Regulating honor in the face of insults

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 honor concernsand demonstrated that indeed, those high in honor were more accommodating in theirinitial approach to a conflict (Study 2), but showed more aggression once they engaged inan actual insulting interaction (Study 3). Additionally, both types of responses proved to be(at least partially) driven by higher levels of prevention focus. Our findings provide initialempirical support for the idea that, when honor is at stake, prevention concerns relate toobliging responses before as well as aggressive responses after conflict escalation following insults.