Chapter 5

Question 1

Relationship of violence and aggression

• violence is?
• ex of relationship

Answer 1

• Violence and aggression go hand in hand but not all agression is violent in physical sense; all violent behavior is aggressive
  − destructive physical aggression intentionally directed at harming others; may be methodical or random, sustained or fleeting, intesive or uncontrolled; it always harms the vic or is intented to do so.
  − Ex: spreading malicious info about someone or stalking are aggressive, one is criminal but neither is violent

Question 2

Aggression in 8 year olds

Answer 2

is largely unchanged well into adulthood for many children regardless of gender

Question 3

Biological viewpoint of aggression

• belief
• conclusion
• animals

Answer 3

• Some believe aggressive behavior is biological and genetic in orgin. Supported by evidence of aggressive behaivor in animal kingdom from which it originated
• If aggression and violence is a built in genetically programmed aspect we may be forced toward a pessimistic conclusion- we can only hope to hold our natural aggressive urges and drives in check. We should design society in ways to discourage violence such as adminstering immed. Aversive consequences
• Animal aggression reflects the bio programming carried in genes to ensure survival of species

Question 4

Social learning viewpoint of aggression

• belief
• conclusion

Answer 4

believe that while some animal species may be genetically programed to be aggressive, human beings learn from the social enviroment
- If we believe aggression is learned and influence by range of situational, social, enviro variables we can be more optimistic bc aggression is not an inevitable aspect of human life. Once we understand what major factors play roles in acquistion and maintaence we will be able to change behavior by manipulating them.

Question 5

Difference in kind perspective

Answer 5

suggests that genetic predispositions or bio precursors of aggression have minimal influence on human behavior if any at all

Question 6

Aggression

• social defintion
• passive aggression
• 2 types (distinguished by) (law)

Answer 6

−Social psychologists define it as the intent and attempt to harm another physically, socially, or to destroy an object
− is a special category of aggressive responses with aggressive intent but behavior is indirect (gen irrelvant when discussing crime bc concerned about behavior that manifests directly in violent or antisocial behavior)
1. hostile (expressive)
2. Instrumental aggression
- Both distinguished by their goals or rewards
- Altho psychologists make distinction between the two, the law doesn’t. However, certain factors assoc with hostile aggression (if crime is heinous fashion) can affect criminal sentence

Question 7

Buss's classification
- based on 
- Active (physical & verbal) (direct non direct)
- Passive (physical & verbal)
(direct and non direct)

Answer 7

• based on apparent motivations
  1. Active:
  a. Physical- direct (hitting) indirect (practical joke)
  b. Verbal- direct (insulting) indirect (gossip)
  2. Passive:
  a. Physical- direct (obstructing passage) indirect (refusing to do task)
  b. Verbal- direct (refusing to speak) indirect (refusing consent)

Question 8

Hostile (expressive) aggression

• is
• behavior is
• occurs
• goal
• most include

Answer 8

aggression is when a person’s primary aim is to hurt or do injury to another. Behavior is intense and disorganzing emotion of anger. Occurs in response to anger-inducing conditions such as percevied insults, physical attacks, one’s own failures. Goal is to make victim suffer. (most homicides, rapes, violent crimes precipated by hostile aggression)

Question 9

Instrumental aggression

• common crimes
• usual feature in?

Answer 9

Aggression is carried out for the primary purpose of gaining material goods or other rewards rather than for the purpose of harming the victim. Begins with competition or desire for object/status of another.

• Usually factor in robbery, burlary, larceny, white collar crimes. Usually no intent to harm although it may result in it (but intent was still insturmental)
• Instrumental aggression usually featrue of calculated murder by hired impersonal killer

Question 10

Hostile-insturmental dichotomy

- criticism

Answer 10

• Some scholars find faut with strict hostile-instrumental dichotomy. Bushman and Anderson point out that it fails to take into account that many aggressive acts multiple motives. They can be better understood on continumm that goes from controlled aggression to automatic (impulsive) aggression

