Lecture 13 - Agression Flashcards
What is the definition of aggression?
Physical or verbal behaviour intended to harm a person who does not want to be harmed
- Intent is very important
What is the definition of hostile aggression?
Aggression motivated by anger or hostility
- Primary goal is to injure
What is the definition of instrumental aggression?
Aggression motivated by considerations other than anger/hostility
- The goal is to injure, but only in as a means to some other end
What is the difference between aggression and violence ?
Violence is typically reserved for acts intended to cause extreme physical harm
- All violence is aggression, but not all aggression is violence.
What is the evolutionary view on aggression?
- Aggression is part of our basic programming
- Improves odds of survival and reproduction
What are the sex differences in aggression ?
Across cultures and time
- Men more likely to engage in physical aggression than women
What is frustration?
The blocking of goal-directed behaviour.
Name the hypothesis:
- Frustration increases likelihood of aggression
Frustration-aggression hypothesis
What is displace aggression?
Aggression directed towards a target other than the source of one’s frustration.
Name the concept:
- The perception that one is less well off than others with whom one compares oneself.
Relative deprivation
True or false
- Higher levels of income inequality are positively associated with violent crime
TRUE
When is frustration more likely to occur?
-The closer the person is to the goal, the more frustrating it is to have the goal blocked
When is aggression more likely to occur?
- Aggression is more likely to result from arbitrary frustration than non-arbitrary frustration
Ex: is your progress blocked for a good reason or on a whim?
How can physical pain cause aggression and frustration?
- Studies show that physical pain is a powerful elicit or of aggression
Why? - Pain often signals the presence of a serious, proximate threat to survival
- Often, fighting is your best chance
- Pain triggers a defensive state that may facilitate survival
What is psychological pain?
THe unpleasant emotional state experienced when we miss out on some valued reward
- Get smaller reward than expected
- Don’t get the reward expected
- Barrier placed between individual and reward
What is social pain?
Aversive emotional reaction to experiences of social loss, rejection, ostracism or relational devaluation
What is social pain theory?
Pain experience can be divided into two, dissociable components
Sensory-discriminative component : what, where, how intense is it?
Affective component : how unpleasant is it?
What component gives social pain its motivational force?
Affective component
How can social pain cause aggression?
Social exclusion can produce a response of aggression in people. The pain may activate an aggressive impulse automatically, much like crying.
What is the influence of hot temperatures on aggression?
Uncomfortably higher temperatures are related to higher rates of aggression,
Name the process:
- Ascribing arousal resulting from one source to a different source (aggression)
Misattribution of arousal
Name the process:
-Leftover arousal caused by an initial event can intensify emotional reactions to a second event.
Excitation transfer theory
What do construals have to do with aggression?
We don’t react to a situation — we react to our interpretation (construal) of the situation
What is the cognitive new association theory?
Aggressive thoughts, emotions and behavioural tendencies are linked together in memory in networks
- When one concept or node is activated, this activation spreads to related concepts and increases their activation as well
What is social learning theory? (Aggression)
We learn aggressive behaviours by observing others
What is a vicarious punishment?
A decrease in a behaviour due to the observer witnessing the model being punished for that behaviour
What is a vicarious reinforcement?
An increase in a behaviour due to the observer witnessing the model being reinforced for that behaviour
How are men socialized to be more aggressive?
Starting early in life, men are socialized to value and exhibit dominant aggressive behaviour while women are socialized to value and exhibit empathy and compassion.
What is relational aggression?
Harm is causes through damage to social relationships or social status, rather than through physical injury
- More likely to be shown by women
- Thought to be influenced by social norms
What are cultures of honour characterized by?
1) strong concerns about one’s own reputation
2) willingness to defend one’s honour after injury or insult
What is rejection sensitivity?
Dispositional tendency to anxiously expect, readily perceive and strongly react to social rejection
- Automatic link between rejection and aggression-related cognitions
What is the role of the OPRM1 gene in sensitivity to social pain?
It affects how effectively a class of chemical messengers called endogenous opioids can bind to their receptors
What are endogenous opioids?
They are the body’s natural painkillers
What is the differential susceptibility hypothesis?
-In some cases, a gene that leads to negative outcome in negative social circumstances may also lead to a positive outcome in positive social circumstances
What is dehumanizations?
Stripping other people of their human characteristics
