Get Power in the Relationship Perceptions of Perpetrator Motivations in Psychological and Physical Aggression Elizabeth Taylor, Kenneth Brock Lamm, Deborah Richardson, and Georgina Hammock Department of Psychology Georgia Regents University INTRODUCTION RESULTS RESULTS Different types of aggression – Psychological and Physical Aggression - Behaviors to demean or control; Behaviors to physically harm Psychological and Physical aggression in Male/Female intimate relationships - Male perpetrator perceived more negatively - Psychological aggression perceived to be less harmful and less serious than physical aggression (e.g., Basow et al., 2007; Hammock et al., 2013) Examining psychological and physical aggression in cross-sex and same-sex relationships - Male perpetrator still perceived negatively regardless of sex of victim - When victim female, regardless of sex of perpetrator, the perpetrator is perceived negatively (e.g., Hammock et al., 2013) Are male perpetrators seen as particularly powerful or are female victims seen as particularly vulnerable? Is the perpetrator perceived to be more motivated to hurt the victim when physical aggression occurs? Purpose of current study: - Determine if third-parties perceive perpetrator motivations differently when gender of perpetrator and of victim are unconfounded Do individuals perceive the motivations of perpetrators differently during physical aggression compared to psychological aggression? Physical Psychological When the victim is female, are the motivations of the perpetrator perceived differently than when the victim is male? Main effect for Sex of Perpetrator Control the relationship Male Perpetrators (M = 6.09) > Female Perpetrators (M = 5.69) Do female participants perceive the perpetrator to be motivated differently than male participants? Get Power in the Relationship Hurt the Victim Protect Self Motivation Psychological Aggression Physical Aggression Control the relationship M = 5.78 M = 6.19 Control the victim M = 5.85 M = 6.13 Get power in the relationship M = 5.69 M = 6.11 Hurt the victim M = 4.51 M = 5.38 Stop victim from talking to others about the relationship M = 2.42 M = 3.06 Similar pattern for Control the Victim and Control the Relationship Motivation Psychological Aggression Physical Aggression Make the victim feel bad M = 5.80 M = 5.15 Protect self M = 2.62 M = 2.19 Motivation Male Victims Female Victims Control the relationship M = 5.75 M = 6.03 Control the victim M = 5.72 M = 6.11 Get power in the relationship M = 5.63 M = 5.97 Stop victim from talking to others about the relationship M = 2.40 M = 3.08 METHOD Study Design 2 (Sex of Participant) x 2 (Sex of Victim) x 2 (Sex of Perpetrator) x 2 (Type of Aggression: Psychological and Physical) with a repeated measure for Type of Aggression Participants 170 females and 69 males (Age: M = 23.9, SD = 6.49) African American (30.7%), Caucasian (49.8%), Mixed or Bi-racial (10.8%), Hispanic (4.8%), Asian-American (3.2%), and Other (.8%) Heterosexual (95.2%), Lesbian or Gay male (2.8%), and Bisexual (1.6%) Dependent Variables Control the relationship Control the victim Get power in the relationship Stop victim from talk to others about the relationship Hurt the victim Make the victim feel bad Retaliate Defend self Protect self DISCUSSION Motivation Male Participants Female Participants Control the relationship M = 5.61 M = 6.17 Control the victim M = 5.67 M = 6.15 Get power in the relationship M = 5.47 M = 6.14 Make victim feel bad M = 4.97 M = 5.75 Hurt the victim M = 4.51 M = 5.15 Retaliate M = 3.91 M = 4.60 Defend self M = 2.31 M = 2.90 REFERENCES Basow, S. A., Cahill, K. F., Phelan, J. E., Longshore, K., & McGillicuddy-DeLisi, A. (2007). Perceptions of relational and physical aggression among college students: Effects of gender of perpetrator, target, and perceiver. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31, 85-95. Hammock, G. S., Richardson, D. S., Williams, C., & Janit, A. S. (2013). Perceptions of psychological and physical aggression between heterosexual partners. Manuscript submitted for publication.