Question 11

Bandura- definition of aggression/suggestion

- text definition of aggression

Answer 11

−noted most defs of aggression imply that it revolves around the behaviors and intention residing within perpetrator. He suggests that an adequate def must consider both the injurous behavior of the perp and the social judgment of the victim
−as behavior perpetrated or attemtped with the intention of harming another physically or psychologically (as opposed to socially) or to destroy object

Question 12

Perspective on aggression:

- nature vs. nurture

Answer 12

− According to first perspective, humans are programmed aggressive to defend themselves
− The second states humans become violenct by acquiring aggressive modles and actions from society

Question 13

Psychoanalytic view

• human nature
• freud (humans)
• model
• tirades
• freud (all violence)
• children
• view on controlling crime

Answer 13

−assume that humans by nature always prone to aggressive impulses and likely to commit violent acts if impulses not managed
− Freud stated that humans susceptible from birth to buildup of aggressive energy which must be dissipated or drained off before reacing dangerous levels (hydraulic model)
− Psychodynamic or hydraulic model is view that if excessive pressure accumaltes in the human psyche an explosion likely to occur as seen in tirades that involve violenve
− According to Freudian perspective those who have tirades ar blowing off excess steam or aggressive energy
−violence in all forms is the aggressive energy discharge. Internal energy accums to dangerous levels when ppl have not discharged it through catharsis. Catharsis accomplished by behaviors or may occur vicariously
− Freudian position predicts that children who partake in or watch sports will be less aggressive
−human must be provided with muliple channels for catharsis (rec centers) and ppl must learn to dissipate aggression in socially approved ways. Psychotherapy is one way.

Question 14

Ethological view

• ethology
• theorist (aggression is?)
• territoriality
• aggression amongst species
• ritualized aggression

Answer 14

−study of animal behavior and compares that behavior to human behavior.
− Theologist Lorenz believed aggression is an inherited instict of both humans and animals and its main purpose is the enable the animal/human to defend territory with food, water, room to reproduce. If terrirtory is violated, the genetic programmed response is to attack
−Territoriality is the tendency to attack space violators; it is an innate propensity developed thru lengthy complex process of evolution
− This aggressive behavior among the same species (intraspecific aggression) prevents overcrowding and ensures the best mates for the young
- is intricate communication system in the animal kingdom; a way of intraspecies aggression by complicated displays of force and suporeriority like showing teeth.

Question 15

Difference in degree

• is?
• Lorenz: humans in evolution

Answer 15

is the ethologist’s main belief; a Darwinian perspective that humans are intimately tied to their animal ancestry in important and significant ways and differ only in the extent to which they have developed through the evolutionary process.
− Lorenz’s said humans have outdistanced the evolutionary process of inhibiting aggression. Instead of natural weapons and species preserving function of ritualized aggression, humans developed technological weaponry. The reason humans kill others is because they have not developed function of species preserving ritualized aggression

Question 16

Ethology view

• criticism
• today’s evidence
• ethology’s new field
• see aggression as?

Answer 16

−has not been supported by research. One reason is bc it relies on strong analogy between animals and humans. Research has yet to find any instinctive genetically programmed behavior determinant in humans. The capacity to exercise control over ones own thought processes, motivation is dinstinctvly a human charactersitc.
−To date there is little evidence that humans are innately dangerous and brutal by instinct
− Evolutionary psychology is what ethology has evolved into; it’s the study of behavior using principles of natural selection. Argues that evolutionary history provides framework for understanding cognition and behavior.
− Evo psychologists don’t see aggression as pathology but something normal

Question 17

Frustration-aggression hypothesis

• theorist (aggression is)
• criticism
• revision
• aggression may be (2)
• anger

Answer 17

According to Dollard those who are frustrated, annoyed, threatened, will be aggressive since aggression is a natural almost automatic response to frustrating circumstances. “Aggression is always a consequence of frustration”
- Hypothesis was simple so drew much research as well as criticism. Difficult to determine what frustration was and how it could be measured
Researchers found aggression more complex and frustration doesn’t always lead to aggression some respond diff
−Leo Berkowitz revised this theory by stating frustration increases probability that person becomes angry and acts aggressively; frustation facilitates aggression.
- Aggression may be overt (physical/verbal) or implicit (wishing someones dead).
- Anger is not the only emotion that leads to aggression; Aversive conditions like pain, or pleasant like sexual arousal may also lead to it.

