Aggression Flashcards
Aggression
Any act intended to cause physical or psychological harm to another person who does not want to be harmed.
Hostile Aggression
Aggression that stems from feelings of anger and aimed at causing harm.
Instrumental Aggression
Aggression as a means to get some goal other than causing harm.
Why do we aggress?
Our aggression can be explained by
- The Evolutionary View,
- Culture, and
- Gender.
The Evolutionary View of Aggression
Men are predisposed to physically aggress to
1. Establish dominance over other males and secure the highest possible status, and
2. Ensure their own paternity out of sexual jealousy.
Women may also aggress to protect their offspring.
Testosterone itself can slightly increase aggression, but being in an aggressive, competitive or sexual situation increases the production of testosterone.
We have also evolved strong inhibitory mechanisms that enable us to suppress aggression.
Culture of Aggression
We are born with the capacity for aggressive behaviour, but how, whether, when and where we express it is learnt. Our tendency to aggress may be reduced because
- Civilisation increases human capacity for empathy and reason,
- Collectivistic values encourage us to cooperate more,
- The lack of internal and external threats to survival reduces the need to aggress,
- Culture of honour is less fostered in agricultural communities as opposed to herding communities, and
- Democracies allow governments to enact justice, reducing the burden of revenge from citizens.
Gender of Aggression
There is no significant difference in the percentage of men and women who aggress with their partners, but the type of aggression may differ. Females are more likely to commit relational aggression.
What causes aggression?
The following factors may increase the readiness to aggress:
- Alcohol
- Discomfort
- Frustration
- Cue-arousal Theory
- Social Learning Theory
- Provocation
- Fear of Death.
Alcohol
We may aggress even if we are not provoked and are not typically aggressive due to intoxication because alcohol influences our interpretation of a situation as
- We make an internal attribution of others’ behaviours,
- Our self-awareness is reduced as alcohol facilitates escape from self-focus, resulting in greater contradictions between one’s behaviour and standards as our standards become less salient, and
- We expect alcohol to have effects on us and behave as aggressively.
Discomfort
(Griffitt & Veitch’s 1971 heat room experiment)
Bodily discomfort lowers the threshold for aggressive behaviour.
Frustration-Aggression Theory
(Barker, Dembo, Lewin 1941 study)
Frustration, the perception that we are being prevented from attaining a goal, increases the probability of an aggressive response, which depends on
1. The closeness to the goal or object of desire,
2. How expected the frustration is, and
3. The frustrator’s perceived ability to retaliate.
Frustration produces a readiness to aggress if other factors are conducive.
Cue-Arousal Theory
(Berkowitz & Lepage 1967 gun study)
Exposure to an aggression-related object will cause aggressive behaviour as cues impel us to action.
Social-Cognitive Learning Theory
(Bandura’s 1961 bobo doll study)
We learn social behaviour in large part through observation and imitation of others and by cognitive processes such as plans, expectations and beliefs. Influence can be heightened if the person or institution is more respected (Yale persuasion)
Terror Management Theory
(McGregor et al 1998 hot sauce study)
When our worldview is threatened by an individual, we aggress toward that individual.
Why might exposure to violence increase aggression?
Frequent exposure to violent may impact those who are prone to violent behaviour due to
1. Weakening of learnt inhibitions against violent behaviour,
2. Imitation,
3. Interpreting feelings as anger,
4. Reduced sympathy for victims, and
5. Mistrust worldview.
However, the effects of media pale in comparison to other biological, social, economic and psychological factors as predictors of aggressive behaviour.
