Ch 12. and 13 - Aggression & Prejudice

Question 1

Define Aggression

Answer 1

AGGRESSION: Intentional behavior to cause pain to people and animals

Question 2

Describe the difference between Instrumental and Hostile Aggression.

Answer 2

Instrumental – intention to hurt someone, but not necessarily physical pain
Cyber bullying; starting rumors

Hostile – feelings of anger; specifically physical response to hurt someone

Question 3

What are the gender differences when it comes to Aggression?

Answer 3

1. Men – Genetic? Maybe because they’re pre-programmed to pass on genes:
2. To establish dominance over other males
3. To ensure their mates don’t copulate with others
   Literature shows that they’re most violent during peak reproductive years; they’re also the most physically fit during that time, testosterone is higher.
4. Women – gender differences are smaller when people are provoked.

Girls engage in more relational and instrumental aggression (gossip)

Question 4

What evidence is there that aggression is innate or learned?

(rats, primates, kittens, humans)

Additionally, what do scientists propose?

Answer 4

1. Rats raised in isolation show the same aggression with others that learn aggression
2. Primates – both aggressive and non-aggressive tendencies
   Chimps are aggressive
   Bonobos are non-aggressive
3. Kitten raised with rat won’t attack it
   Early experiences affect aggression

> > Scientists believe Aggression is an OPTIONAL strategy.

• We learn inhibition; social situation and environment affects our aggression levels
• Innate aggression is important for survival

Question 5

When do children learn to solve problems aggressively?

Give example from sports

Answer 5

When it’s viewed as rewarding, or socially sanctioned.

> Sports: the more aggressive players, the higher their salaries
Hockey players are rewarded (with fame and rich)

Question 6

How does video games prime children?

Answer 6

> It Primes concept of violence; seeing violence shows that it’s an option during a situation

> Increases Physiological Arousal

> Primes scripts that violent behavior is appropriate

Question 7

Describe in detail the physiological influences of aggression:

alcohol, pain, discomfort

Answer 7

1. Alcohol
   Can happen even when someone isn’t provoked
   Someone who isn’t really aggressive sober, might be aggressive when drunk

Alcohol might affect our information processing – so they only respond to the initial and obvious moment

Ex) someone steps on your foot at a club
>you only notice the stepped on your foot… you don’t think about why they might have done that (accident)

2. Pain
   When someone’s in pain, more likely to respond aggressively
   Immersing someone in ice water = more aggression
3. Discomfort
   Temperature changes

Question 8

Define frustration

Answer 8

Frustration is when we’re thwarted from our goal

Question 9

What is goal proximity of frustration?

Answer 9

The closer we are to a goal, the more frustrated we are - so that slow ass person I’m behind before I exit the freeway

Question 10

What’s unexpectedness of frustration?

Answer 10

Finding traffic at 11:30 when I didn’t expect it will piss me off more than if I knew there would be traffic during rush hour

Question 11

What’s the most frequently occurring rape?

Answer 11

84% of all rapes or attempted rapes are acquaintance rape

Question 12

1. ___________ aggression stems from feelings of anger and is aimed at inflicting pain, whereas _________ aggression serves as a means to some goal other than pain.

a. hostile, instrumental
b. direct, passive
c. instrumental, hostile
d. passive, direct

Answer 12

a. hostile, instrumental

Question 13

2. Which of the following stated gender differences in aggression is false?

a. Young boys tend to be more physically aggressive than young girls.
b. Girls tend to express their aggressive feelings more covertly, such as by gossiping.
c. Gender differences in physical aggression shrink when men and women are subjected to frustration or insults.
d. Because violence is so rare in women, female suicide bombers are much crazier than males who carry out these attacks.

Answer 13

d. Because violence is so rare in women, female suicide bombers are much crazier than males who carry out these attacks.

Question 14

3. From a social-psychological perspective, which of the following is not a limitation of evolutionary theories of aggression?

a. They fail to account for female aggression.
b. They fail to account for different rates of aggression across cultures.
c. They fail to account for men’s sexual jealousy.
d. They fail to account for differences between bonobos and chimpanzees.

Answer 14

c. They fail to account for men’s sexual jealousy.

Question 15

4. Which of the following men is most likely to act aggressively toward someone who insults him?

a. Ray, who grew up in Minnesota.
b. Randy, who grew up in Louisiana.
c. Richard, who grew up in Massachusetts.
d. Ricky, who grew up in Maine.

