Lecture 20 Agression Flashcards
Hobbes
Believed that man is inherently aggressive
Rousseau
Life before civilization was peaceful
The state brought on aggression and suffering
- Noble Savage- Peaceful humans before civilization came about
Myth of the Peaceful Savage
Laurence Keeley
- Battles more frequent in non state societies
- More dangerous weapons
- Higher casualties than modern societies
Evidence for Innate Aggressive Urges
- ## Large percentage of individuals occasionally have homicidal tendencies
Development of Aggression
Most Aggressive Age- 2 years old
Question is not when humans develop aggression, but how humans learn how to control innate aggressive tendencies
Agression in Animals
Individual Agression
- Common male on male aggression, also female on female, siblingcide, infanticide, rape
Collective Agression
Rare, except in dolphins, wolves, chimpanzees
-Chimpanzees actually have mass genocide
Brain System for Agression
Several circuits for different aggression (Ex. predatory vs individual conflict)
Rage circuit/ Dominance Circuit- Midbrain, hypothalamus, amygdala
Hobbes 3 Reasons for Agression
- Competition (gain)
- Diffidence(Safety)
- Honor, Reputation
Competition
Darwinian competition over resources- food, territory
Major Source of Aggression- Competition over mates- Men can multiply offspring by monopolizing females
Tribes Fight overWomen(Abducted, raped, default on betrothal)
- Contested Resources
-Revenge
Avenge prior killings, blood feuds
Violence predisposition
14 countries
- Men kill men 26 times more than females kill females
- Boys engage more in play fighting, rough and tumble play
- Men take greater risks
Diffidence
The Hobbesian Trap -Preemptive Strike - Best defense is a good offense -Security Dilemma- One party boosts their security by becoming more weaponized, causes others to follow suit creating tension when there was no problem (Nuclear weapons
Diffidence Solution
Deterrence
-Nuclear Version- Mutual Assured Destruction
Ancient version- Lex talionis- eye for eye, arm for arm
Policy- Won’t attack first
If we are attacked, we will retaliate severely
Prerequisites for Lex talionis
- Credibility of no first strike(transparency)
- Ability to survive first attack(Dominance)
- Proportionality- Convince enemies and allies you won’t use flimsy pretax for self interested aggression
Problem With Deterrence
Problem with Bluffing
How to Convince people you are not bluffing
Target can still simply refuse to comply
Paradoxical Tactics
- Making the punishment involuntary Physical restraints -Hijacker with bomb Emotional Restraints -Perceived as hot head
Revenge in Lab
- Ultimatum Game- Acceptor will not be treated unfairly
- Grading Lab- One person writes scathing review of test subject
- Test subject then gets to punish mean person
- Test subject enjoys it– increases punishment in the presence of an audience- asserting his status
Revenge in MRI
-Subject cheated out of money
-Watches cheater get electrical shock
Females- Insula activated- feelings of empathy
Male- Mesolimbic reward system activated- feelings of pleasure
Reputation in Males
Trivial Insult #1 reason for homicide- males assert their dominance and their stance
-Explanation for dueling and other violent defenses of “honor”
Partial Explanation for male violence in female infidelity- “he’s crazy enough to kill me”
Cultures of Honor
-Need to maintain honor varies from culture to culture
Violent cultures of honor in regions without law
-Drug dealers, mafia
- Remote regions(Afghanistan)
In cultures where wealth is easy to steal
- Herders
American Southwest
Scottish herders immigrated into American Southwest
Brought the culture of honor with them
-Persists today- South has large practice of agression
- Seen in law: corporal and capital punishment, self defense, length of sentences
Reflects in their culture, politics, sports and military
Seen in Individual Psychology
-Southerners at UMich are more easily slighted, less likely to back down
Aggression among groups
Other side of kin selection -collective side of aggression among related men, collective revenge (blood feuds) Ethnic Groups -Extended gamily? like groups of reciprocators? -in group/ outgroup psychology
Robbers Cave Study
-Took a group of similar 11-12 year old boys and split them into two groups
- Let them live apart for a week, then allowed them to compete in sports tournament
- Agression became great, real war broke out- cheating, armed themselves, raided cabins
Joint activities to reduce stress were unsuccessful- hostilities still present
Only when goals were superordinates did they work together (pulled bus out of mud, inspected mile long waterline)
Team Dictator Game
When individuals split into two groups and were told they were similar, individuals worked to give team members the most money, and give other group least amount of money
-Even if test subjects were shown the random grouping, still had this tendency
Decline of Violence
Over time, violence declined
Historical Shows of Violence: (Human sacrifice, torture, mutilation, capital and corporal punishment, genocide, slavery)
Why?
Rule of Law- Eliminate the need for cultures of honor and the violence that comes with them
Expanding networks of reciprocity
- Cheaper to buy things than to steal them
- People more valuable alive than dead
Expansion of moral circle
- Empathy technologies (journalism, news)
Awareness of history and psychology
