Laboratory Aggression and Personality Traits: A Meta-Analytic Review

Objective: In the current meta-analysis, we conducted a quantitative review of the relations between laboratory aggression and trait-based personality constructs. Specifically, we investigated the relations between laboratory aggression and traits from the predominant model of general personality (Big Five/five factor model [FFM]), as well as pathological personality constructs including psychopathy, narcissism, impulsivity, and sadism. Method: We used multiple article retrieval strategies, including searches of PsycINFO, reference review, and e-mailing relevant society listservs. Random-effects models were used to estimate the population mean Pearson's r between the personality variables and laboratory aggression. Results: Our search yielded 54 usable studies containing 123 effect sizes. Random-effects models suggest that psychopathy, narcissism, sadism, and low FFM agreeableness are significant predictors of laboratory aggression with small-to-moderate effect sizes. Impulsivity and FFM openness also showed relations that did not overlap with zero, though they were smaller in magnitude. Conclusions: Traits related to aggression outside of the laboratory also appear to be related to aggression in the laboratory. Suggestions are made for future research in this area, including an emphasis on methodological rigor.