Aggression

Question 1

Aggression

Answer 1

Physical, verbal, and nonverbal behaviour intended to hurt someone

– hostile, instrumental, relational

Question 2

hostile aggression

Answer 2

hurting someone else because we are angry

Question 3

instrumental aggression

Answer 3

hurting someone else to achieve some other purpose

Question 4

relational aggression

Answer 4

aggression that harms someone else through the manipulation of friendships

Question 5

Agression: nature or nurture

Answer 5

Nature: evolutionary instincts, genes, testosterone

nurture: social learning theory (Bandura), culture of honour

Question 6

social learning theory

*behaviourism
*social learning theory

Answer 6

We learn how to behave by behaving and experiencing consequences (Behaviourism)

we learn how to behave by observing others behave and observing the consequences of their behaviour (social learning theory / observational learning)

Question 7

culture of honour

Answer 7

southern, southwestern US states are classified as “cultures of honour”

• herding cultures with great distance from law enforcement
• strong concerns about reputation
• insults deserve retaliation
• imposing violence on people who threaten your reputation
• became cultural norm in south of states which is still around today

Question 8

murder rates in the culture of honour

Answer 8

argument-related murders are much more common in the south and southwest than in other regions of the US because of that area’s culture of honour

culture also impacts facial expressions, southerners tend to look more angry when someone crosses them
- southerners are more inclined to violence

Question 9

Culture of Honour in Canada

Answer 9

Canada had law enforcement scattered everywhere

• people would chose to settle in areas that may have been close to or far away from forts
• more violence for those further away

Question 10

situational causes of aggression

Answer 10

frustration-aggression theory and displacement

Question 11

frustration-aggression theory

Answer 11

states that the single best determinant of aggression is frustration

– in this view, we will aggress when our goals are blocked

Question 12

displacement

Answer 12

when we aggress towards something similar to what blocked our goal

Question 13

critiques of the frustration-aggression hypothesis

Learned helplessness

Answer 13

frustration/goal-blocking does not always cause aggression
–valid excuses and apologies can cause you to not be aggressive towards someone else

– learned helplessness
* when they experience continuous stressful situations where they just accept their goal being blocked

Question 14

revised version of frustration-aggression theory

Answer 14

neo-associationistic account of aggression

Question 15

Neo-associationistic account of aggression

Answer 15

starts with an aversive event (old model would say this leads to aggression)

Mediating process of emotion - aversive event leads to anger

if anger doesn’t go away, leads to aggression (physical and emotional)

Question 16

anger management

Answer 16

based on the middle stage of mediating the process of emotion

– training people to recognize anger
– recognizing elevated arousal when angry

Question 17

situational causes of aggression
* relative deprivation theory

Answer 17

relative deprivation theory
– perception that individuals (or their social group) have less than they deserve is associated with aggression

big gaps between socioeconomic status would cause high amounts of relative deprivation theory

countries with low income inequality have lower amounts of relative deprivation so less aggression and anger

Question 18

income inequality and aggression

Answer 18

as income inequality goes up, so do homicide rates

• when there is a gap between what you expect and what you actually attain, it causes anger and aggression

Question 19

situational causes of aggression (4)

Answer 19

• relative deprivation theory
• heat
• alcohol
• the weapons effect

Question 20

Heat and aggression

Answer 20

heat is an environmental irritant
* hotter = more aggression
— more road rage, more violent crime

why? — makes you uncomfortable, increases arousal
– misattributing being mad about heat to being mad at others

Question 21

Alcohol and aggression

Answer 21

Alcohol increases aggressive behaviour
* reduces anxiety and reduces inhibitions against aggression
* interferes with information processing

– alcohol myopia: reduces self-awareness and enhances de-individuation
* less spotlight feeling which increases aggressive responses

– S2 inhibitor

– heightens negative emotions like sadness and anger
** people perceive a negative event to be way worse when they are intoxicated

Question 22

the weapons effect

Answer 22

the mere presence of weapons acts as a cue that can cause violence

• in an experiment, participants gave way more shocks when there was a weapon around

Question 23

do violent video games cause violence

Answer 23

increased aggression

decreased prosocial behaviour

increased aggressive thoughts

increased aggressive emotions

– playing video games creates schemas that other people don’t have

• evidence that they increase aggression but also that they might not have an effect on aggression that actually matters

Question 24

catharsis

Answer 24

venting emotions

• catharsis should relieve aggression
• but sometimes ends up with being angrier than to begin with