Perception of an Aggressor and His Victim in Relation to Age and Retaliation

Evaluation of an aggressor and a victim of aggression was obtained in two separate studies in both of which a small paragraph describing an instance of aggression and its consequence was read by subjects who were college students in Bombay. In the first study, which had a 2 (sex of subject) X 2 (age of aggressor) X 2 (age of victim) X 2 (retaliation versus nonretaliation by victim) factorial design, with 21 subjects per cell, the victim was rated on intelligence, morality, adjustment, and likeability. The second study had exactly the same design and procedure except that it was the aggressor, instead of the victim, that was rated by the subjects, 20 per cell. The nonretaliating victim was evaluated more positively than the retaliating victim and the aggressor received a more negative evaluation, in some conditions, with the nonretaliating rather than retaliating victim. The younger victim was evaluated more negatively with the older rather than younger aggressor and the younger aggressor received a more negative evaluation with the older rather than younger retaliating victim. The results apparently reflect the norms regarding aggression and age in a specific culture and suggest the acceptability of nonretaliation or nonviolence as a powerful moral weapon.