Aggression Flashcards
tRDefine aggression
According to Baron and Richardson, aggression is any form of behaviour which is motivated to harm or injure a living being who is motivated to avoid such treatment
What are the 3 types of aggression?
Hostile aggression: Harming people is the main aim
Instrumental aggression: Harming someone to reach goal
Social norms: may encourage people to behave more aggressively in order to reach a goal. like America.
Explain why media influences is a factor on why are some people more aggressive than others?
Research has shown that children who watch the most television tend to be the most aggressive, however we do not know if this is due to watching violent films (environment) (OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING),or because you have naturally aggressive children who CHOOSE to watch violent programmes than non-aggressive children ( ACTIVE COVARIATION: OUR GENETIC ABILITIES SEEK SITUATIONS WHICH REINFORCE GENETIC DIFFRENCES)
Give an example which as conducted to reinforce media influence.
4 psychologists got a group of boys to just watch violent films for a week,and another group of boys to watch non-violent films for a week. The results were that physical aggression increased with the group of boys who watched the violent films and not with the other boys. However the ffects maniftesed shortly after some time.
Give the 5 factors which influence the effects of media violence on aggression
1) Violent behaviour is presented as a efficient way to get what you want: for example: a boy beats up another boy so he gives him his homework copybook)
2) The person behaving violently is portrayed as being similar to the viewer : ex the boy behaving violently is a regular school boy.
3) The violent behaviour is shown in a realistic way. (
4) The person becomes emotionally excited when watching violent behaviour. (the person becpmes excited when watching the violent person behaving violently)
5)The suffering of the victims is not shown. (for example the suffering of the boy who got beaten up is not shown).
What happens with violent video games?
There is evidence that gamers tend to be more aggressive.
Why?
Because aggressive video games they are associated with aggressive behaviour which alternate thoughts,emtoions and biological arousal.
The changes are the same for boys and girls in eastern and western cultures.
The most imp one is the changes in thoughts (cognitive factors.
Explain cognitive factors
The knowledge we possess may influence aggressive behaviour.
The weapons effect: seeing a weapon increases your thoughts on aggression.
This was done to show an experiment
they gave male students electric shocks by a confederate student. they were given the opportunity to give an electric shock to the confederate. however near the electric shock machine there was a revolver close by and this influenced aggression by 30 percent whch resulted in the weapons effect.
Explain the social learning theory by Bandura.
This theory believes that learning takes place in a social context.
It believes that children learn how to be aggressive by observing adults and then imitating them.
Explain the Bobo doll experiment
The experiment it consisted of a Bobo doll ( inflated clown) and a group of children were shown a film in which a young woman beaved aggressively towads the Bbobo doll. Afterwards, the children who saw the model behaving aggressively towards the Bobo doll,were more likely to behave aggressively than the other children. However some children who saw the model behaving aggressively towards the doll did not show any form of aggressive behaviour. So while some children did act aggressively others did not.
Explain direct and indirect aggression
Direct: violent behaviour
Indirect: spreading rumours.
Explain rewarded vs punished behaviour
According to the bobo doll experiment ,children were more likely to COPY rewarded behaviour rather than behaviour for which they were punished.
This was conducted in an experiment. Children were rewarded for showing violent behaviour in video games, which led to an increase in violent thoughts and behaviours in the participants.
Explain the biological approach
Rushton et al: they found out that identical twins were more likely to be aggressive rather than fraternal twins.. So genetic factors might determine the level of aggressiveness.
Males are more likely tobe more aggressive than females. There is an association between testosterone and aggression and in 19996 in the U.S 90 percent of murderers were male.
Explain Eagly and steffen’s findings
According to their research they found a small tendency that males were more likely to be aggressive than females. However sex differences were greater with respect to physical aggression rather than verbal or any other form of psychological aggression.
Explain Bettencourt and miler’s findings
So according to this research, males are more likely to behave aggressively than women in neutral or ambiguous situations (such as a physical sport which has physical aggression like boxing). However if both men and women are threatd,frustraed or insulted, the sex diffrences are actually much smaller.
True or false
adolscent girls were actually found to behave more indirectly when it coms to aggression such as gossping spreading rumours or writing unkind notes
true
Why is testosterone so important in aggressive behaviour?
If a male is acting more physically aggressive it could be due to high levels of testosterone,in a biological sense.
This was studied in individuals who underwent sex hormone treatment.
For example transsexuals transitioning from female to male were given more testosterone and as a result they behaved more aggressively.
The transsexuals who transitioned from male to female were deprived of testosterone and as a result the levels of physical aggression decreased.
How does testosterone cause aggression?
