IFAS paper: a qualitative investigation into beliefs about aggression in an Indian sample
| Published date | 10 October 2011 |
| Date | 10 October 2011 |
| Pages | 199-209 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17596591111187729 |
| Author | VanLal Thanzami,John Archer,Cath Sullivan |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
IFAS paper: a qualitative investigation
into beliefs about aggression in an
Indian sample
VanLal Thanzami, John Archer and Cath Sullivan
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to investigate Western studies on beliefs about aggression which have
found that men typically hold instrumental beliefs and women hold expressive beliefs.
Design/methodology/approach – To investigate whether beliefs about aggression are qualitatively
different in an Indian sample, interviews were undertaken with focus groups of 16 and 26-year-oldsfrom
north-east India.
Findings – IPA analysis indicated that respondents viewed their aggression in terms of: how they might
appear; honour or shame; gender roles; and as a loss of self-control. These findings indicate that beliefs
about aggression held in this Indian sample are more complex than can be characterised by the
instrumental/expressive dimension.
Practical implications – Implications of these findings for developing more culture-specific measures
of beliefs about aggression are discussed.
Keywords Beliefs, Aggression, Collectivist culture, Instrumental and expressive beliefs, Self-control,
Shame, Gender roles
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Research into beliefs about aggression has shown that people view their own aggression in
either instrumental or expressive terms (Archer and Haigh, 1997a, b, 1999; Campbell et al.,
1992, 1996, 1999; Campbell and Muncer, 1994; Muncer and Campbell, 2004; Puyat, 2001;
Ramirez et al., 2001; Richardson and Huguet, 2001). Holding an instrumental belief involves
viewing aggression as a means of achieving a specific goal, while endorsing an expressive
belief involves viewing aggression as a loss of control. Campbell et al. (1992) developed the
Expagg (Expressions of aggression scale) to measure these beliefs about aggression. This
questionnaire was based on the findings of an earlier study by Campbell and Muncer (1987)
obtained from the social talk of groups of men and women in the USA. They found sex
differences in the way people viewed their aggression, with men more likely to make
instrumental attributes and women more expressive ones. These sex differences in how
people view their aggression have since proved consistent in different samples (Archer and
Haigh, 1997a, b, 1999; Campbell et al., 1992, 1996, 1999; Puyat, 2001; Ramirez et al., 2001;
Richardson and Huguet, 2001).
Most of the research using the Expagg has been conducted in the UK (Archer and Haigh,
1997a, b, 1999; Campbell et al., 1992, 1996; Muncer and Campbell, 2004), the USA
(Campbell et al., 1993), Slovak Republic samples (Baumgartner, 1995), and the Philippines
(Puyat, 2001), with a few cross-national studies, such as those comparing Spanish and
Japanese samples (Ramirez et al., 2001), and French and American students (Richardson
and Huguet, 2001). Thanzami and Archer (2005) compared participants from Asian and
Caucasian backgrounds within the UK. When examining aggression cross-culturally, a key
DOI10.1108/17596591111187729 VOL. 3 NO. 4 2011,pp. 199-209, QEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited,ISSN 1759-6599
j
JOURNAL OF AGGRESSION, CONFLICT AND PEACE RESEARCH
j
PAGE 199
VanLal Thanzami is a
Lecturer in Psychology,
John Archer is a Professor
of Psychology, and
Cath Sullivan is a Senior
Lecturer in Psychology,
all are based at School of
Psychology, University of
Central Lancashire,
Preston, UK.
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