QUIZ 4 Final Flashcards
Describe Freud’s theory of aggression (Thanatos, Eros, Catharsis, etc.)
Theory:
We are driven towards aggression and we use other outlets to express aggression.
Thanatos (Death Instinct): Drives us to act violently, both realistically and symbolically
-Symbolically: boxing, football, impact sports, rock or heavy metal music, video games (violent), surgery, sarcasm
-Realistically: assault, murder, etc.
Eros (Life Instinct): Drives us to act sexually, both realistically and symbolically
-Symbolically: clubbing/dancing, painting, poetry, music, reading
-Realistically: Sex ya know?
According to Freud, what sorts of hobbies and jobs lower one’s aggressive drive?
Impact sports and surgeons.
Does catharsis (ex: playing violent video games) actually reduce violence?
No, watching violent TV and playing violent games are positively correlated with violent behavior in kids.
Describe possible reasons why kids’ aggression is positively correlated with their violent TV exposure.
-They increase physiological arousal and excitement
-They trigger an automatic tendency to imitate the hostile or violent characters
-They activate existing aggressive ideas and expectations, making people more likely to act on them.
Describe the methods and findings of Albert Bandura’s bobo doll study. How does Social Learning Theory (or Observational Learning) explain violence?
3 groups watch a model beat up a blow-up doll then the children are put in a room to play with the said doll and other toys. Each group is either rewarded, punished, or has no consequence for attacking the doll. Both rewarded kids and the no-consequence kids were aggressive. The punished ones were non-aggressive.
We learn how to act violently by watching models (adults) perform acts.
Describe Berkowitz’s Revised Frustration-Aggression Model.
Violence results from the following:
1. When a goal we have is blocked, we experience frustration.
2. That frustration under the right circumstances will make us angry.
3. That anger, under certain conditions, will make us act violently.
Describe the results of the “movie ticket” and “donation” studies. Describe the results of the study in which participants shocked the experimenter and the study in which motorists received a speeding ticket.
- Researcher cut the line at the movie theater. That 2nd in line (close to the goal) was visibly more angry than those who were 12th in line (for whom the goal was farther away).
- Students were hired to call strangers for donations and worked on commission. Half of the students expected a high rate of contributions. The other half expected far less success. The study was rigged such that the donors did not donate. Students with high expectations were more verbally aggressive toward non-donors.
Describe the results of the study in which participants shocked the experimenter and the study in which motorists received a speeding ticket.
Shocking: Participants (1/2 saw a tennis racquet as an option) that were insulted by the experimenter provided low shock levels. Participants (1/2 saw a bowie knife as an option as well) that filled out a survey with questionable and insulting questions provided high shock levels.
Ticketing: Motorists were given a ticket. Half saw a pistol on the side of the officer which resulted in name-calling, etc. The other half did not which resulted in the motorist being polite toward the officer.
The mere presence of a weapon increases our chance of acting violently.
What are ways to reduce aggression?
- Become more self-aware (through journaling privately) and remember the angering event from a distanced perspective.
- Deal with your anger in ways other than yelling or hitting (chill out bro)
- Learn to communicate your feelings in a clear nonjudgmental or insulting way
- taking responsibility for acts that anger others, through understanding and apology
- learn how to solve the problem that has made you and other people angry
- Strengthen empathic skills
What is “The Culture of Honor”? How does it explain the high U.S. homicide rate? What evidence supports the theory?
Culture of Honor: Scottish and Irish shepherds needed a badass reputation to fend off others from stealing their sheep. The reputation was created by hyper-violent acts at the smallest insult or threat.
Rates: When famine happened they left for the U.S. because of this they brought the culture of honor theory here. Unlike in Europe, guns were easier to come by as well. So the hit back harder ask questions later attitude was passed down to generations. This results in hyper-violent acts happening in the south and west to happen more often due to insults or conflict.
Evidence: Southern and Western states statistically have more homicide rates. Not for crimes of wealth, but crimes as a result of insult or provocation. (bar argument turns into a shoot-out)
What is prejudice? Stereotypes? Discrimination?
A negative attitude is held towards others based solely on their group membership.
Mental pictures of what a group is like. Beliefs about a shared common characteristic of a specific group.
Taking unjustified negative actions towards a person simply because of their membership in a group.
What is the social categorization and how does it help create stereotypes?
We naturally group stimuli into categories ( similar size, color, shape, etc.).
Variations within categories are less noticeable than differences between categories.
Define “outgroup homogeneity bias” and describe the Princeton/Rutgers study that demonstrates it.
“We Group A are quite diverse, but those in Group B are all alike!”
Describe 2 processes that confirm stereotypes in the mind of the stereotype holder. Describe research evidence for the self-fulfilling prophecy.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: treating people in ways that prompt them to react in a stereotype-affirming way.
Researchers said some students would excel in class. Teachers subconsciously reinforced the idea that the students would do better than others. Students were not aware or involved. The research (the students) was random.
Confirmation Bias: Focusing on evidence and/or interpreting vague information in ways that support our stereotype
Provide examples of In-group Favoritism and describe the video showing In-group Favoritism in babies.
In group favoritism happens when groups can form based on trivial differences (ex: under estimators v.s. over estimators, Attended Oakland v.s. Reversal H.S.). We reward our own/are similar to us.
