40 undergraduate student volunteers were tested on a new Response-choice Ag
gression Paradigm. Men and women were provoked in a reaction time competiti
on by receiving electric shocks and were allowed to respond to a confederat
e with similar shocks or to refrain from any retaliation. Analysis indicate
d positive association between a self-report measure of physical aggression
and laboratory responses on the paradigm, and positive associations among
aggression indices of the task. The results confirm earlier findings of sex
differences in aggression and offer new measures of aggression "flashpoint
" as a step closer to aggressive behavior in naturalistic settings.