Memory competition: A new experiment to assess unprovoked and provoked aggression

Aggression can be provoked or unprovoked. Most studies on provoked and unprovoked aggression have used questionnaires, making it hard to quantify aggression's costs and benefits. We designed a new experiment that assigns variable costs and benefits to aggression, and it effectively measured both types. In our first study, unprovoked aggression was positively correlated with the level of unprovoked aggression measured by the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire, and self-reported anger was positively correlated with provoked aggression. In our second study, we used the novel experiment to test the hypothesis that provoked aggression is positively correlated with self-reported anger state and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. The result supported our predictions. The two studies indicate that our new memory competition game can effectively measure the two types of aggression. Moreover, our results confirm that provoked aggression is linked to a weak capacity to effectively adjust emotional responses to perceived threats. • We design a novel memory competition experiment to analyze the occurrence and cost/benefit of provoked/unprovoked aggression. • Study 1 shows that our experiment effectively distinguishes and measures unprovoked and provoked aggression. • Study 2 finds maladaptive emotion regulation and emotional resilience are related to provoked aggression. • This new experiment allows to estimate the cost/benefit of aggression.