Explain the General Aggression model by Anderson and bushman 2002
Testosterone reduces the brain actiity areas which are associated with self-regulation and impulse control.
What study did Anderson and Bushman come up with to explain how aggression can occur(the different steps needed)
General Aggression Model By Anderson and Bushman
Explain the General Aggression Model.
Divided into 4 stages:
Stage 1: Situational cues and individual differences (aggressive personality)
Stage 2: stage 1 will cause things like emotions,arousal (autonomic nervous system fight or flight response),and emotions
Stage 3: stage 2 will cause appraisal processes (interpretation of the situation and appraisal processes)
Stage 4: depending on stage 3,the person decides whether to behave aggressively or non-aggressively.
Why are family processes another factor when it comes to aggression? Explain what Patterson concluded.
Patterson concluded that aggression in the child can lead to a greater aggression in the parent which which can lead to even more aggression in the child. This is called a coercive cycle.
Therefore a coercive cycle is when aggression in a family member can cause an equal or a greater amount of aggression in another family member.
For example: a boy refuses to do what his mother asks him to do - mother yells at the boy-boy yells at the mother-mother hits the boy
What did Patterson et al conclude about parents who grew up in aggressive families and its impact on their own children?
According to Patterson et al, parents who grew up in aggressive families rarely provided their own kids with warmth and affection. Therefore this will cause these kids when they become adults to not show affection to their kids. Therefore the kids of the parents an show aggressive behaviour in order to try and attract attention from their parents
Mention a critique of this factor
Some children and parents might behave aggressively due to genetic factors.
Explain the 6 stages of the frustration aggression hypothesis
According to dollard et al,there are very close links between frustration and aggression.
1) Desire for a goal
2) External factor/s preventing the achievement of the goal
3) frustration
4) drive to aggress
5)aggressive behaviour
6) reduction of the drive to aggress
What did pastore conclude about justified and unjustified frustration?
According to pastore ,it is important to distinguish between justified and unjustified frustration.
According to pastore it is imp to note that its mostly unjustified frustration which causes the most aggressive behaviour.
justified frustration: for example the bus does not stop because of a out of service sign
unjustified frustration: bus does not stop for no apparent reason.
Aggression however is NOT always caused by frustration. Give critiques to support this statement
1) For example soldiers during the war they do not behave aggressively out of frustration but because they are ordered to do so
2) If you have any situational cues in your environment this could lead to aggressive behaviour (weapons effect)
According to Berkwoitz any negative event can cause a negative situation such as anxiety or anger. However wether this leads to aggression it depends on our interpretation of our situation. For example if someone knocks into you aggressive feelings may happen but if you realize that it was somone with a visual impariment then those feelings might change into guilt.
Name 3 ways how aggression can be reduced.
Fostering empathy
Removing rewards
Eliminating coercive cycles
Explain removing rewards
One of the reasons why people behave aggressively is because it can be rewarding. for example a boy beats up another boy so he can get his homework copybook, or else a boy betas up another boy so he can get his turn on the video game
However removing rewards is a way how we can reduce aggressive behaviour. For example using the time out technique, it involves removing the individual from the aggressive situation in which he or she has been aggressive, for example being sent to someone’s room .This has been found to work farly well especially after the non-aggessive behaviour is rewarded. Another technique is the incompatible response technique in which the parent ignores aggressive behaviour but rewarding their helpful bheaviour.
Explain eliminating coercive cycles in the family.
According to Patterson et al, the best way on how we can reduce aggression in children is by eliminating the coercive cycles in the family.
1) Explain the nature of coercive cycles to the family and explain its disadvantages.
2) emphasize to the parents that they should not give in when their child bheaves aggressively.
3) instruct to the parents that they shouldnot behave aggressively when their child shows aggressive behaviour
4) set up a reward system in which the child is rewarded for reasonable bheaviur but they lose points when they show unacceptable or aggressive behaviour
5) display warmth and affection when their child shows desirable behaviour in order to encourage such behaviour.
Explain Fostering empathy
Aggressive children they usually tend to focus on the wrongdoings that another person has done to them,whilst non-aggressive children they tend to fous on the thoughts and feelings of the other person (empathy).
The children who show the most emapathy tend to be the least aggressive
Zahavi and asher tried to increase empathy in boys in order to reduce aggression. The boys were told that aggression often hurts other people ,causes resentment and makes other people unhappy.
This produced a substantial reaction in which there was a reduction in aggressive behaviour and a large increase in acceptable behaviour
Whenever the victim’s suffering is shown, the aggressor’s behaviour can decrease and therefore his or her aggression can decrease.