Answer 15

b. Randy, who grew up in Louisiana.

Question 16

5. Under which of the following conditions is John least likely to be aggressive?

a. His boss tells him he isn’t going to get a raise he was promised.
b. He likes to look at nonviolent pornography.
c. He is driving to work in traffic, and another driver deliberately cuts in front of him.
d. He has consumed enough alcohol to make him legally drunk, and a stranger bumps into him in a crowded restaurant.

Answer 16

b. He likes to look at nonviolent pornography.

Question 17

6. Which of the following statements does not reflect the research on media violence and young children’s behavior?

a. Television advertising works better when it is shown during violent shows than nonviolent shows.
b. Watching violent shows increases aggressive thoughts and actions.
c. Playing violent video games may have a greater impact on children than watching TV violence does.
d. Viewing television violence can numb people’s response to violence in real life.

Answer 17

a. Television advertising works better when it is shown during violent shows than nonviolent shows.

Question 18

7. Jim has been convicted of assault and offers many reasons for his behavior. Which of the following of Jim’s arguments would a social psychologist find the least convincing (based upon research on aggression)?

a. “There was a gun in the room when it happened.”
b. “I used to watch my older brother beat up neighborhood kids.”
c. “I had just been fired from a job I really wanted.”
d. “I grew up in a very cold climate, in Minnesota.”
e. “I was justified—the other guy started it.”

Answer 18

d. “I grew up in a very cold climate, in Minnesota.”

Question 19

8. Tiffany is angry at Whitney for forgetting her birthday. To defuse her anger, Tiffany should

a. think about other times Whit annoyed her and then confront Whit with all the evidence of what a bad friend she is.
b. write about her feelings privately for 20 minutes a day for a few days, to get some perspective.
c. write about her feelings about Whit on her Facebook page.
d. get back at Whit by complaining about her to all their mutual friends.

Answer 19

b. write about her feelings privately for 20 minutes a day for a few days, to get some perspective.

Question 20

9. Tiffany finally decides she is ready to confront Whitney directly. How should she express her anger (assuming she wants to keep the friendship)?

a. She should “let it all out” so that she will feel better and Whit will know exactly how she feels.
b. She should invite Whitney to play a game of tennis and then really try to clobber her.
c. She should explain why she feels upset and hurt, as calmly as she can, without blame and accusation.
d. She should explain why she feels upset and hurt, but let Whit know that she blames her for her thoughtless behavior.

Answer 20

c. She should explain why she feels upset and hurt, as calmly as she can, without blame and accusation.

Question 21

10. Suppose you want to reduce the chances that your children will act in aggressive ways toward other people. Which of the following is least likely to work?

a. Be a good role model; do not yell, hit, or act in other aggressive ways.
b. Limit the time you let your children play violent video games.
c. Teach them how to feel empathy toward other
people.
d. Encourage them to play sports where they can vent their frustrations on the playing field.

Answer 21

d. Encourage them to play sports where they can vent their frustrations on the playing field.

Question 22

For animals, how is aggression determined?

Answer 22

Aggression is determined by the animal’s previous social experiences as well as by the specific social context in which the animal finds itself.

Question 23

Who is more likely to be aggressive: A southerner or northerner rural male?

Why?

Answer 23

Southerner - because they’re animal herders and they have a larger risk of theft vs. Northerners who have to work together for their agriculture.

Question 24

Where are we more likely to find homicide:

Farming regions or Dry plains and hills?

Why?

Answer 24

More than twice as high in the hills and dry plains areas (where herding occurs) as in farming regions.

The emphasis on aggressiveness and vigilance in herding is the culture of honor.

Question 25

When do gender differences for aggression become equal?

Answer 25

When provoked, either sex will be equally aggressive

Question 26

What reason do female suicide bombers give for their attempts?

Answer 26

Loyalty to their country or religion, anger at being occupied by a foreign military, and revenge for loved ones killed by the enemy (O’Rourke, 2008).

Question 27

What percentage of assault is committed by a family member?

How many of them were women?

How many men killed a family member?

Answer 27

49% were crimes against spouses
84% were women.
8 in 10 murderers who killed a family member were male.

Question 28

What are the 4 reasons why I would be most frustrated?