Question 18

Revision of hypothesis

• imp part of revision
• deprivation
• responses to frustration (reps)
• revised hypo steps (3)
• aggressive behavior depends on (3)

Answer 18

− is concept of anticpated goals or expectations. When a behavior directed at a specific goal is interrupted, frustration likeley to result. Thus the person may have been expecting attainment of goal.
− Deprivation of goods will not necessarily lead to frustration. Ppl in deprived conditions may not be frustrated unless they actually expect something better.
− Aggression is not only response to frustration; ppl learn others such as withdrawl, trying to alter situation by getting out of it, or comprismising. Represents learning and individ diffs in responses to frustration.
1. Person blocked from obtaining expected goal
2. Frustration results generating anger
3. Anger predisoposes person to act aggressviely
− depends on learning history, interp of event, individ way of responding. Also on presecence of aggression eleciting stimuli

Question 19

Berkowitz emphasized 2 imp components of hypo

• aggression generated when (2)
• more likely to act aggressive when?
• frustration generates a?

Answer 19

aggressive behavior will be generated
1. To the extent that a person percieves the mistreatment as intentional
2. To the degree that the frustration experienced was aversive
−if they believe the blocking of the goal was intentional rather than if unintentional. Therefore, self-restraint comes into play when ppl think they have been delibertaely mistreated
−frustrations gen a neg affect which refers to emotional state ppl seek to lessen or eliminate

Question 20

Weapons effect

• Berkowitz noted
• suggests firearms are
• weapons effect is
• conclusion of effect

Answer 20

− noted that prescnece of aggressive stimuli in external enviro increases prob of aggressive response; a weapon is a good example of such a stimulus
−are a cond. stimulus were weapons conjure aggressive assocs facilitating overt aggression. Sight of weapon will elicit ideas, images, expressive reactions linked with aggression in past
-Suggestion that the mere presence of a weapon leads a witness or victim to concentrate on the weapon itself rather than other features of the crime.
- cue effect occurs more strongly when subjects have been neg aroused before exposure to cues

Question 21

Cognitive-Neoassociation Model

• is? emphasized?
• stages (early/later)

Answer 21

-is the reformulation of berk’s frustration hypothesis in which he emphasized cognitive factors.
- During early stages, aversive event produces negative affect (discomfort). This neg affect maybe due to physical pain or psych discomfrot (verbal insult). Neg affects give rise almost automatically to variety of feelings, thoughts, assoc with flight (fear) and fight (anger). During this early stage, mediating cognitive processes have little influcnce.
− Most of us get past the initial stages however. During later stages, cognitve appraisal happens and may influence emotional reactions after the initial auto responses. These cognitions mediate and evaluate proper course of action. Pple make causal attributions, think about nature of feelings and try to control their actions

Question 22

Excitation Transfer Theory

• by?
• explains? based on?
• transfer likely if?

Answer 22

propsed by Zillmann to explain how physio arousal can generlize from one situation to another.
-Based on assumption that physio arousal dissipates slowly over time. Combo of presexisting arousal plus anger generated in new situation increases likelihood of agression.
− Transfer of arousal likely to occur if person is unware that they are carrying arousal from prev situation to new one.

Question 23

Displaced Aggression Theory

• sim to
• by? states?
• displaced aggression occurs?
• triggered displaced
• displaced agg response is?
• rumination

Answer 23

• Closely related to excitation transfer theory
  −by Bushman; states aggression is displaced when the target is innocent of any wrongdoing but simply in wrong place at wrong time
  − when you cant aggress against source of provocation so you are aggressive towards innocent or mildly provoking person
  − is a phenomenon where following an initial provocation, target comits a minor provocation, the triggering event, which in turn promts an aggressive response
  − The displaced aggression response is usally far exceeding expected response of minor provocation but prob in proportion to percieved severilty of initial provocation
  − Rumination is self-focused attention toward ones thoughts and feelings. It can maintain angry feelings over period of time. Ruminative thoughts can promote subsequent aggression against someone

Question 24

Aggressive Driving and Road Rage:

• road rage’s theory
• both are?
  1. road rage
  2. aggressive driving (exs)
• road rage cause by?
• agg driving caused by?

