A Naive Psychological Analysis of Counteraggression

Abstract

Observers witnessed a videotaped fight. Some saw only the fight, others saw a prior sequence which revealed that the fight starter was responding counteraggressively to previous acts of aggression committed by the other person. Both sets of observers recognized the aggressive character of the fight-starting action: those%who saw only the action regarded it as morally illegitimate; those who saw it in the sequence that made it counteraggressive found it morally acceptable. The possible mechanism for this involved a shift in the perceived responsibility for the fight from the fight perpetrator to the other person if the other person had previously been aggressive.