Answer 28

1. Closeness to my goal
2. Unexpected event thwarting me from my goal
3. Size of my opponent
4. If something is unintentional

Question 29

T or F: Frustration can lead to aggression

Answer 29

False - it can lead to READINESS to aggress

Question 30

Which phrase seems to be more correct and why?

“Guns don’t kill; people do.”

“The finger pulls the trigger, but the trigger may
also be pulling the finger.”

Answer 30

“The finger pulls the trigger, but the trigger may
also be pulling the finger.”

Research showed that those in the presence of guns had higher testosterone levels and were more aggressive in administrating shocks

Question 31

What do most experimental evidence demonstrate about watching violence?

Answer 31

Most of the experimental evidence demonstrates that watching violence does increase the frequency of aggressive behavior, angry emotions, and hostile thoughts; especially video games.

Question 32

Exposure to media violence has these effects for three reasons:

Answer 32

Exposure to media violence has these effects for three reasons:

1) It increases physiological AROUSAL and excitement;
2) it TRIGGERS an automatic tendency to imitate the hostile or violent characters;
3) and it PRIMES existing aggressive ideas and expectations

Question 33

What does video games encourage?

Answer 33

Dehumanization

Question 34

What are the effects of males who watch violent porn?

Answer 34

The effects of watching violent pornography are strongest on men who already have high levels of hostility toward
women and are predisposed to commit violence against them

Question 35

T or F: People who watch violent tv shows are better at remembering sponsored and advertised brands better than those who watch neutral shows.

Answer 35

False, those who watched neutral shows better remembered the advertisements.

Question 36

What percentage of rapes/attempted rapes are acquaintances?

Answer 36

84%

Question 37

How many percentage accounts for date rape?

Answer 37

50%

Question 38

What is sexual scripts?

Answer 38

In America for young heterosexuals is that the female’s role is to resist the male’s sexual advances and the male’s role is to be persistent.

Question 39

How does frustration interrupt cognition?

Answer 39

1

Question 40

What works better to punish a violent child, harsh or mild punishment? And why?

Answer 40

Mild - they’re intrinsically motivated to self-justify their restraint and see violence less appealing

Question 41

How can punishment work on violent adult criminals? Is it even possible for them to curb their violence?

Answer 41

Punishment must be both prompt and certain. It must follow quickly after the violence occurred, and it must be unavoidable. In the real world, these ideal conditions are almost never met - Given these realities, severe punishment is not likely to deter violent crime.

Question 42

What can we do to deal with anger?

Answer 42

1. Count down
2. Tell the person we’re angry with how we feel
3. Write in a journal

Question 43

According to realistic conflict theory, prejudice and discrimination are likely to increase when

a. a country has a history of institutionalized racism.
b. the person who holds the stereotypes is frustrated.
c. people know that their close friends are prejudiced.
d. there is competition over jobs in a country.
e. prejudice is explicit rather than implicit.

Answer 43

d. there is competition over jobs in a country.

Question 44

Rebecca is covering her college’s football game against its archrival for the school newspaper. At the game, she interviews several students from her college but decides she only needs to interview one or two students from the rival school to understand the general opinion of students at that school. Rebecca is demonstrating

a. in-group bias.
b. a perception of out-group homogeneity.
c. the ultimate attribution error.
d. blaming the victim.

Answer 44

b. a perception of out-group homogeneity.

Question 45

Because the law has made most forms of direct prejudice and discrimination in the United States illegal, the expression of prejudice

a. has declined markedly.
b. is more likely to be revealed in microaggressions.
c. has not changed.
d. has less of an impact on minority group members.

Answer 45

c. has not changed.

Question 46

Suppose you’re a bartender and observe occasional fights at your establishment. Although you don’t know very many people with visible tattoos, it seems to you that people with tattoos are more likely to get into fights than people without tattoos. But you are wrong; people with visible tattoos have not been more likely to get into fights. Based on the research discussed in this chapter, your faulty memory is most likely due to

a. illusory correlation.
b. the subliminal priming of stereotypic information.
c. automatic activation of your stereotype.
d. realistic conflict theory.

Answer 46

a. illusory correlation.

Question 47

According to social psychological research, racism in America today

a. has almost completely disappeared.
b. results in low self-esteem for both the racists and those against whom they discriminate.
c. has decreased more at the controlled level than at the automatic level.
d. has remained the same at the controlled level.

Answer 47

c. has decreased more at the controlled level than at the automatic level.

