6: Aggression

Question 1

Define moral behaviour

Answer 1

• carrying out action deemed as right or wrong

- Learned through the process of reinforcement and modeling

Question 2

Kohlberg’s 6 stages of moral judgement of 3 levels

Answer 2

Stage 1: Preconventional morality: children abide rules in fear of punishment
Stage 2: Or in hopes of receiving rewards
Stage 3: Conventional morality (individual conform to avoid disapproval of others)
Stage 4: Uphold rules and social laws
Stage 5: Post conventional morality (moral reasoning no longer defined by strict boundaries of rules)m actions guided by principles commonly agreed on as essential
Stage 6: Actions self selected and guided by ethical principles
Majority of people will never progress beyond second level, <10% display stage 6 of moral reasoning

Question 3

identify 5 factors that influence moral behaviour

Answer 3

• Sporting environment
• Motivational climate
• goal orientation
• Team norms
• bullying and hazing
• aggression

Question 4

Sport Environment

Answer 4

provide environment for moral practice and development
Athletes learn rules and fair play in sport
Good moral behaviour (team loyalty, respect to other teams, teamwork) can develop
Engaging in unfair play, illegitimate aggression, intimidation can also develop
Coaches act as role models
Can stop disrespect and rule violation and encourage positive moral behaviour
Emphasizing winning or immoral behaviour can lead to unsportsmanlike conduct in athletes

Question 5

Motivational Climate

Answer 5

Coaches that emphasize cooperation and learning from past mistakes promote prosocial behaviour
Prosocial behaviour: behaviour intended to benefit/assist another individual/team
Coaches that emphasize competition and winning promote antisocial
Antisocial behaviour: behaviour intended to harm/disadvantaged individual or team

Question 6

Goal orientation

Answer 6

Task oriented goals: self referenced criteria, feels successful when they have mastered a task
Ego oriented: success by outperforming others

Question 7

Team Norms

Answer 7

standards or expectations that influence team member’s behaviour
Teammates, coaches, parents expectations have significant impact on athletes moral behaviour
Ex) If it’s normal for players to yell at official then individual players more likely to yell at an official

Question 8

Bullying and Hazing in Sport

Answer 8

Bullying: imbalance of power between peers- powerful peer repeatedly attacks less powerful with intentions to harm
Hazing: Potentially humiliating, degrading, abusive, dangerous activity expected of an individual to belong in a group, regardless of willingness to participate

Question 9

define aggression

Answer 9

verbal or physical act intended to injure another living organism psychologically or physically

Question 10

4 components of aggression

Answer 10

1. Behaviour (not emotion or personality trait)
2. Verbal or physical
3. Cause physical/psychological harm
4. DIrected towards another living organism

Question 11

Instrumental aggression

Answer 11

used to achieve goal, injury impersonal and designed to limit effectiveness of opponent

Question 12

Hostile aggression

Answer 12

aggressive act is and end in and of itself
Goal: injure someone deliberately
Preceded by anger

Question 13

Violent behaviour:

Answer 13

extreme act of physical aggression that has NO DIRECT relationship to competitive goals of sport

Question 14

Assertive behaviour

Answer 14

forceful, vigorous, legitimate actions with NO INTENTIONS TO HARM

Question 15

3 models of aggression

Answer 15

Physical: punching
Verbal: racial slurs
Relational: Spreading rumours, exclusion

Question 16

Instinct Theory/ Psychodynamics

Answer 16

Born with Innate instinct to be aggressive
Aggression builds up and must be released through catharsis
Catharsis: release of aggressive tendencies through socially accepted means
Ex) Sports
No evidence for aggressive instinct
No evidence catharsis behaviours decrease aggression

Question 17

Physiological Explanations

Answer 17

Aggression is physiological in nature
Brain pathology: aggressive behaviour characteristic of people with brain tumors
Blood chemistry: aggression linked to testosterone, most prominent in animals (exception of steroids)