Answer 24

• illustrated in displaced agg theory
• different
  1. was termed in 1980s; it an incident where angry motereist intintionally injures or kills another person in response to dispute; provocation maybe real or imagined. Can also include when motorist drives into building
  2. is usually considered less serious; result of motorist becoming impatient or frustrated and often not direct result of the behavior of another motorist. Instead often result of triggered displaced aggression. Aggressive driver was already angry at something so takes it out on the road
  Exs: tailgating, cutting, speeding, running red lights
  − road rage is often result of interpretating the actions of others as personal affrants which require retiliating.
• Aggressive driving often caused by traffic congestion, travel impedance, time urgency

Question 25

Prevalence of aggressive driving and road rage:

• in world
• how many killed? rate?
• road rage in metro area? main behavior that caused it?
• majority of ragers are?
• traffic court
• relationship btwn crime history and agg driving

Answer 25

− Both probs in US but growing worldwide
− Estimated 1500 ppl killed each year in US as result of both and increasing at rate of 7% each year
− Found that Miami drivers reported most incidents of road rage; Phoenix was second followed by NYC, LA and Boston. Nashville. Nashville and Minneapolis reported fewest incidents. 39% drivers said being cut off was behavior that caused rage
−are young males (18-35) with criminal and violent histories, psych problems, drug problems
− ½ of motorists referred to traffic court has one or more convictions for driving under influence
- Found those involved in accidents due to aggressive driving far more likely to have a police record for violenct crime, vandalis, prop crime
However, aggressive drivers come from variety of SES levels and jobs

Question 26

Victims of road rage

• victims? suggests?
• common weapons (2 %s)
• domestic violence (women vs men %s) (most common form)
• major factor in road rage reaction
• model

Answer 26

−Research suggests some drivers repeatdly victims of road rage. Suggests road rage incidents result from interactive process of escatlating aggression which the vic and perp both contribute. Vics for example may have irritating driving habits.
−firearms (37%) and vehicle (35%)
− Domestic violence is very common in both; when upset spouses vent their anger on road. One survey found 54% of women admitted to aggressive drving compared to 64% of men. Responded that tailgating (62%) was most common form of aggressive driving
- is frustration followed by emotional arousal that detaches angry driver form their usual congnitice control over behavior
-− Stimulus that sets off aggression (cog-neoassoc model) is the annoying behavior of another driver

Question 27

Social learning factors in aggression and violence

• why some aggressive when frustrated?
• childhood learning process
• conditions most conductive to aggressive learning (3)

Answer 27

−based on past learning experiences
−Learning process begins in early childhood by observational learning
−when child has:
1. Has many opportunities to observe aggression
2. Is reinforced for their aggression
3. When they are often the object of aggression

Question 28

Modeling

• child’s imitative behavior
• American parents
• 3 types of models
• family members

Answer 28

− When child’s imitative behavior is reinforced or rewarded by praise prob of behaivor in furture is increased
− There is evidence that American parents (conscously or unintentionally) encourage aggressive behavior in children particulary sons
1. family members
2. members of subculture
3. symbolic models in media
− Family members very powerful model up until early adolescene then peer models more likely to dominate

Question 29

Study of 400 mothers:

- relation to aggressivness

Answer 29

Found that physical punishment by parents related to aggressivness in child. Espically true when physical disciplen supplement by high permissivness toward aggression.

Question 30

Social learning theory

1. aggressive behavior acquired thru
2. then maintained by
   - therefore?
   - bio structures

Answer 30

aggressive behavior initally acquired thru observing aggressive models or thru direct experience; aggression is then gradually refined and maintained by reinforcemnt. Therefore ppl may have an aggressive behavioral pattern but may rarely express it if it has no value or not condoned by others in social enviro
− Social Learning also acknowledges bio structures can set limits on aggressive responses that can be learned and that genetics influence rate at which learning progresses. Biologogy doesn’t program specific aggressive behavior

Question 31

Observational Modeling

• mere exposure to agg models
• bandura: imp component
• agg behavior maintenance
• obsv learning (initial stages vs later)

