Effects of chlordiazepoxide and oxazepam administration on verbal hostility

Abstract

We compare the effects of chlordiazepoxide, oxazepam, and placebo on hostility, as both an inner motivational or potential state and verbal interpersonal behavior. This article reports the findings relevant to the latter dimension of hostility and integrates them with those findings, presented in an initial report, relevant to hostility as an inner motivational state. The verbal data again support the hypothesis that chlordiazepoxide-induced increases in verbal interpersonal hostility, following frustration, are greater than those associated with placebo. With regard to oxazepam, the verbal hostility data were consonant with the motivational data that suggested that oxazepam does not substantially disinhibit hostility but did not as consistently differentiate oxazepam and chlordiazepoxide at the level of overt hostile behavior.