Question 48

At a party, Sam makes negative comments about gays and lesbians. According to research in social psychology, which of the following is least likely to explain Sam’s behavior?

a. Sam recently found out he had done poorly on an important test and was experiencing low self-esteem.
b. Sam’s friends often make similar comments and he conformed for normative reasons.
c. When Sam was growing up, his parents often made negative comments about gays and lesbians.
d. Sam had high self-esteem and felt very secure about his own sexuality.
e. Sam recently applied for a job, but he learned that an openly gay man got the job instead of him.

Answer 48

d. Sam had high self-esteem and felt very secure about his own sexuality.

Question 49

Melissa, a high school senior, doesn’t get into the college she wants to attend. She blames this on affirmative action and starts to act aggressively toward the minority students at her school. Melissa’s aggression can best be explained by

a. out-group homogeneity.
b. the ultimate attribution error.
c. scapegoating.
d. the illusory correlation phenomenon.

Answer 49

c. scapegoating.

Question 50

Which of the following is least true about race and stereotyping, from a social psychological perspective?

a. Evolutionary theory holds that different human races have different genetic makeups that cause them to adopt different social behaviors.
b. People often look for information that will allow them to convince themselves that there is a valid justification for holding a negative attitude toward a particular group.
c. Stereotype threat has been found to lower the performance of African Americans and women.
d. Categorizing people is a convenient way of learning about and remembering things about them.

Answer 50

a. Evolutionary theory holds that different human races have different genetic makeups that cause them to adopt different social behaviors.

Question 51

According to social psychological research, which of the following is least likely to prevent Sam from making similar negative comments about gays and lesbians in the future?

a. A woman Sam likes tells him that she disapproves of his negative comments.
b. Sam finds out that a member of a rival fraternity is gay.
c. Bob, a close friend of Sam’s and a member of his fraternity, tells Sam that he (Bob) is gay.
d. Sam is assigned a lab partner in a biology class who is openly gay. In order to get a good grade in the class, Sam must cooperate with his partner.

Answer 51

b. Sam finds out that a member of a rival fraternity is gay.

Question 52

Increasing contact between groups will reduce prejudice if all of the following conditions are met except one. Which

one?

a. Mutual interdependence
b. Higher status of the minority group
c. Multiple contacts
d. Informal, interpersonal contact
e. Social norms of equality

Answer 52

b. Higher status of the minority group

Question 53

Define Prejudice

Answer 53

In this context, a prejudice is a hostile or negative attitude toward people in a distinguishable group, based solely on their membership in that group.

Question 54

What is illusory correlation?

Answer 54

It’s when we expect two things to be related, we fool ourselves into believing that they are, even when they are completely unrelated

Question 55

When is illusory correlation most likely to happen?

Answer 55

To people who don’t look run of the mill and are more unique in appearance (i.e., tattooed people)

Question 56

What does research show when it comes to gender differences in Empathy?

Answer 56

The sexes do not differ in having feelings of empathy or in its expression

Question 57

What’s the difference between hostile sexism and benevolent sexism?

Answer 57

Hostile = women are less than men

Benevolent = women are more nurturing, kinder; etc

Question 58

Why is deep seeded prejudice so hard to change?

Answer 58

Because of the emotional/affective component

Question 59

What is the following an example of:

A white professor compliments an Asian American graduate student on his “excellent English,” although the student has lived in the United States his whole life.

Answer 59

Microaggression - the slight put-downs

Question 60

When do individuals have higher self-esteem when it comes to in-gorup bias?

Answer 60

Self-esteem will be enhanced only if the individual sees his or her group as superior to other groups.

Question 61

What is the Ultimate Fundamental Error?

Answer 61

Our tendency to make dispositional attributions about an individual’s negative behavior and then generalize to their entire ethnic, religious, or racial group or gender

Question 62

T or F: Once hostility and distrust is established, removing conflict and competition can immediately restore harmony.

Answer 62

False, In fact, bringing the two groups (Eagles and Rattlers) together in neutral situations actually increased their hostility and distrust.

Question 63

What are the 6 conditions to reduce Prejudice?

Answer 63

1. Mutual interdependence
2. Common Goal
3. Equal Status
4. Friendly, Informal Setting
5. Multiple out-group members should behave the same positive and friendly way
6. Social Norm promoting Equality

Question 64

What is the best way to measure implicit prejudice?

Answer 64

When someone is actually stressed, angry and suffering from low-self esteem. This is when their real colors show.