John Gottman studied domestic abusers as they argued with their wives to see whether the man’s heart rate changed during the argument. The men fell into two distinct types: Cobras (25%) and Pitbulls (75%). At certain critical moments of conflict interaction, Cobras’ heart rates decrease, whereas Pitbulls’ increase.
In the couples Gottman studied, women married to Cobras were sadder, more frightened, and less angry than women married to Pitbulls.
Sources for this info at the bottom of the post.
Cobras
Gottman called them Cobras because their heart rate slows down when they’re angry, they become cooler and calmer. Like cold blooded venomous snakes, they attack their partners without warning. They’re very emotionally abusive (belligerent and contemptuous) to their wives.
Note: Heart rate deceleration does not cause men to abuse their wives. Physiological reactivity does not exonerate abusers from moral responsibility.
Cobras are unpredictably explosive, they strike out of nowhere. Their behaviour is deliberate, calculating and sadistic. Their violence is ferocious and savage, and more likely to be lethal, making it particularly difficult for their wives to leave them. However, they generally stop pursuing their spouses after a short while and go on to other activities they can control.
Cobras are ‘vagal reactors’.
Cobras may be vagal reactors (i.e., the heart rate reduction may be parasympathetically driven). Moreover, heart rate deceleration in Cobras functions to focus their attention. Despite correlations involving physiological reactivity, no empirical finding could in any way exonerate batterers from moral responsibility.
— source (I changed ‘Type 1 batterers’ to Cobras, and ‘Type 2 batterers’ to Pitbulls.)
Vagal activation during stress is associated with focused attention. Heart rate deceleration helps cobras focus their attention to maximize the impact of their verbal aggression. Whether reductions of heart rate are voluntary or involuntary, they are probably learned, and they are certainly functional if the aggression is effective at controlling the behavior of the target woman.
Gottman says Cobras may be psychopaths.
Pitbulls
Gottman called them Pitbulls because their heart rate rises as they argue and they have stereotypical traits of a vicious dog latching on and not letting go. Their violence is marked by a slow burn that explodes into anger. They are jealous, possessive, domineering and often isolate their partners. They insist on total control in their marriages.
Pit Bulls may be easier to leave initially, but can be more dangerous in the long term because some of them are likely to become obsessed with their spouses, stalking and harassing them. (Their jaws don’t want to drop the prey.)
Sources
Jacobson, N.S., Gottman, J.M., and Shortt, J.W., (1995). The distinction between type 1 and type 2 batterers- Further considerations…. Journal of Family Psychology, 9(3), 272-279
https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0893-3200.9.3.272
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