3- Why are People Aggressive? Flashcards
How are personal and situational factors similar?
Specific factors determining aggression
What do evolutionary accounts and social/biosocial accounts offer to explaining aggression?
Why we (as a group) display aggression
How do cognitive models explain how we process aggression?
Multi-route models to aggression
What 4 key personal factors can explain why someone is aggressive?
Hormones, personality, gender, alcohol
What hormone is linked to aggression?
Testosterone
Why can we not establish causation with testosterone and aggression?
Effects are confounded with other variables
What personality characteristics do violent offenders show?
Low self-esteem and frustration intolerance
What personality types are linked to aggression?
Narcissistic and Type A personality types
What is there some evidence of regarding gender and aggression?
Some evidence of women being less aggressive
What factor may hormones be confounded with regarding gender and aggression?
Socialisation
What type of aggression do men show more?
More overt (physical) aggression
What type of aggression do women show more?
Indirect aggression
What type of aggression is similar between men and women?
Verbal aggression
Why might alcohol influence aggression?
It causes disinhibition- less cortical control
How is the alcohol link well established with aggression?
People who drink become aggressive
What is the 2D: 4D ratio?
Men’s ring finger generally have smaller indexes
How has testosterone been linked to higher aggression?
Higher self-reported aggression in males but not females
What is the correlation between testosterone and aggression?
Very small- only 2%
What is the problem with measuring testosterone in regards to aggression?
Correlations cannot establish causality
What are the 2 main situational/societal factors that influence aggression?
Physical environment and cultural norms
What are the 2 factors of physical environment that affect aggression?
Heat and crowding
What is riot theory?
The relationship between heat and aggression is not linear (‘inverted U’)
What 2 ways may crowding influence aggression?
Personal space and population density
How do cultural norms affect aggression?
Cultural variation in aggressive behaviour
What do cultural norms determine?
What is and isn’t acceptable behaviour
How do subcultures influence aggression?
Some subcultures where aggression and violence are more accepted
What is collective aggression?
A crowd baiting aggression
6 factors influencing collective aggression
Nighttime
Large crowd
Warm temperature
Long duration
Crowd distance from victim
Cities
How might deindividuation influence collective aggression?
Crowds increase sense of anonymity, loss of identity, reduced punishment likelihood
What is dehumanisation in relation to aggression?
Viewing the victim as ‘inhuman’
What do cultural norms show aggression as linked to?
Historical and geographical factors
What is football hooliganism?
A subculture that carries out ritualised aggression linked to social status, group norms and values
How is aggression implicated in gangs?
Gangs sometimes see violence as a part of life
How does Darwin suggest that emotional states are evolved, adaptive, and useful?
Multiple species show same states
How is aggression a good communication function?
It indicates the next reaction of the animal
What does Darwin say happens if communication is beneficial?
It enhances and evolves
How does Darwin suggest that opposite signals are expressed?
By opposite movements
What is a form of social competence in aggression?
Sensitivity to social states
What 3 functions does aggression have in evolutionary accounts?
- An instinct
- A form of communication
- An adaptive mechanism
What does the psychodynamic theory believe about aggression?
It is a release of built-up tension
What does ethology believe about aggression?
Situation causes this innate, adaptive instinct
What does evolutionary social psychology believe about aggression?
It is an innate survival mechanism
What indicates that aggression is an evolutionary explanation?
Aggression is across humans and animals
What purpose do evolutionary accounts see aggression as serving?
Promoting survival of our genes
Where is aggression seen as a form of communication?
In humans as well as animals
What is the survival benefit of aggression?
Harm can be avoided if the opponent recognises the aggression
What kind of problems does aggression solve?
Adaptive ones
Why may humans live in groups?
In order to defend themselves against other groups
5 limitations of evolutional accounts
- Potentially insufficient explanation
- Difficulty applying animal studies to humans
- Circular argument
- Lack of genetic evidence
- Biosocial accounts are more popular
How do biosocial accounts suggest that aggression is cause?
Arousal + context
What 3 theories are involved in biosocial accounts?
Frustration-aggression hypothesis, catharsis hypothesis, excitation transfer model
What does the frustration-aggression hypothesis suggest causes aggression?
A frustrating event/situation
What is a limitation of the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
It is too simplistic
What does the catharsis hypothesis suggest?
Aggression is a way to ‘let off steam’ and release frustration
What are the limitations of the catharsis hypothesis?
Poorly supported, this may actually increase aggression
What does the excitation transfer model suggest?
We are more likely to be aggressive by misinterpreting physiological arousal when we are already in a heightened arousal state
How do social accounts explain aggressive behaviour?
As learnt
When are we more likely to repeat aggressive behaviour?
When it is rewarded
When may we think aggression is an acceptable behaviour?
If we observe someone else getting away with it
What does the catharsis hypothesis suggest about media exposure to violence?
It will decrease aggression
What does social learning suggest about media exposure to violence?
It will increase aggression
What is the effect of observing violence?
Increases physical and verbal aggression
What is the effect of prolonged media exposure?
Desensitisation effects
What are selective effects?
People who are more aggressive anyway choose to expose themselves to more violent media
What is the main cognitive model?
The General Aggression Model
What are distal factors in the general aggression model?
Biological and environmental factors
How many stages are the proximal factors in the general aggression model?
3
What does stage 1 of the GAM do?
Inputs personal and situational factors
What does stage 2 of GAM do?
Routes stage 1 inputs present internal state- may enhance or lessen aggression
What does stage 3 of GAM do?
Outcome appraisal of the situation and response decision
What does our next action after our initial reaction depend on?
The amount of resources we have to appraise the event
How does aggression result?
A repeating loop of reappraisal
