Aggression

Question 1

aggresion: Baron (1977): 3 elements:

Answer 1

1. intention to harm a victim (physical, social, emotional, cultural)
2. victim must be a living thing
3. Victim must be motivated to avoid being harmed

Question 2

Types of aggression (2)

Answer 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)

Question 3

“Thanatos” death drive=

Answer 3

desire to destroy/ harm

Question 4

Why are we aggressive: Lorenz (1966)

Answer 4

aggression is an instinct

Question 5

why are we aggressive: philosphers

Answer 5

• argue humans inherently evil & selfish
• held in place by social contact: ‘social normatives’ which are reasons for politeness & civilised behaviour

Question 6

Cost of aggression= (2)

Answer 6

aggression can often be bad for the perpretrator:
>3rd party punishments
>retaliations

Question 7

Biological issues with lorenz

Answer 7

• flawed understanding of evolution
• evolution works at level of the INDIVIDUAL not the species

Question 8

Cost of aggression: evidence: Barner-Barry (1986) (5)

Answer 8

• 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)

Question 9

Benefits of aggression: Types» (3)

Answer 9

• Tangible benefits
• Social benefits
• mood benefits

Question 10

Tangible benefits of aggression: resources

Answer 10

• without benefit of initial aggressive negotiation, women’s salary can lag behind male peers

Question 11

social benefits of aggression: relationships

Answer 11

• gossip can increase bonding between individuals, while also providing social status (McDonald et al, 2007)

Question 12

mood benefits of aggression:

Answer 12

“Catharsis theory”: people who believe in value of catharsis & venting anger, respond more aggressively (B,B,P, 2001)

Question 13

retaliation & “catharsis”> Hokanson (1974) measured (1), when effective (3) + takeaway (1)

Answer 13

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

Question 14

stress & aggression: Veronica & sullivan (2008)

Answer 14

• 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

Question 15

evidence for biological role in aggression> (2)

Answer 15

• evidence from family studies
• evidence of hormones (fMRI)

Question 16

Biological basis of aggression: genetic underpinnings: Mono vs dizygotic twins (2)

Answer 16

• 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)

Question 17

Biological basis of aggression: genetic underpinnings: Testosterone & aggression (2)

Answer 17

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)

Question 18

Bisocial model of aggression=

Answer 18

> 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)

Question 19

What is the bisocial model of aggression used to explain> (2)

Answer 19

• personality disorders & mentall illnesses (“maladaptive”)
• shift from evolution> culture with gender roles & mating preferences

Question 20

Aggression as a function of culture (2)

Answer 20

• 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)

Question 21

Aggression variation in a culture & normative influence: cohen, N,B,S, (1996) American males from N vs S> (5)

Answer 21

> 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

Question 22

Aggressive behaviour diachronically>

Answer 22

• cultural shifts over time> less aggressive behaviour
• could be due to increase in equality, restricted access to weapons & social norms

Question 23

Bisocial frustration: frustration-aggression hypothesis

Answer 23

frustration= an aversive state that is triggered when individuals are prevented from achieving their goal

Question 24

situational contributing factors to frustration-aggression (4)

Answer 24

• closer are to goal, more aggressive become
• repeated frustration
• if you believe aggression will remove barrier
• if you think the barrier is unjustified

Question 25

Why should frustration lead to aggression?>

Answer 25

frustration is an aversive conditions: like heat, pain, & feelings of overcrowded
>aversive conditions elicit negative affect which prompts aggressive behaviours (berkowitz, 1989)

Question 26

Social constructivist theory of aggression (averill, 1981)

Answer 26

> an idea that has been created & accepted by the people in a society
emotional states as social constructions (e.g. honor culture & aggression)

Question 27

Social constructivist theory of aggression (averill, 1981): process of construction> (3)

Answer 27

we learn:
- what the correct emotion is (situational, personal)
- what the correct emotion feels like
- what the correct behavioural response to the emotion is

Question 28

social learning theory (bandura, 1963)> 2 ways of learning

Answer 28

• instrumental learning (aka operant conditioning)
• modelling (learning vicariously)

Question 29

Bandura & Bobo doll> (1961) (3)

Answer 29

• 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?

Question 30

Bandura & bobo doll findings: application elsewhere

Answer 30

• children who witness domestic violence between parents, more likely to assault own partners when grow up

Question 31

violent video games & hostile expectations> Bushmand & anderson, 2002)

Answer 31

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?)

Question 32

is there a causal relationship between violent video games & aggression

Answer 32

• mixed evidence
• evidence which suggests link, may be due to aggressive people more attracted to video games