laurent begue | Université Grenoble Alpes (original) (raw)

Papers by laurent begue

Journal of Affective Disorders, 2015

Background: Alcohol is a risk factor for suicide and is often involded in violent actions. The ai... more Background: Alcohol is a risk factor for suicide and is often involded in violent actions. The aim of the study was to assess the involvement of alcohol in suicides and its relationship with the lethality of suicide methods. Methods: In a retrospective study on autopsy reports, we compared suicide and non-suicide victims, suicides with positive and negative blood alcohol concentration (BAC), and studied the lethality of suicide methods using a multivariate analysis. Results: Suicide victims (n¼88) were not different to non-suicide victims (n¼270) for positive BAC and narcotics, but were more often positive for prescription medications (59.1 vs. 35.6%, p¼ 0.003) and medications in blood (72.7 vs. 54.8%, p¼ 0.004). Whereas non-suicidal victims died mainly of traumas (60%, po0.001), two populations of suicides emerged with regard to BAC, self-poisoning predominating with positive BAC (38.9%, p¼ 0.039) and asphyxiation with negative BAC (41.4%, p¼0.025). Positive BAC appeared as the unique and strong independent predictive factor, increasing the risk of self-poisoning suicide by 4. 36 [1.29-14.76], and decreasing the risk of suicidal asphyxiation by 84% (OR¼0.16 [0.03-0.83]). Positive blood narcotics tended to behave in the similar way to alcohol. Limitations: Recruitment bias (victims declared by the Forensic authorities) and incomplete autopsy reports are the two main limitations. Conclusions: Characteristics of suicide victims with positive BAC are suggestive of Deliberate Self-Harm Syndrome (low lethality methods, substance misuse). These being at high risk of repeated suicide attempts, previous self-harm involving alcohol may represent a warning sign and access to medication should be limited to prevent recidivism.

Psychologie Française, 2011

This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the a... more This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues.

Journal of Personality, 2014

This study investigates how obedience in a Milgram-like experiment is predicted by interindividua... more This study investigates how obedience in a Milgram-like experiment is predicted by interindividual differences. Participants were 35 males and 31 females aged 26-54 from the general population who were contacted by phone 8 months after their participation in a study transposing Milgram's obedience paradigm to the context of a fake television game show. Interviews were presented as opinion polls with no stated ties to the earlier experiment. Personality was assessed by the Big Five Mini-Markers questionnaire . Political orientation and social activism were also measured. Results confirmed hypotheses that Conscientiousness and Agreeableness would be associated with willingness to administer higher-intensity electric shocks to a victim. Political orientation and social activism were also related to obedience. Our results provide empirical evidence suggesting that individual differences in personality and political variables matter in the explanation of obedience to authority.

Psychological Bulletin, 2005

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2013

ABSTRACT It is well established that violent video games increase aggression. There is a stronger... more ABSTRACT It is well established that violent video games increase aggression. There is a stronger evidence of short-term violent video game effects than of long-term effects. The present experiment tests the cumulative long-term effects of violent video games on hostile expectations and aggressive behavior over three consecutive days. Participants (N = 70) played violent or nonviolent video games 20 min a day for three consecutive days. After gameplay, participants could blast a confederate with loud unpleasant noise through headphones (the aggression measure). As a potential causal mechanism, we measured hostile expectations. Participants read ambiguous story stems about potential interpersonal conflicts, and listed what they thought the main characters would do or say, think, and feel as the story continued. As expected, aggressive behavior and hostile expectations increased over days for violent game players, but not for nonviolent video game players, and the increase in aggressive behavior was partially due to hostile expectations.

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2012

Research has clearly shown that violent video games can increase aggression. It is less clear why... more Research has clearly shown that violent video games can increase aggression. It is less clear why they do. This study investigates the mediating effect of the hostile expectation bias (i.e., tendency to perceive hostile intent on the part of others) on the link between violent video game exposure and aggression. French college students (N = 136) played either a violent or nonviolent game for 20 minutes. Afterwards, they read ambiguous story stems about potential interpersonal conflicts, and listed what they thought the main characters would do or say, think, and feel as the story continued. Aggression was measured using a competitive computer game in which the winner could blast the loser with loud noise through headphones. As hypothesized, video game violence increased the hostile expectation bias, which, in turn, increased aggression. Effects were larger for men than women. Thus one reason why violent games increase aggression is because they increase hostile expectations.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2014

