Chapter 13: Aggression

Question 1

General aggression model?

Answer 1

A broad approach to understanding the causes of aggression through a focus on situational factors, construal factors, and biological and cultural contributions

Question 2

What is general aggression? examples?

Answer 2

Behavior that is intended to injure someone

Punch, insult

Question 3

What is hostile aggression?

examples?

Answer 3

Aggression resulting from negative emotional states (impulsive)

Road rage, bar fight

Question 4

What is instrumental aggression?

examples?

Answer 4

Aggression that is motivated by goals other than harming the target (planned)

armed robbery, sporting contests

Question 5

How does video games show greater aggression?

Answer 5

(1) increase aggressive behaviour such as giving more intense punishment to confederates in a study
(2) reduce prosocial behaviour
(3) increase aggressive thoughts, such as that the world is a hostile place or that some people are deserving of aggression
(4) increase aggressive emotions, especially anger and apathy
(5)** increase blood pressure and heart rate**, two physiological responses associated with aggression

Question 6

What is a culture of honour?

Answer 6

A culture de ned by its members’ strong concerns about their own and others’ reputations, leading to sensitivity to
insults and a willingness to use violence to avenge any perceived slight

Question 7

What is a rape prone culture?

Answer 7

A culture in which rape tends to be used as an act of war against enemy women, as a ritual act, or as a threat against women to keep them subservient to men

Question 8

relational aggression?

examples

Answer 8

Aggression aimed at damaging another’s reputation or relationships (common in females)

gossip, ridicule

Question 9

What is inclusive fitness?

Answer 9

an individual’s reproductive success, which ensures the transmission of an individual’s genes to future generations

Question 10

What is the precarious manhood hypothesis?

Answer 10

The idea that a man’s gender identity, which significantly involves strength and toughness, may be lost under various conditions and that such a loss can trigger aggressive behaviour

Question 11

What is overdetermination of behaviour?

Answer 11

multiple possible causes, any which of one alone is insufficient to explain a behaviour

Question 12

What is aggression?

Answer 12

any form of behaviour that is intended to injure somebody else physically or psychologically

Question 13

What are the prominent theories of aggression?

Answer 13

1. biological influence
2. evolutionary
3. culture

Question 14

How is aggression linked to genetics in biology?

Answer 14

• A person’s temperament early in life usually endures
• identical twins are more likely to both have criminal records than fraternal twins
• heritability is 40-50%

Question 15

How is aggression linked to hormones in biology?

Answer 15

• testosterone is high in men and women
• testosterone is high amount criminals convicted of biolect crimes
• correlation doesn’t necessarily imply causation

Question 16

What is Freud’s Dual Instinct Theory?

Answer 16

• Eros: life instincts: basic survival, pleasure, reproduction
• Thanatos: death instinct: re-direct self-destructive instinct toward other people

war is inevitable because otherwise, self-destructive

Question 17

Evolutionary theories of aggression emphasizes – rather than –

Answer 17

genetic survival

survival of the individual

stepparents more likely thn biological parents to abuse/kill their child

Question 18

Why do males, by evolutionary theory of aggression, aggress?

Answer 18

• means of attaining or maintaining status (to mate or reproduce)
• establish dominance over other males
• show jealousy when other man shown interest in mate

Question 19

What is young male syndrome?

Answer 19

18-34 year old males are more likely o commit comcine in context of jealousy against another young male

Question 20

Why do women aggress? Type?

Answer 20

• intrasexual competition in women leads to verbal aggression (relational aggression)

Question 21

In most modern societies, status is based on many factors other than aggression/dominance such as

Answer 21

• occupational success
• wealth
• celebrity

Question 22

how does culture relate to aggression?

Answer 22

aggression of culture can vary over time and by circumstance

(Iroquois were peace tribe until Europeans ignited conflict with Hurons)

Question 23

What is the Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis?

Answer 23

Aggression is an automatic response to blocking of goal-directed behaviour
*Frustration always leads to aggression *Frustration is the only cause of aggression

Question 24

Argument against frustration-aggression hypothesis?

Answer 24

many instances where frustration leads to other outcomes (ex. apathy)

acts of aggression aren’t always preceded by frustration (ex. hitman)

Question 25

What is the Revised Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis?

Answer 25

• any unplesant stimulation will lead to hostile aggression, but only when it generates unpleasant feelings’
• frustration, pain, heat, social exclusion

Question 26

How does pain cause aggression?

Answer 26

• animals in pain that can’t flee often attack anything on sight

Question 27

How does heat cause aggression?

Answer 27

• violent crimes, riots, more likely to occur on hot days
• might be simply because more people are outside

Question 28

How does social exclusion cause aggression?

Answer 28

• ostracism: being excluded, rejected, and ignored by others
• associated with -ve psychological effects

Question 29

What were 3 experimental paradigms to test social exclusion and aggression?

Answer 29

1. cyberball: virtual ball-tossing bame where P is excluded by 2 other Ps
2. Life Alone: personality test result reveals P will end up alone
3. Get Acquainted: other Ps did not select P to be in group

Question 30

Reaction to being excluded from cyberball?

Answer 30

• rejected Ps while in fMRI activates same brain area (dACC) as does physical pain

Question 31

What is the Cognitive neoassociation model?

Answer 31

1. unpleasant experience (pain, heat, etc) -> negative feeling
   * angry thoughts + objects/event priming aggression -> fight
   * fearful thoughts and associations -> flight

Question 32

What was the weapons effect experiment for cognitive neoassociation model?

Answer 32

• pickup truck remained stationary at green light and observations of honking were made
• a) control -> just truck
• b) a + gun rack with rifle
• c) a + b + bumber sticker reading vengeance

more motorist honking for c (priming aggression)

Question 33

Social Learning Theory of Aggression?

example

Answer 33

Aggression is learned through observation and instruction of others modelling

Bobo doll expmt

Question 34

Bobo doll study condition?

Answer 34

Toddlers assigned to one of three conditions in which aggressive behaviour toward a blow-up doll was shown
1. Live adult model
2. Filmed adult model
3. cartoon cat model
4. Control condition (adult played nicely with doll)

imitative aggressive behaviour most from 4-1 (live most)

Question 35

Does media violent cause aggression or the other way around?

Answer 35

violent media images -> aggresive behaviour = socialization hypothesis

other way around = selection hypothesis

Question 36

Byproduct of exposure to high levels of violent content through TV + MOVIES:

Answer 36

*“mean world” syndrome: “The world sure is a violent place!”
*Leads to increased feelings of fear / anxiety / overexaggerated risk of threat t obecoming a victim of violence

Question 37

video game players Might have more of an impact than TV violence because players are:

Answer 37

1. actively involved in planning aggressive acts
2. reinforced for successful symbolic violence

Question 38

How does aggression from video games affect helping?

Answer 38

took longer for violent video game players to respond to cry for help

Question 39

Stronger evidence that media violence causes aggression in – than in adolescents or adults

Answer 39

children (12 and under)