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The voodoo doll task: Introducing and validating a novel method for studying aggressive inclinations.

Author
Abstract
:

Aggression pervades modern life. To understand the root causes of aggression, researchers have developed several methods to assess aggressive inclinations. The current article introduces a new behavioral method-the voodoo doll task (VDT)-that offers a reliable and valid trait and state measure of aggressive inclinations across settings and relationship contexts. Drawing on theory and research on the law of similarity and magical beliefs (Rozin, Millman, & Nemeroff [1986], Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 703-712), we propose that people transfer characteristics of a person onto a voodoo doll representing that person. As a result, causing harm to a voodoo doll by stabbing it with pins may have important psychological similarities to causing actual harm to the person the voodoo doll represents. Nine methodologically diverse studies (total Nā€‰=ā€‰1,376) showed that the VDT had strong reliability, construct validity, and convergent validity. Discussion centers on the importance of magical beliefs in understanding the causes of aggressive inclinations.

Year of Publication
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1969
Journal
:
Aggressive behavior
Volume
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39
Issue
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6
Number of Pages
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419-39
Date Published
:
1969
ISSN Number
:
0096-140X
URL
:
https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21496
DOI
:
10.1002/ab.21496
Short Title
:
Aggress Behav
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