Answer 31

− Mere exposure to aggressive models doesn’t guarantee that observer will use behavior in future. Variety of conditions may prevent observational learning from even taking place. Individual differ in ability to learn from observation
− Bandura states imp comonent of observational learning is motivation to rehearse the observed behavior
− aggression is maintained thru instrumental learning.
− In intial stage of learning, observation is imp but in later stages, reinforcment is essential

Question 32

Cognitive models of aggression

• hypothesize
• 2

Answer 32

− Cognitive models hypothesiz that while observational learning is imp, person’s cognitive capacities and info processing equally imp

1. cognitive scripts model
2. hostile attribution bias

Question 33

Cognitive Scripts model

• by?
• social behavior/aggression is?
• scripts
• scripts learned by/once learned
• evaluation of script
• what influences evaluation?
• another influence?
• children and aggressive parents
• as child ages?

Answer 33

• by Rowell Huesman
• social behavior and aggressive is controlled by cognitive scripts learned and memorized thru daily exps.
• A script suggests what events are to happen in the enviro, how person should behave in response, and likely outcome of those behaviors
  −Scripts learned by direct exp or observing. Once learned usually followed; each is unique to person but once established it becomes resistant to change and may persist into adulthood. For script to be established, must be rehearsed. With practice the script will be encoded in memory and easily retrieved and utilized when facing a problem
  − Individ’s evaluation of appropriatness of a script imp in determing which scripts are stred in memory, and which are retreived and used
  − Emotions also play a role as they influence the selection of the script and the evaluation (script selection diff when person is angry)
  − Parents also play role too; when they observe parents behaving aggressively scripts assoc with aggression become primed in their minds
  − Children likely to mimic parent’s aggressive behavior almost immediately; they not only mimic but encode their scripts
  − As child ages, evaluation process includes confidence predicting the outcomes of scripts, and extent they judge themselves as congruent with self-regulating internal standards. Scripts that are not consistent or violate standards are not stored.

Question 34

Hostile Attribution Model

• by
• based on
• hostile att bias
• child with this bias (x) to see agg actions
• # of agg when act inferred to be hostile? # when not?
• gender
• bias begins in/related to?
• rejected aggressive males
• primed
• continumm

Answer 34

−Kenny Dodge
- based on findings that some ppl prone to percieve hostile intent in others and therefore act aggressivley
− is the likelihood to interp ambigous actions as hostile, threatneing.
− twice as likely as avg child to see aggressive actions from others where there are none
−When person infers that act was committed with hostile intent, prob of aggressive reaction is high (7.6) where as the same person infers that act was committed beningnly, prob of aggresion is low (2.5)
−Hostile att bias in both boys in girls
- begins in preschool and be stable and still in adulthood. When child followed from elementary school to middle school, tendency to use hostila att bias related to peer rejection in elementary school
−show higher tendencies toward hostil att bias and fits with pattern of high involvment in violent delinq acts, and tendency to persist in violence into adult years
−some children primed to develop hostile expectations of peers bc of early exposure to family abuse/maltreatment. Children develop basic trust thru interaction with caring adults and violation of it leas to schemas that others will act maliciously
- bias should be viewed on contiumm; at extreme levels reps cog deficit in processing distorting social info

Question 35

• Blackburn: persistent law breaking in adults (therefore)
• chronic criminality
• study of bias in 150 prisoners (who most likely to have bias) (also found) (prev in)

Answer 35

−reps attempts to master a social envior percieved as hostile. Serous repeat offenders approach world with hostile dominance interpersonal style. Therefore, rather than deficits in self-control, freq criminal behavior may rep ongoing attmept to control others in enviro.
- can be understood as attmept to maintain status or mastery of social enviro from which they feel alienated
− found psychopaths more likely to have bias. Also showed diff antisocial pathways assoc with hostile attribution. Bias was prev in prisoners who held neg thoughts about self, others, world in general

Question 36

Gender diffs in aggression

• boys (unclear/clear)
• cognitive explanation for diffs
• social learning explanation
• Anne Campbell
• toddlers
• infancy/ period diffs seen?
• girls aggression
• conclusion
• enviro cues

