Several lines of research on converge for the conclusion that high and low hostile men differ with respect to autonomic regulation of stress. The functional cerebral systems approach has provided a theoretical framework to account for this finding across the individual sensory, motor, and premotor modalities. The current experiment extends and elaborates upon a functional cerebral systems based model that posits a role for the right frontal region in regulation of sympathetic tone after stress. The experiment builds upon prior work illustrating the utility of this model to stress by positing mild dizziness as a potential frontal lobe stressor demonstrating hostility group differences in sympathetic arousal. Dizziness was induced by brief clockwise angular rotation about the vertical neuroaxis. Consistent with vestibular research indicating clockwise rotation impacts the right hemisphere (relative to counterclockwise rotation), it was expected that hostile individuals would exhibit higher skin conductance levels after rotation compared with low hostile individuals. The experiment also included a dichotic listening task both before and after rotation to examine the effects of rotary stress on dichotic phoneme identification. The experiment was conducted in three blocks: A dichotic listening task comprised the first block, followed by application of rotary stress as the second block, and a follow-up dichotic listening task post- rotary stress. It was predicted that rotation would induce an auditory perceptual shift towards the left ear. Results confirmed expected group differences in sympathetic response to rotary stress. High hostiles had greater overall skin conductance immediately following rotation. High hostiles failed to habituate skin conductance levels to mild rotation 7 minutes post-rotary stress. Lateralized effects of skin conductance remain unconfirmed at this time. No group differences were found for either block of the dichotic listening task. Overall, results are interpreted to support a model of frontal region capacity limitation for regulation of stress, including vestibular dysfunction. / Master of Science

This study examined how smoking and stress interact to affect the reactivity of the cardiovascular system. Findings revealed that subjects who smoked first and who were then exposed to stress showed less cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to stress compared to non-smoking subjects exposed only to stress. However, the combination of smoking and stress led to higher absolute levels and greater reactivity for all cardiovascular measures compared to stress alone. The ability for trait hostility, state angry affect and state anxious-affect to predict CVR to smoking and stress was also examined. State anxious-affect was the only affect-related variable that predicted CVR across experimental phases for both smokers and non-smokers. None of the affect-related variables were able to predict CVR during smoking. Trait hostility and state anxious-affect predicted CVR to stress for smokers and non-smokers. Trait hostility was negatively associated with CVR to stress, while state anxious-affect was positively associated with CVR to stress. State angry affect did not predict CVR to stress after accounting for the effects due to trait hostility.

Law Wing-Man Rita. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 32-33). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract / English version --- p.v / Chinese version --- p.vi / Chapter Chapter 1: --- Introduction / Importance of Relationships and Avoidance of Interpersonal Harm --- p.1 / Regulation of Hostility by Cognitive Adjustments --- p.2-3 / Plausible Psychological Mechanism Behind the Regulation of Hostility --- p.3-6 / Purposes and Design of the Present Study --- p.6-7 / Cross-Cultural Examinations --- p.7-8 / Hypotheses of the Present Study --- p.8 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- Method / Participants --- p.9 / Procedure --- p.9 / Measurement scales --- p.9-12 / Overview of the Data Analyses --- p.12-14 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- Results / Means and Zero-Order Correlations --- p.15-18 / Testing the Measurement Model Across Cultures --- p.18-19 / Testing the Validity of the Original Models Across Cultures --- p.23-24 / Testing Model A with Familiarity Across Cultures / Chapter ■ --- Testing Factor Invariance --- p.19-20 / Chapter ■ --- Testing Path Invariance in the Final Model --- p.20-22 / Explained Variances for Hostility --- p.23 / Chapter Chapter 4: --- Discussion / Rejecting Model B Across All Cultures --- p.2 / Accepting Model A Across All Cultures --- p.24-25 / Pancultural Model of Interpersonally triggered Hostility --- p.25 / Culture-Specific Properties of the Model --- p.25-26 / The Role of Familiarity --- p.26-27 / Relationships Among Variables From Original Model A --- p.27-28 / Implications of Cultural Effects --- p.29 / Limitations and Implications for Further Studies --- p.29-30 / Closing Remarks --- p.30-31 / References --- p.32-33 / Tables / "Table 1: Means and Standard Deviations of Variables, Along With Scale Properties" --- p.16 / Table 2: Correlations Among Variables in the Four Cultural Groups --- p.17 / Table 3: Findings of Tests for Path Invariance --- p.21 / Figures / Figure 1: Model A (with Modified Measures) --- p.4 / Figure 2. Model B (with Modified Measures) --- p.5 / Figure 3. Model A with Familiarity --- p.13 / Appendix / Items on the Questionnaire --- p.34-36

