Aggression Flashcards
what is thought to shape what is meant by aggression?
societal and cultural norms
intent to harm =
aggression
there are many definitions for aggression but what don’t the definitions include?
the broader aims such as plans of aggression and intentions
what type of definitions in psychology allow aggression to be measured?
operational definitions
what are different ways of studying aggression?
- analogues of behaviour (Bobo dolls, delivering shocks)
- signals of intention
- ratings (self report, report by others)
- indirect (non-physical, relational, psychological aggression)
expression of willingness to use aggression in an experimental setting =
signals of intention
what things do we need to consider when studying aggression?
ethics
how generalisable are results from analogues of behaviour in the lab to real life context?
what are the 3 biological theories of aggression?
- psychodynamic
- ethology
- evolutionary
what are some of the features of the biological approach to aggression?
innate instinct beneficial adaptive shared by most species members goal directed and terminates in a specific consequence
what are the 2 conflicting human drives theorised by Freud?
Eros
thanatos
throughout life thanatos energy builds up and this needs to be released to maintain personal well-being = what model?
hydraulic model
what do net-freudians believe?
that thanatos can be released in a healthy way e.g. displacing energy into competitive sport (boxing)
aggression is functional and elicited by specific environmental stimuli called RELEASERS =
ethology
usually actual violence won’t occur as it is held back due to what things?
appeasement
subordination
what is the problem with humans developing technology such as weapons?
removes the human from the aggressive act > so we aggress more easily as doesn’t require us to see our victims up close
theory of spreading genes to next generation so aggression must be linked to living long enough to procreate =
evolutionary Darwinian theory
give examples of the evolutionary theory of aggression
aggressive mothers when infants are threatened
aggression to protect territory/resources
what are some of the limitations of the biological approach?
- instincts can’t be measured or studied
- approaches only supported by observational studies
- not useful for prevention/intervention work
list the social/biosocial approaches to aggression
- frustration and aggression hypothesis
- excitation transfer model
- social learning theory
- personality/individual differences
- situational variables
Dollard et al consider that aggression is caused by some type of frustration =
frustration and aggression hypothesis
what are the limitations of the frustration and aggression hypothesis?
loose definition of frustration
people can get frustrated over little things that don’t lead to aggressive acts
model too simplistic
can’t predict which frustrating behaviour leads to aggression
Zillman proposes that aggression comes from being aroused and then transferring that arousal into an aggressive response later on =
excitation transfer model
believes aggression is learnt via operant conditioning, aggression provides rewards and is socially acceptable (instrumental aggression) = what theory?
social learning theory
what were the results from Bandura, Ross & Ross who got kids to observe adult attack a Bobo doll when upset?
when the kids were left with the doll, more aggressive acts observed when observing the adult more directly (live and videotape). the cartoon still also had an effect on aggression
what did Huesmann & Guerra (1997) find in children who were aggressive at 8 years old?
more likely to be aggressive later on
what is aggression likely to be affected by?
age
gender
experience
culture
what traits do violent offenders usually have?
low self esteem
easily frustrated
narcissistic people with high ________ and _______ are prone to aggression
self esteem, entitlement
what is common in offenders?
attachment insecurity
overactive, competitive, prone to heart disease, more conflict with peers/colleagues = what type of personality?
type A personality
what type of people are more likely to be aggressive with competitors and abuse children?
people with a type A personality
what did Van Gooen et al find when tracking aggression in transsexuals who were being given either more oestrogen or testosterone?
increased aggression when transitioning from female to male (more testosterone) and decreased aggression when transitioning from male to female (less testosterone) > shows testosterone is involved
can different hormones be linked to different triggering factors causing different kinds of aggression?
yes!
What did Denson et al (2018) find when looking at gender differences of aggression
men tend to be more aggressive than women but women engage in more indirect forms of aggression (spreading rumours etc)
what are some of the different situational variables from the social/biosocial approach?
- catharsis
- alcohol
- disinhibition/deindividualisation/dehumanisation
- heat
- crowding
idea that we can deliberately let out pent up emotions to then feel better for ‘letting off steam’ = what situational variable?
catharsis
what research by Bushman et al didn’t support the idea of catharsis (feel better for letting out angry energy)?
people who hit a punching bag to relieve stress were more likely to later punish someone who transgressed against them (arousal theory?)
what did Anderson et al (2013) find?
songs with violent lyrics had an effect on aggressive feelings and thoughts
why has alcohol been found to make people more aggressive?
compromises cortical control
increases activity in more primitive brain areas (disinhibition hypothesis)
what were the results from Taylor & Sears study when assigning male ppts to alcohol vs. placebo condition?
alcohol group were more susceptible to the pressure of a confederate telling them to give shock to their losing partner on a competitive task
what were the limitations of Taylor & Sears alcohol vs. placebo study?
