The Effect of Bystander Features on Displaced Aggression in Provocative Situations among Male Juvenile Delinquents.
Shuang Lin, Gonglu Cheng, Shinan Sun, Mengmeng Feng, Xuejun Bai
Author Information
Shuang Lin: Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300074, China. ORCID
Gonglu Cheng: Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300074, China. ORCID
Shinan Sun: Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300074, China.
Mengmeng Feng: Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300074, China.
Xuejun Bai: Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300074, China. ORCID
Two studies were conducted to explore the influence of bystander features of displaced aggression in provocative situations among male juvenile delinquents. Study 1 examined the differences in displaced aggression between provoked male juvenile delinquents in the presence or absence of bystanders. The results revealed that provoked male juvenile delinquents exhibited significantly higher levels of displaced aggression when bystanders were present compared to when they were not. Study 2 further manipulated the bystanders' trigger level and investigated the differences in displaced aggression exhibited by provoked male juvenile delinquents towards highly versus lowly triggered bystanders. The results indicated that after low provocation, male juvenile delinquents exhibited significantly higher levels of displaced aggression towards highly triggered bystanders compared to lowly triggered bystanders. These findings demonstrated that male juvenile delinquents exhibited a high level of displaced aggression towards bystanders in provocative situations, particularly with highly triggered bystanders. This study supported the personality and social model of displaced aggression, emphasizing that bystanders, especially those with high triggers, were more likely to become targets of displaced aggression. The current study provides references for subsequent criminal rehabilitation and crime prevention.
