Kevin Young Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is aggression defined as?
Verbal or physical actions grounded in an intent to dominate, control, or do harm to another person
What is violence defined as?
The use of excessive physical force, which causes or has the potential to cause harm and destruction.
What is the instinct theory on violence?
Instinct theories believe that because our pre-human ancestors were naturally aggressive, modern humans share this same trait and lack a well developed mechanism for inhibition of aggression.
What are some of the weaknesses of instinct theory?
CLearly reductionistic, unable to address the many forms that violence can take and the fact that aggressive behaviour varies between individuals. Also doesn’t take into account other forms of violence such as violence against the self or violence motivated by social roots.
What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
3 arguments:
1) Aggression is always a result of frustration
2) Frustration always leads to aggression
3) there is an inclination towards aggression when the aggressive act is disallowed, but this decreases once an object or person is confronted.
What is the definition of frustration according to the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
Interference with the occurence of an instigated goal-response at its proper time in the behaviour sequence.
What is the hostile and instrumental aggression approach?
Instrumental aggression: Does not pursue the goal of personal hurt, rather it aims to achieve an external or unrelated goal (rational and planned)
Hostile aggression: To inflict damage for the express purpose of causing harm.
What are some of the criticisms of the instrumental hostile aggression approach?
Overly simplistic, roles could be reversed in either scenario.
What is catharsis theory?
Humans accumulate frustrations in daily life that can potentially lead to aggressive behaviour, but these can be discharged or vented by participating in tension-relieving activities or by watching others participate in said activities.
What are some criticisms of catharsis theory?
Sport may actually enhance rather than reduce aggressive drives. Also fails to explain violence committed by athletes outside of the sports arena.
What is reversal theory?
Explains why athletes and/or spectators may conform to rule expectations in one context, but revert to aggression and violence in others.
What are Kerr’s 4 meta motivational states (reversal theory)
11) Telic-paratelic
2) Conformity-negativism
3) Mastery-sympathy
4) Autic-alloic
Which types of meta-motivational states do aggressors tend to spend more time in according to Kerr?
Paratelic (risk taking)
Negativism (norm violating)
Mastery (dominance)
Autic (self concerned)
What is the crucual point in Kerr’s meta-motivational states?
How these states combine with arousal and hedonic tone (high hedonic tone = relaxed)
What are some of the criticisms of reversal theory?
Difficult to empirically assess the mental state of a fan or athlete, questions regarding the mutual exclusivity of each trait, fails to take into account rational choices one may make based on cost and reward. Doesn’t touch on structural issues.
What is Bandura’s social learning theory?
Aggression and violence are learned through observation and imitation and depend upon the degree to which one emulates the behaviour of the role model. Aggressors use violent behaviour if it is perceived to lead to positive self-evaluative reactions.
What are some criticisms of social learning theory?
Approach underestimates people’s choice making abilities, behaviour can also be unlearned.
What is the techniques of neutralisation approach?
Focuses less on social causes of behaviour and more on the ways in which structural conditions are translated into action by individuals. Focus on micro-level relations, between the actor and those who require justifications for the act.
What are some of these techniques of neutralisation?
1) Denying responsibility
2) Injury or victimisation
3) Condemning the condemners
4) Appealing to higher loyalties.
How has the techniques of neutralisation approach been applied to sport research?
helpful to expain justificatory strategies used by injured athletes to allow them to accept and return to play, and by persons involved in abusive practices in animal sports.
What are the two categories we deal with when looking at violent subcultures?
1) Violent societal subculture hypothesis: early ethnographic work which shows how youth gangs operationalize situation specific behaviours such as intimidation and fighting
2) Violent occupational subculture hypothesis- persons occupying work settings develop unique value systems that guide their behaviour while in that setting.
What is figurational (process) sociology?
Attempts to bridge the micro-macro divide and view human behaviour as sets of actions in broad interconnected webs of relationships between actors.
What are Elias’ ideas on the history of manners?
Western societies have become less exciting social environments- more emphasis placed on restraint of aggression. Individuals may pursue a wide range of activities that elicit exciting significance in highly controlled contexts of interaction.
What is victimology?
Focuses more on those who have been harmed in conflict or violence. People who participate in potentially dangerous institutional settings such as sport hold inherent rights to safety and personal welfare, respect and key information. Shifts from cause of violence to the suffering and treatment in social institutions.
