The purpose of this study is to re-analyze existing findings in order to demonstrate and summarize relationships between criteria and the sub-scales/dimensions of the Conditional Reasoning Test for Aggression (CRT-A): Externalizing, Internalizing, and Powerlessness. A CRT-A sub-scale was expected to relate more strongly with criteria categorized as being more relevant to the dimension that is represented by that sub-scale. For criteria that were categorized as relevant to only a subset of the dimensions represented by CRT-A sub-scales, the regression of a criterion on all three sub-scales was expected to create a better fitting model than the regression of a criterion on the CRT-A total score alone. Scales were also expected to interact to predict criteria. This was expected to be most likely when multiple dimensions of implicit aggression were activated by environmental factors to influence specific behaviors. Support was found for all expectations

This study explored the relationship between a new self-report measure built from justification mechanisms of aggression (i.e., the basis of conditional reasoning; James, 1998) with a traditional explicit measure and an implicit conditional reasoning measure of aggression. The construct validity and generalizability of the new measure were investigated by using non-work related criteria (violent acts, traffic violations, alcohol use, competitiveness, and agreeableness) in an undergraduate student sample. Correlations and moderated hierarchical multiple regressions were used to assess the relationships between variables. The results support the literature in that both explicit and implicit components of personality need to be examined. In conclusion, the newly developed measure fills a gap in the literature by operationalizing aggression as reasons for behaving aggressively. It is similar to the explicit aggression measure in that it is a self-report; however, the moderate correlation between the two suggests that each is measuring slightly different aspects of aggression.