This study examined whether students' information processing differed as a function of exposure to a frustrating experience, aggression sub-type, gender, and grade. When asked to judge intent and proposed responses to an ambiguous story involving a peer, proactive-aggressive and prosocial children were relatively unaffected by an experience of frustration; however, frustration lead to an increase in the tendency of reactive-aggressive children to attribute hostile intent to the peer. Reactive-aggressive children were also more likely to propose physical aggression than were proactive or prosocial children. The differences in physical aggression were most obvious at the sixth grade level with sixth grade reactive children proposing significantly more physical aggression than reactive third graders. Conversely, proactive and prosocial children were more likely to report indirect aggression than were reactive aggressive children. Additionally, the responses proposed by males were greater in overall level of aggression and in physical aggression than females. Conversely, the responses proposed by females were more verbally aggressive
