Chapter 11: Aggression

Question 1

What are the three types of “social”?

Answer 1

prosocial - Altruism, helping behaviour

asocial - Being on your own, not doing anything with anyone

antisocial - Aggression, violence, hurtful, destructive behaviour

Question 2

What is aggression?

Answer 2

Aggression is behavior that is intended to harm another

individual

Question 3

What is violence?

Answer 3

Violence is usually defined as aggression with the goal of extreme harm, including injury or death

Question 4

What is the Armin Meiwes case?

Answer 4

• Software engineer and he has a midlife crisis
• He posted online that he wanted to find a well build men who wanted to be eaten.
• A person named Brendon agreed to this, they met up, they had dinner together, they started eating a little bit of Brandon together and then Brendon took bunch of drugs, got in a bathtub and then was killed. Armin chopped him up and stored him in the freezer and ate him overtime.
• It is cannibalism but it is consensual cannibalism
• Brandon agreed to this and there is a lot of evidence on that so is this aggression?
• Turns out in Germany cannibalism is not illegal

Question 5

What are the emotions underlying aggression?

Answer 5

 Anger and hostility are considered the emotions and attitudes underlying aggression
 but are not necessarily connected, e.g., you can have anger without aggression (which is healthy) and aggression without anger

Question 6

What are the types of aggression?

Answer 6

instrumental and emotional

Question 7

What is instrumental aggression?

Answer 7

Inflicting harm in order to obtain something of value

aka “cold aggression” or proactive aggression, i.e., aggression that is a means to some other e

Question 8

What is emotional aggression?

Answer 8

Inflicting harm for its own sake.

aka “hot aggression” or reactive aggression, i.e., aggression driven by anger and performed as an end in itself

Question 9

Who Commits Violent Crimes and Against Whom?

Answer 9

 In the U.S., teenagers and young adults, aged 14 – 24 years, are more likely to engage in violent crime and also be a victim of violent crime
 Most violence against others within our group/around near u

Question 10

How does gender play a role in aggression?

Answer 10

• Men are more violent than women in virtually every culture and time period that has been studied.
• Males tend to be more overtly, physically aggressive than females.
• Females are somewhat more indirectly or relationally aggressive than males

 Guys > Gals
Men get in fights more, do more crime (Buss, 2011)

Guys = Gals: Physical vs. Relational
We have to examine type, women gossip in aggressive ways (Galen & Underwood, 1977)

Guys > Gals (Card et al., 2008)
Men gossip almost as much as women (if not equal), AND punch people

Straight men > Gay men
Both indirect, but straight men physic

Question 11

How does culture play a role in aggression?

Answer 11

• Some research suggests that individualistic cultures tend to have higher rates of aggression than collectivistic cultures.
• The forms that aggression may take and attitudes about whether various practices should be considered aggression vary across cultures.
• Bullying is a persistent and widespread problem that affects a large number of young people in the world.
• Within a society, different subcultures exhibit different norms concerning aggression.
• Teenagers and young adults, African Americans, and people in the South are the groups most prone to violence in the United States.

Question 12

How do individual differences play a role in aggression?

Answer 12

• There is some stability in aggression: Aggression in childhood predicts aggression in adulthood.
• People who tend to hold hostile cognitions, express anger, and exhibit irritability tend to behave more aggressively.
• Some other personality traits are associated with aggression only after provocation. These include emotional susceptibility, narcissism, Type A personality, and impulsivity.

Question 13

What are the reasons for aggression? (Evo theory)

Answer 13

 Males: Combat is high risk/high reward
 Females prefer high status males for mating
 Aggression as a way of displaying and maintaining status over time
 Man v Man violence: Status
 Man v Women violence: Sexual Jealousy
 (Buss & Duntley, 2014): Based on crime statistics
 We should be less violent toward those sharing our genes
 Parents more likely to abuse foster children than their biological offspring

Question 14

Is aggression innate?

Answer 14

• Evolutionary psychology views aggression as a universal, innate characteristic that has evolved from natural and sexual
selection pressures.
• Evolutionary accounts propose that gender differences in aggression can be traced to competition for status (and the most desirable mates) and sexual jealousy.
• Some research suggests that individual differences in aggression are produced by genetic inheritance.
• The sex hormone testosterone and the neurotransmitter serotonin appear to play roles in human aggression.
• Impairments in several areas of the brain, especially to executive functioning, are associated with aggressiveness.
• Biological factors interact with social factors in producing or regulating aggression.

Question 15

What are social learning theories of aggression?

Answer 15

• Basic idea: We learn to use aggression through personal experience and from role models/society

• Personal Experience
Want something? Try aggression:
- success –> keep doing it
- failure –> adopt other strategies!

Question 16

Is aggression a learned behavior?

