Loneliness and Aggressive Behaviour

In one of the early classic articles on loneliness, Zilboorg (1938) claimed that lonely individuals are hostile and aggressive. The present research tested this proposition. Two samples of males were given a measure of loneliness and various measures of hostility. Ninety-one subjects in the second study were also given the opportunity to administer aversive noise to a critical, rejecting confederate for making errors on an ESP task. In both samples, lonely males expressed more hostility towards women and endorsed the view that men and women are essentially adversaries in their sexual relationships. In the ESP task, the lonely subjects administered higher levels of aversive noise. Despite some qualifications, the results generally are consistent with Zilboorg's contention that lonely individuals manifest greater aggressive tendencies.