Implicit aggression and forensic psychology

Uncontrolled outbursts of aggression and violence cost the criminal justice system millions of pounds, per annum. For instance, aggression and violence toward frontline hospital staff cost the UK government over £60 million per year. Aggression and violent crime statistics indicate over 1 million reported offences, per annum; while unreported offences are much higher. Why some people are better able to control aggression than others is still not fully understood. Recently, researchers have highlighted the need to incorporate impulsive processes into models of aggression. The current research is the first to investigate the role of self-control, measured by both explicit questionnaires and an implicit association test, on self-reported aggression. Results indicated higher levels of implicit and explicit self-control predicted lower self-report aggression scores. Gender differences in the findings indicated that for males, higher levels of implicit self-control predicted lower physical aggression scores; whereas for females, higher implicit self-control predicted lower physical, verbal, and anger aggression scores. The current findings provide the first indication that both implicit and explicit self-control has a central role in aggressive behaviour. The discussion focuses on methods to reduce aggression that incorporate strategies to change implicit processes.