Answer 16

 Aggressive behaviour is strongly affected by learning

 Those who are rewarded for their aggression will maintain the behaviour (e.g., bully on the playground)

Question 17

How can aggression be reinforced?

Answer 17

positively and negatively

Question 18

What is positive reinforcement of aggression?

Answer 18

Aggression is reinforced when it produces desired outcomes

Question 19

What is negative reinforcement of aggression?

Answer 19

Aggression is reinforced because it prevents or stops undesirable outcome

Question 20

How to learn aggression from others?

Answer 20

SPANKING

Question 21

What about the role of punishment to decrease aggression (e.g., removal of privileges or spanking)? Punishment may lead to a decrease in aggression, but only when…

Answer 21

1) immediately follows the aggressive behaviour
2) is strong enough to deter the aggressor
3) is consistently applied and perceived as fair and legitimate by the aggressor

Question 22

How is the social learning theory related to aggression?

Answer 22

aggression is a learned behaviour through both rewards and observation (e.g., in the family) especially when the models are rewarded and not punished for their behaviour

Question 23

Aggression can be learned due to 3 factors:

Answer 23

 People learn the specific aggressive behaviours from models
 People develop positive attitudes and beliefs about about aggression, in general
 People construct social “scripts” about how to behave and resolve interpersonal conflict through aggression

Question 24

What are the cultures of honor?

Answer 24

A culture of honor promotes status-protecting aggression among white males in the American South and West as well as among men in other parts of the world, such as in Brazil and Chile.

Question 25

What is the relation between video games and aggression?

Answer 25

• A very controversial topic; TONS of research
• By 18, 200,000 acts of violence on TV
• 97% (!!) of young men play video games, many violent
• Believe that exposure to violence decreases sensitivity to violence….that may make one less resistant to using violence
• Evidence lacking that violent video games translate to actual real world violence and aggression
• Not convinced video games are causing anything that wouldn’t happen already
• Do think should keep studying with pre-registered improved methods that reduce bias

Question 26

What is the relation between pornography and aggression?

Answer 26

• Little evidence for non-violent porn -> violence toward women link
• May be some evidence it changes attitudes regarding women in general (dehumanizing); more objects for sex than people
• (but still not much evidence for violence)
• In general evidence is weak because it is hard to study

Question 27

What is the frustration-aggression theory?

Answer 27

the idea that
1. frustration always elicits the motive to aggress;
and
2. all aggression is caused by frustration

Question 28

What is catharsis?

Answer 28

A reduction of the motive to aggress that is said to result from any imagined, observed, or actual act of aggression

Question 29

What are the situational influences of aggression?

Answer 29

 Pain or any other aversive event – some experimental evidence with animals and students (Berkowitz, 1983, 1989)
 Heat – evidence is correlational
 Intensity of Arousal – referred to as Excitation Transfer
 Crowding – leads to aggression and fear of aggression, e.g., urban vs. rural settings
 Aggression Cues – the presence of a gun versus a badminton racquet (Berkowitz & LePage, 1967)

Question 30

How to reduce aggression? (Situational and sociocultural factors)

Answer 30

 Reduce stressors such as frustration, discomfort, and provocation
 Teach and model nonviolent responses to frustrations and social problems
 Emphasize cooperation over competitiveness
 Change cost-reward payoffs associated with aggression
 Change the rules of hockey

Question 31

What are the biological factors of aggression?

Answer 31

• Genetic influences
• Biochemical influences
• Chromosomal influences
• Neurological influences

Question 32

What are the genetic influences of aggression?

Answer 32

some support from twin studies; aggressive parents beget aggressive children
 Difficult to disentangle effects due to nature vs. nurture; adoptee and twin studies, overall, produce mixed result

Question 33

What are the biochemical influences of aggression?

Answer 33

(a) increased testosterone is associated with more aggression
(b) lower serotonin is associated with heightened aggression
(c) alcohol unleashes aggression by reducing self-awareness, inhibitions, and problem-solving

Question 34

What are the chromosomal influences on aggression?

Answer 34

males have a greater propensity for aggression than females; perhaps men with an extra Y chromosome (XYY) are more aggressive (inconclusive evidence

Question 35

What are the neurological influences on aggression?

Answer 35

exposure to teratogens (e.g., alcohol leading to FASD, drugs) or lack of proper nutrients during critical periods of prenatal development may increase risk of aggression

Question 36

How does the media influence aggression?

Answer 36

 Media and media violence are ubiquitous
 6 in 10 television programs (61%) contain violence; 85% on cable (HBO and Showtime)
 By the end of elementary school, the average child will have watched 8,000 murders and 100,000 other acts of violence

Question 37

Explain the media effects on behavior?

