The relation of conceptual tempo to aggression and its control.

The relationship of conceptual tempo to fantasy and overt aggression and its control was examined in order to test the generalizability of this cognitive style to domains of social and personality functioning. Fifth-grade boys and girls were administered the Matching Familiar Figures Test and a projective measure of fantasy aggression and its control and were rated sociometrically by peers and teachers on physical, verbal, and indirect forms of overt aggression. While reflective and impulsive children did not differ in degree of fantasy aggression expressed, impulsive children, especially boys, were found to exercise less control over their aggressive thoughts than the other 3 conceptual tempo groups. Impulsive and slow-inaccurate children were also more overtly aggressive, especially in comparison with fast-accurates. In addition, fantasy aggression predicted overt aggression in impulsives but not in reflectives. This study presents new evidence that conceptual tempo relates to areas beyond problem solving involving the child's social-emotional makeup.