Aggression

Question 1

Affective aggression:

Answer 1

Arousal and Anger

Motive to punish

Question 2

Instrumental aggression:

Answer 2

Arousal not Present

Motive to attain goal

Question 3

Measuring aggression & its Ethical issues…

Answer 3

difficult to induce in laboratory – reduced external validity?

Question 4

Biological Explanations of Aggression

Answer 4

Nature/Nurture debate
Nature: Freudian, Ethological, Evolutionary

Aggression is an innate tendency

Instincts – innate drive/impulse (Riopelle 1987)

Question 5

Instincts – innate drive/impulse

6 components

Answer 5

Goal directed – consequences (e.g. attack)

Beneficial – to the individual and species

Adapted – to a normal environment

Shared – by members of the species

Developed – clearly as individual matures

Unlearned – based on individual experience

Question 6

Freudian Theory of Aggression

Answer 6

Thanatos - Death instinct (destruction)

Eros - Life instinct (includes sexual urge)

Destructive urges need releasing (1930)
‘letting off steam’
can be released safely
e.g. Through sport

Question 7

Ethology:

Answer 7

Study of animal behaviour patterns

Question 8

Aggression (fighting instinct) has…

Answer 8

survival value

Question 9

Selfish gene theory:

Answer 9

Aggression ensures that our genes survive

E.g. animal mothers going to extreme lengths to protect offspring

Question 10

Problems with Instincts

Answer 10

Not measurable
Based on observation only, not evidence
Variable aggression between people

Question 11

Problems with Biological Explanations

Answer 11

Problems with Instincts
Not measurable
Based on observation only, not evidence
Variable aggression between people

Most research is on animals
Variety within animals

Not helpful in reducing aggression

Question 12

(Bio)Social Explanations of Aggression

Answer 12

Biosocial theories
Incorporate elements of biology

Frustration-Aggression hypothesis

Excitation Transfer

(not bio) Social Learning Theor

Question 13

Achieving a goal -

Answer 13

release of energy

Question 14

Failure to achieve goal (frustration) =

Answer 14

energy not released (Dollard et al., 1939)

Question 15

you can be frustrated and not show any aggression…
…you can be aggressive without being frustrated

t or f

Answer 15

true

Question 16

Excitation-transfer model

3 points

Answer 16

1. learned aggressive behaviour
2. some arousal from another source

both lead to…
3. interpretation of arousal state so that aggression seems appropriate.

Question 17

Factors Influencing Aggression

Answer 17

Personality type
Type A behaviour (overactive, competitive, increased heart disease)

Hormones - Testosterone (non-causal small link) (Berman et al.,1993)

Gender: Males > Females
Difference varies cross culturally
Type of aggression?
Status

Temperature
Higher = more aggression

Crowd increase aggression

Catharsis – inanimate objects

Alcohol – Social pressure when drunk?

Disinhibition
Deindividuation

Provocation - reciprocity principle

Media
Higher levels of aggression and greater increase in reported aggressive feelings after violent film than non-violent (Black and Bevan 1992)

Video games?

Online settings?