Aggression

Question 1

Define aggression

Answer 1

Intentional infliction of some form of harm (physical or psychological) on others

Question 2

What is the difference between hostile and instrumental aggression?

Answer 2

Hostile: hurting someone for the sake of hurting them
Instrumental: hurt someone for self gain

Question 3

What are the four different theories of aggression?

Answer 3

1) Instinct
2) Drive
3) Aversion
4) Social Learning

Question 4

Instinct theory

Answer 4

Aggression is biologically programmed and therefore is a part of our nature

Question 5

Freud says that everyone has a death instinct to hurt people and the self called “thanatos”.

We adapt to our environment

Correlational evidence with neurological damage before birth/at infancy and people who commit extremely violent crimes.

Answer 5

Instinct theory

Question 6

How can one discredit (partially) instinct theory?

Answer 6

animals fight - but won’t necessarily slaughter their own while humans kill other humans all the time, sometimes for no reason at all.
Humans are also culturally variant with Norway having less than one death per every 100,000 people, USA having 10, and Gebusi having 683.

Question 7

What is drive theory?

Answer 7

Seeing aggression can cause aggression

Question 8

Just the sight of a gun can cause aggressive tendencies, this is an example of what?

Answer 8

Drive theory

Question 9

Aversion theory?

Answer 9

We get exposed to things we don’t like and then get frustrated therefore getting more aggressive.

Question 10

What is Social learning theory?

Answer 10

aggression is learned through the processes of observation, modeling, and direct/vicarious reinforcement.

Question 11

Watching an adult be aggressive, making a child want to copy… or after doing something aggressive and getting away with it being more likely to do it again are examples of what theory?

Answer 11

Social Learning

Question 12

Define the Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

Answer 12

you get aggressive when you are frustrated….

BUT: sometimes it’s for a job, sometimes when you are frustrated you just leave the situation.

Question 13

When someone directly provokes you are you more likely to become aggressive?

Answer 13

yes

Question 14

Exposure to media violence?

Answer 14

ITS A REAL THING

Question 15

What is the excitation transfer model?

Answer 15

once excited, takes a long time to calm down, may transfer arousal to another situation and then be easier to aggress.

Question 16

Sexual arousal

Answer 16

mild: decreases intense: increases

violent porn: increases aggression and tendency to aggress, snuff films, increases beliefs in the myth of rape, desensitized, and when someone abuses their gf/wife they tend to watch violent porn.

Question 17

Alcohol

Answer 17

increases aggression (low level can decrease)
can make you more helpful, causes cognitive myopia (short sightedness) able to focus on one thing.

Question 18

Heat

Answer 18

tends to increase aggression but it’s a linear curve as when it gets too hot you don’t even want to move.

Question 19

Crowding

Answer 19

increases aggression

Question 20

air pollution

Answer 20

air smell like shit, you get madddd

Question 21

Atmosphere electricity

Answer 21

there is a positive correlation between more negative ions in the air and aggression

Question 22

What are 4 personal causes of aggression?

Answer 22

1) Type A personality: dominant, intense, organized and hard working, higher chances of cardiac arrest, while type B are more relaxed and less aggressive.
2) Hostile Attributional Bias: always thinking that someone is being hostile towards you, and it makes you hostile.
3) Shame Proneness
4) Narcissism

Question 23

What are the sex differences in aggression

Answer 23

• men tend to be the victims and the assailants more often
• Testosterone raises aggression
• if you have a fight and you win, your testosterone levels go up

Question 24

direct vs indirect aggression

Answer 24

direct: physical
indirect: gossip, swearing, shunning

Question 25

How can you prevent/control aggression?

Answer 25

1) punishment: for it to be effective, has to come right after the crime is committed, they have to feel as if it is deserved, and it has to be certain that it will happen always.
2) Catharsis: “Blow off steam, get it out of your system” AKA horse shit.
3) Cognitive Interventions: genuine apologies work
4) non-aggressive models: aggressive people tend to be friends with those who aren’t
5) Social skills: teaching
6) Incompatible Responses: best medicine: laughter. you can calm someone down just by making them laugh.