Problem 5 Aggression Flashcards
Nature-nurture controversy
genetic or environmental factors determine human behaviour. Scientist generally accept that it’s an interaction of both
Instinct
Inborne drive or impulse genetically transmitted
→goal directed – e.g. attack
→beneficial to the individual
→adapted – to a normal environment
→shared by most members of the species
→developed
→unlearned on the basis of individual experienced
Fighting instinct
Innate impulse to aggress which ethologists claim is shared by humans with other animals
Social learning theory
that aggression is not inborn but learned from appropriate models
Learning by direct experience
Learning behaviour we were rewarded for our behaviour.
Learning by vicarious experience
Learning behaviour we were rewarded for our behaviour.
Modelling
tendency for a person to copy behaviour, attitudes and emotions of real-life or symbolic model. Also called observational learning
Learning a script
(a schema about an event)
Type A personality
a behavioural correlate of heart disease characterised by striving to achieve, time urgency, competitiveness and hostility
→more prone to abuse children, prefer to work alone to avoid the incompetence of others.
Disinhibition
A breakdown in the learnt controls against behaving impulsively or in this context aggressive (out of character)
Deindividuation
Process whereby people lose their sense of social norms
Collective aggression
Unified by a group of individuals against another individual group
General aggression model
A model that includes personal and situational factors, and cognitive and affective processes in accounting for different kinds of aggression
The weapons effect
the presence of a weapon increases the probability that it will be used aggressively
Biosocial theories
context of aggression theories that emphasise an innate component, though not the existence of a full-blown instinct
Frustration-aggression hypothesis
all frustration leads to aggression, and all aggression comes from frustration
Excitation-transfer model
The expression of aggression is a function of: A learnt aggressive behaviour, trigger from another source, and the persons interpretation of the trigger state, such that an aggressive response seems appropriate
Desensitisation
a serious reduction in a persons responsiveness in view of violence or sexuality
Neo-associationist analysis
A view of aggression according to which mass media may provide images of violence to the audience that later translate into antisocial acts
fight and flight
when you think your resources are equally large or larger than your needs you fight when they are smaller you will flee
Hate crime
A class of violence against members of a stereotyped minority group
Subculture violence
A subgroup of society in which a higher level of violence is accepted as the norm
Machismo
A code in which challenges, abuse and even differences of opinion must be met with fists or other weapons
Intimate partner violence
→evolutionary perspective: fear is a natural response to threat that reduces exposure to physical danger
→biological perspective: oxytocin is a hormone that regulates several reproductive and maternal behaviours. When released responding to danger it mediates the reduction of stress associated with fear
→Intimate partner violence: Oxytocin decreases stress and increases the likelihood of female aggression
→cultural norms
Institutionalised aggression
Aggression that is given formal or informal recognition and social legitimacy by being incorporated into rules and norms
How to cope agression
- Social order: The balance and control of a social system, regulated by norms, values, rules and law
- Individual level: where the person is the focus as the aggressor, effective interventions involve political decisions, a budget, and a community will
- Anti-Bullying: involves modifying the behaviour of both the bullies and their victims and the non-involved bystanders
- Laws: gun ownership laws in America
- Peace studies: Multidisciplinary movement dedicated to the study and promotion of peace (education)
Catharsis
a dramatic release of pent-up feelings: The idea that aggressive motivation is drained by acting against a frustrating object (makes it worse)
Catharsis hypothesis
The notion that acting aggressively, or even just viewing aggressive material, reduces feelings of anger and aggression
• Believe in catharsis can lead to the willing to play violent video (even the believe that catharsis decreases aggression leads to increasing aggression)
Ethology
Approach the animal behaviour should be observed in their natural physical and social environment. Behaviour is genetically defined and controlled by nature selection
Releasers
specific stimuli in the environment thought to trigger aggressive responses
Evolutionary social psychology
An extension of evolutionary psychology that views complex social behaviour as adaptive, helping the individual, to help the species as a whole to survive
Sociocultural theory
Psychological gender differences are determined by individuals adaptions to restrictions based on their society.
Sexual selection theory
Sex differences in behaviour are determined by evolutionary history rather than society
Crowding and aggression
people feel their personal space threatened
Big five
the five major personality dimensions of extraversion/surgency, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and intellect/openness to experience
Objectification theory
Women’s experiences and gender socialisation routinely include experiences of sexual objectification
Abuse syndrome
factors of proximity, stress, and power that are associated with the cycle of abuse in some families
Agentic state
Characterises unquestioning obedience, in which people transfer their responsibility to the person who gives orders, blinder-gehorsam