Thesis (Ph.D)--Boston University. / The purpose of this study was to investigate repressive handling of conflicts around hostility in epileptic children. There has been a considerable amount of evidence, from clinical material, of severe conflicts around hostility in epileptics. It has been further indicated that epileptics utilize repressive methods of handling the conflicts and that they appear to be in a pent-up state emotionally. It has been demonstrated, from previous research, that conflict in a given area, which is handled by repressive methods of defense, will lead to the inhibition of learning of material related to the conflict. The general hypothesis formulated from these considerations was that epileptics would show cognitive inhibition of material with a hostile connotation and would show increased cognitive inhibition when hostility was induced. An epileptic group of twenty-five children and a normal group of thirty-two children, of ages seven-and-a-half to twelve-and-a-half, were selected. They were given the Rorschach Test followed by four word lists, two consisting of neutral words and two of hostile words, presented on a Gerbrand's design memory drum. The method of serial anticipation was used in presenting the lists. Half of each group was criticized before the second pair of lists was presented, in a manner calculated to induce hostility. The operational predictions were as follows: Prediction 1· The epileptics will require more trials than will the normal group in learning the hostile list of words before hostility is induced. Prediction 2. The epileptic and normal groups will require more trials in learning the second list of neutral words after hostility is induced. Prediction 3· The epileptic and normal groups will both require more trials in learning the second list of hostile words after hostility is induced. Prediction 4. The normal group will have equal difficulty in learning the second neutral and hostile lists after hostility is induced. Prediction 5· The epileptic group will require more trials in learning the second list of hostile words than the second list of neutral words after hostility is induced. The results of the experiment supported only the fourth prediction, which was not a central one in the study. Further statistical analyses, which took into account hostile drive strength scores as well as management of hostility and rate of learning, also failed to show group differences in these measures or differential learning of the hostile and neutral material within or between the two experimental groups. Criticism of performance was found to have a significant detrimental effect on the learning of the second hostile list but not on the second neutral list, when the data for all subjects were combined. Thus the clinical finding of repressive handling of conflicts around hostility in epileptics was not experimentally confirmed in children with idiopathic epilepsy. The results of the present study do not disprove the possibility that hostility is involved in the development and precipitation of seizures, but they do indicate t hat children with idiopathic epilepsy do not show significant differences from normal children on measures of hostile drive strength or of the management of hostility. The findings leave open several possibilities for alternative explanation of the relationship between hostility and epilepsy. One among such alternatives is that of a hypothesis which would relate hostility to a more immediate and direct discharge in a seizure than would be involved in the repression hypothesis. [TRUNCATED]

Theoretical positions (Sloman & Gilbert, 2000), current research (Robbins & Tanck, 1997) and clinical observations (APA, 1994) have generally concluded that depressed populations tend to demonstrate an elevated level of hostility. Based on the premises of the Social Rank Theory (SRT; Sloman & Gilbert, 2000), the current study explores the purported etiological underpinnings of the co-occurrence between depression and hostility. The SRT regards depression as a state of inferiority resulting from a drop in social rank and hostility as stemming from a sense of injustice over this inferiority. To test this idea, measures of perceived social rank, depression, trait anger, anger expression and perceived injustice were administered to 97 university students at two time points, one month apart. Long-term rank change was measured retrospectively at Time 1 and short-term rank change was measured prospectively by sampling at Time 1 and Time 2. Three hypotheses were advanced: 1) social rank would be negatively associated with depression; 2) unfavourable rank change would predict greater levels of depression; and 3) unfavourable rank change from an initially superior rank would predict greater levels of anger and perceived injustice. Results were partially supportive of the hypotheses. As expected, social rank was negatively associated with depression. As well, a long-term change in social rank predicted greater levels of anger suppression. Results were discussed with respect to their consistency with the SRT. Potential weaknesses of the methodology and future directions of this line of inquiry were also presented.

Theoretical positions (Sloman & Gilbert, 2000), current research (Robbins & Tanck, 1997) and clinical observations (APA, 1994) have generally concluded that depressed populations tend to demonstrate an elevated level of hostility. Based on the premises of the Social Rank Theory (SRT; Sloman & Gilbert, 2000), the current study explores the purported etiological underpinnings of the co-occurrence between depression and hostility. The SRT regards depression as a state of inferiority resulting from a drop in social rank and hostility as stemming from a sense of injustice over this inferiority. To test this idea, measures of perceived social rank, depression, trait anger, anger expression and perceived injustice were administered to 97 university students at two time points, one month apart. Long-term rank change was measured retrospectively at Time 1 and short-term rank change was measured prospectively by sampling at Time 1 and Time 2. Three hypotheses were advanced: 1) social rank would be negatively associated with depression; 2) unfavourable rank change would predict greater levels of depression; and 3) unfavourable rank change from an initially superior rank would predict greater levels of anger and perceived injustice. Results were partially supportive of the hypotheses. As expected, social rank was negatively associated with depression. As well, a long-term change in social rank predicted greater levels of anger suppression. Results were discussed with respect to their consistency with the SRT. Potential weaknesses of the methodology and future directions of this line of inquiry were also presented.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Detroit, 1958. / "February 1958." Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-92).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin, 1974. / Collation of the original: 103 leaves :ill. ;29 cm. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-91).

Thesis (M.A.)--Brock University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-86). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Irvine, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-195). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.