Answer 37

 Media violence increases arousal, leading to an increased risk of aggression
 Media violence disinhibits behaviour, leading to an increased risk of aggression
 Media violence leads to imitation of aggressive behavior
Media violence may desensitize us to aggression leading to habituation (e.g., Just Desserts murder on April 5, 1994)
Media violence may cause heavy viewers to perceive the world as a more violent place than lighter viewe

Question 38

True/False

In virtually every culture, males are more violent than females

Answer 38

True.

In almost all cultures and time periods that have been studied, men commit the large majority of violent
crimes

Question 39

True/False

For virtually any category of aggression, males are more aggressive than females.

Answer 39

False.

Girls tend to be somewhat more indirectly, or relationally, aggressive than boys

Question 40

True/False

Children who are spanked or otherwise physically disciplined (but not abused) for behaving aggressively tend to become less aggressive.

Answer 40

False.

Evidence indicates that the use of even a little physical punishment to discipline children is associated
with increases in subsequent aggressive and antisocial behavior by the children, even years later, although
this relationship may depend on a variety of other factors

Question 41

True/False

Blowing off steam by engaging in safe but aggressive activities (such as sports) makes people less likely to aggress later

Answer 41

False.

Although people may be less likely to aggress immediately after such activities, initial aggression makes
future aggression more—not less—likely

Question 42

True/False

Exposure to TV violence in childhood is related to aggression later in life

Answer 42

True.

Laboratory experiments, field experiments, and correlational research all suggest a link between
exposure to violence on TV and subsequent aggressive behavior.

Question 43

True/False

Men are much more likely than women to aggress against their spouses or partners.

Answer 43

False.

Evidence suggests that women engage in as many or more acts of serious aggression against their
partners as men, but men are much more likely to injure, sexually abuse, or kill their partners.

Question 44

One way that media violence is thought to lead to negative consequences is by

A. offering people a route to catharsis.
B. sensitizing people to violence and aggression.
C. decreasing emotion-related physiological reactivity to real violence.
D. increasing emotion-related physiological reactivity to real violence.

Answer 44

C

Question 45

All of the following components are thought to be especially impactful in making violent pornography harmful, EXCEPT:

A. high arousal
B. aggressive thoughts
C. how easily available it is online
D. negative emotional reactions

Answer 45

C

Question 46

An abundance of research on aggression within intimate relationships has found that

A. women are more likely than men to physically assault their partner
B. men are more likely than women to physically assault their partner
C. men and women are equally likely to kill their partner
D. men and women are equally likely to physically assault their partner

Answer 46

D

Question 47

Hostile attribution bias refers to individuals’ tendency to

A. interpret others’ positive behaviours as negative.
B. perceive other’s intentions as angry.
C. get angry when provoked.
D. blame others for their own mistakes.

Answer 47

B

Question 48

If someone thinks that there is no other way to obtain a goal but through aggression, they are engaging in

A. reactive aggression
B. emotional aggression
C. cathartic aggression
D. proactive aggression

Answer 48

D

Question 49

According to psychologist Steven Pinker, the reduction in violence over the last few thousand years is due to all of the following, EXCEPT:

A. changes in gender roles
B. better moral reasoning
C. changes in norms about aggression
D. better education

Answer 49

A

Question 50

According to social learning theory, aggressive behaviour is

A. the result of social rejection.
B. acted out because it was modeled.
C. enacted because it is believed to be honourable.
D adaptive because it can help females defend their offspring against threats.

Answer 50

B

Question 51

Which of the following statements about aggression and biological factors is true?

A. There is a strong link between testosterone and aggression
B. Abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex are linked with higher levels of aggression
C. High levels of serotonin are linked to higher levels of aggression
D. Impairments in cortisol production are linked with higher levels of aggression

Answer 51

B

Question 52

In situations in which individuals do not feel provoked (so it’s a non-threatening situation), which trait is a strong predictor of aggression?

A. Low in Conscientiousness
B. Impulsivity
C. Low in agreeableness
D. Type A personality

Answer 52

C

Question 53

Empirical evidence shows that one way that alcohol can lead to aggression is by

A. narrowing people’s attention on more salient environmental information.
B. lowering people’s cortisol levels.
C. lowering blood sugar levels.
D. focusing people’s attention towards aggressive cues in the environment.

Answer 53

A

Question 54

What is displacement in aggression?

Answer 54

Aggressing against a substitute target because aggressive acts against the source of the frustration are inhibited by fear or lack of access

Question 55

What is weapons effect?

Answer 55

The tendency that the likelihood of aggression will increase by the mere presence of weapons

Question 56

What is hostile attribution bias?

Answer 56

The tendency to perceive hostile intent in others

Question 57

What is cultivation in aggression?

Answer 57

The process by which the mass media (particularly television) construct a version of social reality for the
public.

Question 58

What is the cycle of violence?

Answer 58

the transmission of domestic violence across generations.