Question 18

Frustration Aggression Hypothesis

Answer 18

Frustration -> Aggressive drive -> aggressive behaviour
Proposals:
Frustration always leads to some form of aggression (can be blown off through catharsis)
Aggression is always a result of frustration
Doesn’t account for other ways with frustration (not always aggression)
Lack of support for catharsis

Question 19

Revised Frustration Aggression Theory

Answer 19

Frustration -> Increased Arousal -> Socially learned appropriateness of aggression -> Aggressive behaviour
“Getting a slow time” -> Angry -> Socially learned cues -> Flipping boat

Question 20

Social Learning Theory

Answer 20

Aggression (like other behaviours) is learned by
Modelling/Observational Learning: learning/watching what others do and how their behaviours are reinforced or punished
Reinforcement: learned by being reinforced or punished for one’s behaviour
Social comparison: exhibiting behaviours in an effort to fit in with one’s peer or comparison group
Concern with role models of aggression
Rewards given to aggressive acts (cheering, TV viewings)
Used today

Question 21

Moral Disengagement

Answer 21

Extension of social learning to address moral behaviour
Individuals refrain from behaviours that violate their moral standards
(8 mechanisms of moral disengagement) from Bandura (textbook)
Displacement of responsibility: Shift blame to other individuals
Ex) “Coach told me to”
Diffusion of responsibility: Group decision for aggressive behaviour, no single athletes feels personally responsible
Ex) All beat up one hockey player
Euphemistic labeling: changing language to make aggressive behaviour seem less harmful
Ex) fighting = blowing off steam
Attribution of blame: occurs when athletes victimize self and not aggressor
Distortion of consequences: minimize harm caused by actions
Ex) “Concussion not my fault, it’s because of the contact with the field”
Moral justification: individual reconsiders aggression as being negative and makes it acceptable by portraying behaviour as facilitating a social/moral purpose
Ex) hockey player defending fighting act as protecting another team member
Advantageous comparison: comparing aggressive behaviour with something more reprehensive
Ex) “Not as bad as what they did”
Dehumanization: Relieving opponents of human qualities
Ex) “Animals” “beast”

Question 22

Fan aggression

Answer 22

identify with teams, increases emotional instability
Crowd situations, alcohol, aggression on field associated with fan enjoyment in some sports
Fan identification: fan feels psychologically connected to a team

Question 23

Personal factors influencing aggression

Answer 23

Gender: males committed more instrumental and hostile aggressive acts in handball/soccer, females: psychological aggression over physical aggression
Age: no conclusive statement
Physical size: The bigger the person the more involved in a fight
Retaliation motives: retaliation because of aggressive acts from opponent
Annoyances: inconsistent calls, mannerisms, taunting
Self presentation: athletes want to intimidate opponents
Deindividuation: individual feels less identifiable by others
Passion/athletic identity:
Obsessive passion more linked to aggressive behaviour because athletic identity challenged compared to harmonious passion

Question 24

situational Factors Influencing Aggression

Answer 24

Frequency of competition: aggressive behaviours occured more often in intradivisional teams
Home advantage: Home teams more aggressive penalities in games they won while visitng teams more aggressive penalities in games they lost (compared to when they won)
Point Differentials: No relationship between aggressive acts and behaviours but support for occurence of aggressive behaviours and losing situations

Question 25

group Factors Influencing Aggression

Answer 25

Individual’s role: recruited just for fighting in hockey
Team norms: unwritten rules/norms based on perception of coach’s norms for cheating, aggression, bullying
Collective Efficacy for aggression: a team’s perception of ability to use aggession as an tactic or strategy
Group cohesion: Teams more united for goals and objectives = more aggressive behaviours

Question 26

Discuss 2 strategies to reduce aggression.

Answer 26

Punishment and encouragement
Reinforcements from parents/coaches ensure that punishment outweighs benefits (from SLT)
Coaches/parents need to encourage/reward positive behaviour
Educational interventions
Workshops that teach what aggression is, consequences of aggressive acts, how to control aggression
Behavioural Modification Practices
Changes to the Sporting Environment
Aggressive Behaviour in the Media