For centuries people have washed away their guilt by washing their hands. Do people need to wash ... more For centuries people have washed away their guilt by washing their hands. Do people need to wash their own hands, or is it enough to watch other people wash their hands? To induce guilt, we had participants write about a past wrong they had committed. Next, they washed their hands, watched a washing-hands video, or watched a typing-hands video. After the study was over, participants could help a Ph.D. student complete her dissertation by taking some questionnaires home and returning them within 3 weeks. Results showed that guilt and helping behavior were lowest among participants who washed their hands, followed by participants who watched a washing-hands video, followed by participants who watched a typing-hands video. Guilt mediated the effects of cleansing on helping. These findings suggest that washing one's own hands, or even watching someone else wash their hands, can wash away one's guilt and lead to less helpful behavior.

British Journal of Psychology, 2013

This research examines the role of alcohol consumption on self-perceived attractiveness. Study 1,... more This research examines the role of alcohol consumption on self-perceived attractiveness. Study 1, carried out in a barroom (N = 19), showed that the more alcoholic drinks customers consumed, the more attractive they thought they were. In Study 2, 94 nonstudent participants in a bogus taste-test study were given either an alcoholic beverage (target BAL [blood alcohol level] = 0.10 g/100 ml) or a non-alcoholic beverage, with half of each group believing they had consumed alcohol and half believing they had not (balanced placebo design). After consuming beverages, they delivered a speech and rated how attractive, bright, original, and funny they thought they were. The speeches were videotaped and rated by 22 independent judges. Results showed that participants who thought they had consumed alcohol gave themselves more positive self-evaluations. However, ratings from independent judges showed that this boost in self-evaluation was unrelated to actual performance.

Physiology & Behavior, 2015

We analyze the relationship between spicy food eating and endogenous testosterone.

British Journal of Social Psychology, 2006

Psychological Bulletin, 2013

The inverse relation between serotonin and human aggression is often portrayed as "reliable," "st... more The inverse relation between serotonin and human aggression is often portrayed as "reliable," "strong," and "well-established" despite decades of conflicting reports and widely recognized methodological limitations. In this systematic review and meta-analysis we evaluate the evidence for and against the serotonin deficiency hypothesis of human aggression across four methods of assessing serotonin: (a) cerebrospinal fluid levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (CSF 5-HIAA), (b) acute tryptophan depletion, (c) pharmacological challenge, and (d) endocrine challenge.

Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2011

This paper reviews the relationship between guilt and prosocial behaviors, and integrates multipl... more This paper reviews the relationship between guilt and prosocial behaviors, and integrates multiple antisocial phenomena with the construct of guiltlessness both at the interpersonal and intergroup level. Interpersonal guilt is basically prosocial and introspective. Collective guilt is the vicarious acceptance of misdeeds of the ingroup. Yet it is sometimes so painful and detrimental for the individual and the society to tolerate guilt that people do not feel guilty, especially when the possibility of reparation is low. We argue that guilt is the acceptance of the mildly undesirable self whereas guiltlessness is the rejection of unbearable mental distress of anticipatory guilt. Guiltlessness requires great efforts for defense and justification. Multiple strategies and justifications are sought to relieve guilt. Furthermore, guiltlessness is related to various personality and ideology variables and entails moral disengagement. Guiltlessness can be destructive because, for example, during times of large-scale conflicts ordinary people who feel guiltless are inclined to become ruthless. Reciprocity morality, ostracism, deservingness, empathy, and self-control are proposed as means of explaining the origins of guilt and their implications for guiltlessness.

European Psychologist, 2005

... Origins and consequences Edited by Claudia Dalbert and Hedvig Sallay Also available in Intern... more ... Origins and consequences Edited by Claudia Dalbert and Hedvig Sallay Also available in International Series in Social Psychology, now published by Psychology Press Children as Consumers A psychological analysis of the young people's market Barrie Gunter and Adrian ...

The American Journal of Psychology, 2008

Thirty participants were sampled after donating charity to a street beggar and were compared by m... more Thirty participants were sampled after donating charity to a street beggar and were compared by means of 2 short scales of belief in a just world for self (BJWS) and belief in a just world for others (BJWO) with 30 randomly selected people who passed the beggar by without donating charity. We assumed that BJWO would be negatively related to altruistic behavior, whereas BJWS would be positively linked with it. A logistic regression analysis introducing BJWS, BJWO, and participants' age and gender as predictors showed that BJWO was negatively related to altruistic behavior, whereas the BJWS tended to be positively associated to it. No effects were observed for age or gender.

