agression Flashcards
what is aggression ?
an INTENTIONAL act that aims to, or actually causes another person harm
is aggression learned or innate ?
a little bit of both
Describe the aggression differences between CHIMPS and BONOBOS ? What does this tell us about human aggression ?
All three of us had a common ancestor at one point. CHIMPS are aggressive in nature, fighting for access to food. BONOBOS are one of the least aggressive animals in nature, preferring to have group sex instead of fight. This tells that while we have the capacity for aggression, we also have the capacity to get along Therefore the occurrence of aggressive behaviour depends on us and our circumstances.
What about the human capacity for aggression ? What does this depend on ? Provide an example.
In humans, there is the capacity for aggression. However, when, how and where it is expressed really depends on our culture and circumstances. For example, aggression in close-knit cultures can be dangerous.
How is the factor of gender related to violence ? Which gender experiences the encouragement of aggression ? Which is more likely to be aggressive ? Is this always the case ? Which gender commits the most extreme violent acts ?
Gender is the number one predictor of violence. That is because male aggression is encouraged to fulfill the ‘male role’. Therefore, men are more likely to engage in spontaneous acts of aggression. However, depending on culture, some women have similar rates of violence. Further, men are more likely to commit acts of extreme violence, and inflict more serious injuries.
How is age a predictor of violence ? Why might we see this ?
Majority of violent crime is committed by teenagers and young adults. Lack of maturity, and hormonal changes of puberty, as well as lack of responsibilities are considered reasons to explain this trend.
What about past risk factors ? (role of upbringing, record, and past behaviour)
Upbringing - abuse predicts violent, non-empathetic behaviour
Criminal record - relates to age of onset. if you have been a thief since 10 years old, the harder it will be to reform, than if you have stolen your first item at 19.
Past behaviour - predictor of future behaviour. After we got away with it once, we will think that we can get away with again. An example of this is expressing rage at a person, once we do this once, it will be easier to do it again.
What about the idea of Catharsis ? What does evidence show ? What actually happens ?
This is the idea that engaging in aggressive acts can ‘let off steam’ and reduce aggression. Evidence shows that it does not relieve anger, or reduce future acts of aggression. Actually, the MORE people express anger, the angrier they become and the MORE aggressive they become.
What is the relationship between retaliation, overkill and escalation when it comes to aggression ? What is the result of this ?
When you feel the need to retaliate against an aggressive act, you will almost always react more SEVERELY than the actual insult warrants - OVERKILL. This act will MAX dissonance, in which you convince yourself to devalue the person you retaliated against, to justify why you did what you did. In real life, this OVERKILL reaction will usually ESCALATE the conflict.
Describe relational violence, and a corresponding study.
Relational violence is SOCIAL form of aggression - like sabotaging a person’s reputation or social relationships. This is more often seen in women.
STUDY - crayon study (3 crayons - one had colour - draw on white sheet of paper)
BOYS - fought for the crayon
GIRLS - spread rumours, made her cry to GET RID OF THEIR COMPETITION.
Describe a study that reviewed the link between perception and aggression towards a person who harms you (intentional vs unintentional ?)
- interact w person before hand
- person is considerate OR thoughtless
- STEP ON PARTICIPANTS FOOT
- considerate: not guilty - thoughtless: GUILTY (more aggression expected towards this person)
describe zimbardo’s electric shock study - why do we see these results ?
- insulted by female confederate
- either wearing cloaks or nametag
- given option to shock
DEINDIVIDUATED - more likely to give a strong shock
we see this because anonymous people tend to act more aggressively - as they have LESS self-awareness, and don’t care as much about what other people think - less pressure to adhere to norms of behaviour
what are some external causes of aggression (alcohol, pain discomfort, heat, rejection/bullying, frustration) describe each in turn ?
alcohol - lowers inhibitions (more likely to commit negative acts, less cognizant of social norms, greater impulsivity) - disrupts processing of social situation (miss subtle cues, overreact to obvious info) - impairs reasoning (impacting how we perceive - interpret situations) - can also have a placebo effect (I always get angry when I drink)
pain - when an animal is pain, and cannot flee the scene, they will attack (THREA) - why we get mad when we stub our toe - lowers the threshold for aggression (as we are more likely to attack)
discomfort - any discomfort also indicates to us that something is wrong, lowers threshold for aggression (can relate to odors, humidity, pollution etc.) - can be discomforted because we are hungry
heat - correlation between heat and violence (batters hit more in the summer) - aggression is the third variable (discomfort of heat lowers our threshold for aggression) GLOBAL WARMING - will we see higher rates of aggression in the future ?
rejection, exclusion, taunting - social pain is physical pain, high school is more likely to have a toxic atmosphere for bullying and taunting - social rejection can lead us to become more aggressive (PAIN????) - see this in school shootings
if a person PERCEIVES themself as a victim in a punishing world - they will be likely to react with hate and violence (perception and interpretation really matters)
frustration - instigates aggression, especially when you are SO CLOSE to achieving a goal, and you perceive the attempt as thwarted, and the RULE OF FAIRNESS has been violated. ex. in line for first access wristbands - person pushes in the line and gets in front of you, and receives the wristband
deprivation - seeing others enjoy the life we wan or feel entitled to - frustrates us can cause aggression
ex. passing first class on the way to economy, where you have a baby crying the entire flight
what about the evidence that shows violent media increases aggression to children ?
- argument that DESENSITIZATION to violence is caused by violent media - however the impact is GREATEST on children already prone to violent behaviour (might not see same results if we controlled for this) - also AGGRESSIVE PEOPLE ARE DRAWN TO WATCH VIOLENCE - more powerful predictors exist that just media (social rejection, abuse)
what is hostile attributional bias ?
the tendency of a person who has experienced violence before (as a child) to interpret ambiguous behaviour of others to be HOSTILE (can lead to more aggression - violent encounters)
