (i.e., moderated multiple regression) compared to results using a person-oriented method. The results from both studies are compared and are discussed in terms of empirical, practical, and theoretical implications.