Journal of Adolescence, 2009

Previous studies of the determinants of drunkenness among youth investigated the contribution of ... more Previous studies of the determinants of drunkenness among youth investigated the contribution of a limited range of variables measuring social control. For the first time in France, this study including 1295 participants aged 14e19 years aimed at assessing the relative contribution of a broad range of multidimensional variables relating to social control such as parental and school functioning, conventional and religious beliefs, and activity level, in a single model predicting self-reported drunkenness episodes. A logistic regression model based on a survey involving nearly 50 measures selected at the first step was conducted using a backward elimination procedure to identify the significant predictors of drunken experience controlling for age, gender and SES among a sample of French adolescents. We found a protective effect of attachment and commitment to institutions in drunkenness experience among youth. Previous findings on parental variables were confirmed with qualifications, whereas the effect of religion was limited. The negative role of sport practice and impulsivity was also emphasized for some participants. Ó

Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2014

The relationship between belief in a just world and private charity was examined in a representat... more The relationship between belief in a just world and private charity was examined in a representative sample of 805 French people. Participants were given money for their participation to a survey research and had the opportunity to allocate a part of it to an organization supporting victims of aggression. A multiple regression analysis including a selection of relevant covariates indicated that just-world beliefs provided a unique contribution to monetary generosity. The amount of money left for the organization supporting victims was higher among women, and was correlated with participant's age and educational level. This study contributes to the literature by providing for the first time a behavioral demonstration of the relationship between just-world belief for self and altruistic behavior.

Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2008

This paper reviews the main current social cognitive explanations of the effects of acute alcohol... more This paper reviews the main current social cognitive explanations of the effects of acute alcohol consumption on aggression: the cognitive disruption model, the attributional model, and model of automaticity. The cognitive disruption model posits that intoxication affects controlled processing arising from the impairment of executive cognitive functions by alcohol's pharmacological properties. The individual consequently focuses on the most salient and proximal situational factors, thereby spoiling self-regulatory processes. According to the attributional model, drinkers expect alcohol to mitigate social sanctions following aggression by shifting blame to alcohol. These explicit expectations represent an extrapharmacological cause of the alcohol-aggression link. Finally, the model of automaticity implies that alcohol meanings stored in long-term memory and activated in drinking contexts automatically trigger aggressive thoughts and behavior without the individual's awareness. The explanation of intoxicated aggression should integrate these co-etiological social cognitive models that take into account pharmacological as well as extrapharmacological consequences of alcohol consumption.

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2009

The physiological and expectancy effects of alcohol consumption on the aggressive behavior of 116... more The physiological and expectancy effects of alcohol consumption on the aggressive behavior of 116 general-population males aged 18-45 years were analyzed separately in a naturalistic field experiment using a 3 Â 3 Balanced Placebo Design (BPD). Participants were given a non-alcoholic drink, a drink targeting a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .05%, or a drink targeting a BAC of .1%. Within these three groups, three expectancy levels were induced regarding the quantity of alcohol ingested. Aggressive behavior was measured as retaliation against an aggressive confederate, in the form of amounts of hot sauce and salt administered in a taste test. Expectancies significantly increased aggressive behavior, whereas actual quantity of alcohol ingested was unrelated to aggression. Aggressive dispositions also predicted aggressive behavior.

Psychology, Crime & Law, 2005

Studies on delinquent behaviour have frequently shown that firstborn children are less involved i... more Studies on delinquent behaviour have frequently shown that firstborn children are less involved in delinquency than middle-born children. We suggest that differential parental control of the children depending on their ordinal position might account for this phenomenon. The study, carried out with a French representative sample (n0/1129), indicated that firstborns were more supervised than middle-borns. Firstborns reported less minor offences and serious offences than middle-born children. However, when sibship size and parental supervision were controlled in a subsequent analysis of covariance, the effect of ordinal position on serious offences disappeared, whereas the birth-order effect on minor offences declined but remained significant. It is concluded that ordinal position plays a moderate role in delinquent behaviour and that this effect is partly induced by differential parental control.

Personality and Individual Differences, 2002

... Beliefs in justice and faith in people: just world, religiosity and interpersonal trust. ... ... more ... Beliefs in justice and faith in people: just world, religiosity and interpersonal trust. ... (1996) and Maes (1998) scales, suggests that interpersonal trust is strongly connected to individuals' fundamental assumptions about the justice of the world, especially for Others. ...