Answer 36

− Boys engage in more overt aggression and direct confrontation as they grow up but not clear if boys are gen more aggressive than girls. Clear that physical aggression is more prev in males
−suggest there may be socialized diffs in ways boys and girls construct worlds
−suggests gilrs are socialized diff than boys and taught not to be overtly aggressive
− argues boys are not simply more aggressive, just aggressive in dif way. Both genders born with equal potential to be aggressive but girls socialized to not be overtly aggressive where boys are to defend themselves
− Research shows boys and girls are equally aggressive toward peers as toddlers but patter changes as they enter elementary school
− Gender diffs in aggression expressed by frustartion and rage not documented in infancy. Only in preschool period (3-5) do observable diffs begin with boys being more overtly aggressive
− more likely to engage in relationship or interpersonal forms of aggression rather than physical forms; more covert indirect verbal forms such as defamation and ostracism. Also use relational aggression such as gossip
− gender diffs in aggression not simply due to biology but prim thru cultural and socialization process that promote diff types of aggression.
- Enviro cues imp in cognitive scripts; which script person uses dependent on enviro cues present

Question 37

Media Violence

• how many adolescents play video games? %
• genders? %
• how many play violent ones?
• how many children see violent episodes?
• murders on tv?

Answer 37

• 97% (12-17)
• 99% of boys and 94% of girls play
• over 1/2 on reg basis
• 100,000
• 20,000 both before reaching adolescent

Question 38

3 year study

• how many movies/tv include violence? %
• Parents TV council tv violence increase? (year, %)
• violent scenes with greatest impact (not)

Answer 38

• 90%
• increase from 1998-2006 by 309%
  − in which children can identify with perp, when perp gets rewarded, have greatest impact (not neccessarly level of violence)

Question 39

• short term vs. long term effect (why?)
• long term occur as result of (3)
• long term effects duration

Answer 39

− Important to distinguish between short-term and long-term effects of media violence on aggression; diff cognitive process involved.
- Long-term effects occur as result of observational learning, desenstization, and stroing violent and aggressive material into thought process
− Long-term effects of media violence carry thru to adulthood

Question 40

• Children learning violence due to 3 social cognitive structures
• overtime, children?

Answer 40

1. schemas about hostile world
2. scripts for social problem solving that focus on aggression
3. and normative beliefs that aggression is acceptable.
   - Over time children develop schemas that world is hostile place, aggression is acceptable, and best way to solve conflicts. These three may become part of personality

Question 41

Violent video games led to (3)

• overall they are? why?
• what in games causes it?

Answer 41

1. led children to display hostile attribution bias.
2. lower levels of empathy
3. and postive attitudes towards aggression.
   -This study indicates that violent games may have greater impact than any other forms of media. Prob due to interactive part of games where you are virtual particpant rather than passive observer
   − One study found that the video game competitivness not the violent content may be responsible

Question 42

Lt. David Grossman

• military training methods (4)
• argues vid games do?

Answer 42

including brutalization, classical conditiong, operatnt conditioning and role modeling can be found in many video games.
-Argue vid game publishers unethically train children to use weapons and harden them emotionally to act of murder

Question 43

Conclusion of research on violent video games

• violent games are (risk factor)
• exposure causes (5)
• long-term relationship of games and aggression: brain development

Answer 43

that violent games may be one risk factor that if coupled with others may contribute to antisocail or violence. Studies do not support that exposure to media violence causes criminally violent behavior
− evidence strongly suggests that exposure to violent games is causal risk factor for increased aggression, aggression cognition, aggerssive affect, and decreased empathy and prosocial behavior
- diff for teen and adults (25+) bc of changes in brain development during adolescene into young adhood; brain development and self-reg maturation are not complete until after 25; brain changes likely to reduce violent behavior as one gets older but not all

Question 44

Contagion effect

• is
• also see in (2)
• school shooters had (4)

Answer 44

is when news media provides aggressive models; tendency in some ppl to model or copy an activity protrayed in news. Occurs when action is media is assessed by certain ppl as good idea then mimicked.
− depression and suicide too
−School shootings also; all shooters had interest in guns, troubled backgrounds, knew details of prev shootings, strong fascination with violence in media