Abstract

Aggression and violence have a large impact on society. Researchers have highlighted the need to incorporate impulsive processes into models of aggression. The current research is the first to investigate the role of self-control, measured by both explicit questionnaires and an implicit association test, on trait aggression. Results indicated higher levels of implicit and explicit self-control were associated with lower aggressive tendencies. We also investigated the role of sex in the current study and showed that while sex was associated with aggressive tendencies overall, such that men had higher levels of trait aggression, the relationship between self-control and aggression did not differ according to sex. The current findings provide the first indication that both implicit and explicit self-control have roles in aggressive tendencies