placebo effect means expectations of alcohol will make more aggressive
priming effect that activates thoughts of alcohol leading to increased aggressive behaviour
alcohols effects on aggression are not all direct (link but other factors involved after having a drink)
what 2 things can cause disinhibition where usual social forces that retrain us from acting anti-socially are reduced?
dehumanisation
deindividualisation
when you feel unidentifiable among others so feel like you can get away with it or won’t face the consequences =
deindividualisation
aggressor can’t easily see pain suffered by the victim =
dehumanisation
is higher or lower temperature associated with increases in aggression?
higher
why is the effect of heat not linear but U shaped?
too much heat is shown that people don’t have the energy for aggression
crowding is recognised in animal species to lead to _______ and population density (household and neighbourhood density) has been linked to ____ _____
fighting
crime rates
who developed the General Aggression Model (GAM)?
Anderson & Bushman (2002)
what is the fundamental idea of GAM?
the interplay between personal and situational variables (inputs) that influence appraisals via internal states.
This leads to actions
what is the route of the GAM?
Input > internal state > appraisal > Action
what are the internal states in the GAM?
affect
cognition
arousal
what are the 2 different types of appraisal that can lead to either aggression or no aggression?
thoughtful or impulsive
what researchers looked at personality traits of male offenders as part of the ‘person’ factors in the input of GAM?
Hoise et al
Bowes & McMurran found evidence that beliefs that strengthen violent thinking _____ with actual violence and were able to show how cognition mediates the link between _____ and _____ in the GAM
correlates, input, action
discuss the link between socially disadvantaged groups and aggression
social disadvantage can lead to aggression due to absence of prosocial norms, these people can also be the targets of violence (need to defend themselves)
who is homicide and non-lethal violence higher in?
young, urban, poor, minority males (due to a mix of social and ecological factors)
discontent and feeling that chance of improving conditions through non violence are unlikely =
relative deprivation
what does relative deprivation lead to?
vandalism assault burglary riots violent protests
why may women become more aggressive compared to male stereotypes in todays society?
gender roles are changing (violent offending in women has increased)
there is a correlation between change in gender roles and what?
increases in drug/alcohol use in women
cooper & smith - homocide rates: compared to females, males were __x more likely to be victims and __x more likely to be be offenders. compared to white people, black people were __x more likely to be victims and __x more likely to be offenders
3, 9,
6, 8
some societies/groups endorse male violence as away to stop men’s reputation being threatened =
culture of honour
what did Vandello et al conclude about culture of honour?
female infidelity damages a mans reputation in honour cultures which can be restored by aggression
what were the results from Eisner & Ghuneim studied adolescents attitudes towards honour killings. what were the results?
those with more patriarchal/collectivist views = more accepting,
those from poorer/less educated families = more approving
strongest approval with males with harsh parent discipline and valued the norm of female chastity
give an example of aggression in minority sub groups
gangs > mafia > reward for violence and punishment for non-compliance
how is it shown that Machismo is valued in traditional latin american families?
more bullying in italian schools than other countries
what are the problems with mass media and aggression?
easy access to sanitised versions
argued to desensitise
children may copy these reinforced acts of aggression
higher aggression score after viewing aggressive vs. non aggressive film
there is a link between _______ _______ and aggression
violent pornography
non violent erotica may lead to aggression via ?
excitation transfer (but also requires frustration to happen)
is there evidence of a direct link between erotica and aggression?
no
what were the results from Zillman & Bryant’s study exposing ppts to violent pornography and then having a confederate irritate them?
became more callous (rough)
viewed rape tolerantly
lenient on prison sentences
how did Seto et al say the link between porn and and aggression might be more complex?
those who are predisposed to sexually offend are the most likely to be affected by exposure to porn
men expressed ___ positive attitudes to the MeToo campaign than women
less
men were higher than women in what factors linked to sexual assault?
hostile sexism
rape myth acceptance
LOWER in feminist identification
women are slightly more likely to use physical aggression against their partners in what type of relationships?
heterosexual (still tend to do less harm than men)
females caring out IPV (intimate partner violence) occurs in what type of societies?
modern
secular
liberal
(likely due to changes in gender roles/norms)
what were the results from Harris and Cooks study on attitudes to IPV?
ppts viewed the most violent to be the husband battering his wife, ppts tended to victim blame the male partner being battered in homosexual relationship
what are some of the causes of IPV?
- learnt patterns of aggression across generations
- proximity of close ones
- stresses
- traditional notions of power
- alcohol consumption
- football
what does war in a society influence on the society?
- more war like sports
- more severe punishment for crime
- higher rates of homicide and assault
how does the role of the state influence institutionalised aggression?
- psychological structures of beliefs and emotions of a population
- propaganda from leaders
- legitimised prejudice > genocide
give an example of a study that shows how the role of a person influences aggression
Milgram (1963) > people deliver deadly shocks due to conforming/obedience to authority > enter an ‘agentic state’ (relevant for wars and crimes)
