Is the relationship between alexithymia and aggression context-dependent? Impact of group membership and belief similarity

Previous research finds positive relationships between alexithymia and aggression. This study examined potential interpersonal factors that might elicit aggressiveness among people with high levels of alexithymia. College student participants completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale online prior to interacting with their partners in the laboratory. Participants interacted with a partner who (i) was from their in-group versus out-group, and (ii) held similar versus different beliefs on an important topic. Results show that compared to low-alexithymic individuals, individuals with high levels of alexithymia reported increased anger after interacting with out-group members. This corresponded to increased trait aggressiveness when interacting with out-group members. No differences emerged regarding behavioral aggression. Implications for the association between alexithymia and aggression are discussed.

► Alexithymia involves difficulty identifying, describing, and interpreting emotion.
► We examine how alexithymic people react to people who are different from them.
► Interacting with people from different groups activates anger in alexithymic people.
► Such interactions also make them believe that they are aggressive people.
► However, they do not act more aggressively.