Regulating honor in the face of insults

Abstract

Previous research has examined honor-related responses prior to and after an insult butlittle is known about which underlying mechanisms explain this behavior. We connecthonor concerns to Self-Regulation Theory and argue that honor is associated with preven-tion focus in an escalatory setting. In three studies, we investigated the role of preventionfocus as a motivator of obliging behavior prior to conflict escalation, and aggressive behav-ior after conflict escalation among those high in honor. In Study 1, we found higher levels ofprevention focus among high-honor participants, compared to low-honor participants, in acommunity sample. In two following studies we experimentally activated hon..