Aggression Flashcards
aggresion: Baron (1977): 3 elements:
- intention to harm a victim (physical, social, emotional, cultural)
- victim must be a living thing
- Victim must be motivated to avoid being harmed
Types of aggression (2)
- hostile aggression= motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain (tends to be impulsive)
- instrumental aggression= motivated by goal achievement, but pain is not intent (tends to be pre-meditated)
“Thanatos” death drive=
desire to destroy/ harm
Why are we aggressive: Lorenz (1966)
aggression is an instinct
why are we aggressive: philosphers
- argue humans inherently evil & selfish
- held in place by social contact: ‘social normatives’ which are reasons for politeness & civilised behaviour
Cost of aggression= (2)
aggression can often be bad for the perpretrator:
>3rd party punishments
>retaliations
Biological issues with lorenz
- flawed understanding of evolution
- evolution works at level of the INDIVIDUAL not the species
Cost of aggression: evidence: Barner-Barry (1986) (5)
- 33 children playing (3.5-6(
- “rob” was aggressive & stole ball
- was yelled at & ostracised
- suffered social rejection as punishment (others wouldnt play with him)
- punishment as rejection hurts (fMRI: rejection=physical pain)
Benefits of aggression: Types» (3)
- Tangible benefits
- Social benefits
- mood benefits
Tangible benefits of aggression: resources
- without benefit of initial aggressive negotiation, women’s salary can lag behind male peers
social benefits of aggression: relationships
- gossip can increase bonding between individuals, while also providing social status (McDonald et al, 2007)
mood benefits of aggression:
“Catharsis theory”: people who believe in value of catharsis & venting anger, respond more aggressively (B,B,P, 2001)
retaliation & “catharsis”> Hokanson (1974) measured (1), when effective (3) + takeaway (1)
measured physiological (heart rate, skin response)
- retaliation returned blood pressure> normal if:
>against wrong doer
>retaliation considered just
>wrong-doer was not intimidating
takeaway= aggression more about seeing justice done, than mechanical energy release
stress & aggression: Veronica & sullivan (2008)
- some participants exposed to “impersonal stressor” (air blasts) & some none
- in either “correcting condition” or “punishment condition” with shocks
- measured heart rate
- results: aggressive condition had slower heart rates after but only if didn’t receive aggressive air blast beforehand
- takeaway: hurting others to calm us not out of retaliation
evidence for biological role in aggression> (2)
- evidence from family studies
- evidence of hormones (fMRI)
Biological basis of aggression: genetic underpinnings: Mono vs dizygotic twins (2)
- criminality has stronger correlation between identical twins than between dizyogtic (Christiansen, 1977)
- genetics account for 80% of variance of aggression rates at 18 months (Dionne et al, 2003)
Biological basis of aggression: genetic underpinnings: Testosterone & aggression (2)
XXY chromosomes found more in violent criminals
- people with XXY have high levels of T at early age, which is linked to aggression (only at early age)
Bisocial model of aggression=
> Aggression is biologically determined personality traits reacting to environmental stimuli
stimuli include: other people, other groups & environment
some reactions we share with animals (crowding, heat); some uniquely human (justice)
What is the bisocial model of aggression used to explain> (2)
- personality disorders & mentall illnesses (“maladaptive”)
- shift from evolution> culture with gender roles & mating preferences
Aggression as a function of culture (2)
- high homocide in us could be product of cultural normative (but equally due to access/economic disparities)
- because we view country as whole unit does not mean “cultural homogency” (all parts=same)
Aggression variation in a culture & normative influence: cohen, N,B,S, (1996) American males from N vs S> (5)
> confederate bumped into participants & called them an asshole
results:
southerners were:
more likely to think masc reputation threatened
more upset (increase in cortisol) & more physiologically
primed for aggression (increased testosterone)
more cognitively primed for aggression
more likely to engage in aggressive & dominant
behaviour
Aggressive behaviour diachronically>
- cultural shifts over time> less aggressive behaviour
- could be due to increase in equality, restricted access to weapons & social norms
Bisocial frustration: frustration-aggression hypothesis
frustration= an aversive state that is triggered when individuals are prevented from achieving their goal
situational contributing factors to frustration-aggression (4)
- closer are to goal, more aggressive become
- repeated frustration
- if you believe aggression will remove barrier
- if you think the barrier is unjustified
Why should frustration lead to aggression?>
frustration is an aversive conditions: like heat, pain, & feelings of overcrowded
>aversive conditions elicit negative affect which prompts aggressive behaviours (berkowitz, 1989)
Social constructivist theory of aggression (averill, 1981)
> an idea that has been created & accepted by the people in a society
emotional states as social constructions (e.g. honor culture & aggression)
Social constructivist theory of aggression (averill, 1981): process of construction> (3)
we learn:
- what the correct emotion is (situational, personal)
- what the correct emotion feels like
- what the correct behavioural response to the emotion is
social learning theory (bandura, 1963)> 2 ways of learning
- instrumental learning (aka operant conditioning)
- modelling (learning vicariously)
Bandura & Bobo doll> (1961) (3)
- adults attacked or ignored doll
- when given opportunity to play with doll, children re-enacted what they witnessed
- implications: is it aggression or play? did they intend harm?
Bandura & bobo doll findings: application elsewhere
- children who witness domestic violence between parents, more likely to assault own partners when grow up
violent video games & hostile expectations> Bushmand & anderson, 2002)
explored HEB>
- hostile expectation bias= tendency to expect others to react to potential conflicts with aggression
-participants played violent or non-violent games, then given stories and asked “what happened next”
- results: suggest playing video games increases bias (priming?)
is there a causal relationship between violent video games & aggression
- mixed evidence
- evidence which suggests link, may be due to aggressive people more attracted to video games
