Communion-orientation as an antidote for aggressive behaviour among high provocation sensitive individuals

Abstract The current study explored whether high provocation sensitive individuals would declare less anger and therefore fewer physical aggressive acts if they are high in communal values. Three samples, students, prisoners and psychotherapy patients, were compared for differences in occurrence of aggressive reactions and preassembly communion-orientation. Data was tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Among students, communion-orientation itself and in interaction with sensitivity to provocation had a diminishing effect on anger. Among prisoners and patients, there was no support for the notion that communion-orientation had an effect on anger. Among patients, the relationship between sensitivity to provocations and physical aggression was fully mediated by anger, but among prisoners a provoking situation was enough to lead to physical aggression. Although based on data from self-reports, possibly biased by impression management, results suggest that communion-orientation should be considered in research on aggression.