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The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) is a 29-item self-report measure of aggression. It assesses various components of aggression - Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Anger, and Hostility.
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Users make up their own mimeographed or printed version by scrambling the items so that items from any one factor do not pile up.
Participants are asked to rate each item on a scale of 1 (extremely uncharacteristic of me) to 5 {extremely characteristic of me).
Remember to reverse the scoring of the two items worded in the direction opposite to aggression. The score for each scale is the sum of the ratings for its items. The total score for aggression is the sum of these scale scores.
Means and Standard Deviations for the Aggression Questionnaire
| Men (n = 612) | Women (n = 641) | |
|---|---|---|
Scale | M (SD) | M (SD) |
Physical | 24.3 (7.7) | 17.9 (6.6) |
Verbal | 15.2 (3.9) | 13.5 (3.9) |
Anger | 17.0 (5.6) | 16.7 (5.8) |
Hostility | 21.3 (5.5) | 20.2 (6.3) |
Total Score | 77.8 (16.5) | 68.2 (17.0) |
Note. For all mean sex differences except for anger, p < .005; for anger, p > .20.
The scoring of items 15 and 24 is reversed.
PsyPack can automatically score the BPAQ assessment and prepare corresponding tables and graphs.
Further, PsyPack automatically plots a graph to help you easily track progress over time.
Aggression, Anger
The purpose of the evaluation is to:
Self-administered
Positive psychology
Questionnaire
Adults
Less than 5 minutes
As is true of any self-report instrument, respondents can consciously distort their response to the scale if they are motivated to do so.
There is evidence that anger is a kind of psychological bridge between the instrumental components (Physical and Verbal Aggression) and the cognitive component (Hostility). Anger is often a prelude to aggression, and people are more likely to aggress when angry than when not angry, hence the link between anger and both physical and verbal aggression. Anger, though, is a high-arousal state that diminishes over time. Presumably, after anger has cooled down, there is a cognitive residual of ill will, resentment, and perhaps suspicion of others' motives, hence the link between anger and hostility.
Buss AH, Perry M. The aggression questionnaire. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1992 Sep;63(3):452-9. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.63.3.452. PMID: 1403624.