Aggression Flashcards
Define Aggression:
As in general aggression aims to cause harm, what factors could also be included in the definition of aggression?
Behaviour resulting in personal injury or destruction of property.
- Type of harm intended (direct threat or social ostracism)
- Motive (harm even if not intended)
- Nature of target (property, people, animals)
How is aggression measured?
ANALOUGES OF BEHAVIOUR (which are substitutes for the real thing…)
-Punching an inflated plastic doll
-Pressing a button supposed to deliver an electric shock to someone else
SIGNALS OF INTENT
-verbal expression of willingness
RATINGS BY SELF AND OTHERS
-teenage boys rate prior aggressive acts
-ratings by teachers
-relational aggression
Theories of aggression:
- Biological / evolutionary:
- Psychodynamic
- Social/biosocial
Biological:
- Aggressive behaviour is part of human nature.
- All programmed at birth with aggressive instinct to survive/protect offspring
Psychodynamic:
- Death instinct vs life instinct
- Aggression instinct can be focused inwards (self- criticism, depression) or outward towards others (prejudice, anger).
Social/biosocial
- emphasize learning, social context, and biology
-theories argue drive (or state of arousal) is a precondition for aggression, although they differ in how internal and external factors interact to promote aggressive reactions
What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
-Frustration, caused by the obstruction of a desired goal, can lead to aggression.
- frustration can be released through catharsis, a process of purging or venting one’s aggression, thereby reducing the likelihood of further aggressive acts.
Drive to goal –> Obstacle –> Frustration –> anger –> aggression –> catharsis
Frustration-aggression model / excitation-transfer model
Expression of aggression (or any other emotion) is a function of:
(a) a learnt aggressive behavior;
(b) arousal or excitation from another source;
(c) the person’s interpretation of the arousal state, such that an aggressive response seems appropriate
EG, student works out, increases heart rate, no more parking spaces, aggression.
What is Albert Bandura’s social learning theory?
What are the determinants of aggression?
- Human social behaviour is not innate but learnt from social models
- Direct experience can be through operant conditioning and rewards and punishment. Indirect experience through is gained through observation or watching what other people do
Aggression determinants:
- previous experience of aggression
- How successful aggression was previously
- Likelihood for current aggression to be rewarded / punished
- cognitive, social & environmental factors
- Tested with bobo doll
What are the internal variables related to aggression?
P.H.A.D.SC
PERSONALITY - type A, insecure
HORMONES - men, testosterone
ALCOHOL - increases aggression
DISINHIBITION, deindividuation and dehumanisation - acting out of character in a crowd
SOCIALISATION - men/fight, women/verbal
CATHARSIS - letting it all out
External variables that increase aggression:
Heat,
Crowding,
HEAT
- as heat rises, so does aggression
- aggression rises to a point, levels out, then declines as heat rises, showing heat saps energy
CROWDING:
- subjective state where one feels their personal space has been encroached.
- City living requires more people to share a limited amount of space, with elevated stress and potentially antisocial consequences. Higher rates of aggression in high density areas
What is relative deprivation?
What is egoistic relative deprivation?
Perceived discrepancy between what someone has and what someone believes they are entitled to (perception of injustice).
Egoist relative deprivation:
Sense of deprivation comes from comparing oneself to other similar individuals
Fraternalistic relative deprivation?
Distribution injustice?
Procedural injustice?
Fraternalistic relative deprivation:
Comparisons with dissimilar others, or members of other groups
Distribution injustice:
feeling you have less than you are entitled to relative to other groups.
Procedural injustice: Feeling you have been victim of unfair procedures
Berkowitz (1972) model of relative deprivation?
1)Relative deprivation –>
2)Frustration –>
3)Aversive environmental conditions amplify frustration –>
4)Individual acts of aggression –>
5)Individual acts of aggression exasperated by aggressive stimuli (police) –>
6)Aggression becomes wide spread and assumes role of dominant response –>
7)Aggression spreads through social facilitation –>
8)Collective violence!!
What is the effect of mass media on violence?
-film and television violence desensitises people to the consequences of violence.
-powerful effect on children, who, according to social learning theory, will readily mimic the behaviour of a model who is reinforced for aggressing, or at least escapes punishment
What is the effect of violent video games on children?
- Tobias Greitmeyer and Dirk Mügge (2014), 37000 participants.
- violent video games increase aggression and aggression- related variables and decreased prosocial outcomes. Prosocial video games have the opposite effects
