Social Psychology Flashcards
What did Thomas Hobbes, William Golding and Konrad Lorenz think of human aggression?
- That aggression is an innate part of human nature.
- Lorenz argued that aggression is something that builds up and needs to be expressed.
- If no target then –> Catharsis.
Catharsis
Releasing pent-up emotions through activities that redirect the focus onto other resources. E.g. Using a punching bag when you’re angry.
Releasing your anger on a punching bag is a form of?
Catharsis.
What is the criticism of the catharsis theory?
Theory would predict that players who are angry on the pitch would be the mildest off the pitch but the opposite is true.
Instrumental Aggression
Using aggression consciously to achieve your goal.
Hostile Aggression
Using aggression spontaneously and without premeditation.
Aggression
Behaviour whose purpose is to harm another.
Frustration-Aggression Principle (Berkowitz, 1989)
People aggress when their goals are thwarted.
Trut et al. 2009
Dmitri Belyaev - Silver foxes - Selective Breeding - More docile.
Eugenics
Selective breeding in humans to increase the prevalence of desired characteristics in the population. E.g. Nazi’s genocide.
What is the best biological predictor of aggression?
Gender (Wrangham & Peterson, 1997).
Two chemicals strongly correlated with aggression?
Serotonin (Low) and Testosterone (High).
Which type of aggression are women more likely to use?
- More premeditated anger
- More likely to cause social harm.
When are men more likely to aggress?
Mainly in response to perceived challenges or threats towards their status.
Culture of honour
Aggression linked to one’s reputation for toughness/willingness to avenge an insult.
WHO Ecological Model of Violence
- Individual
- Relationships
- Community
- Society
Public Goods Dilemma
Situation where individuals are better off if they do not contribute but the group is worse off as a whole.
The Wason Card Selection Task
E.g. Each card (16, 25, Beer, Soda) has an age on one side, and a drink on the other. Which card(s) must be turned over to test the idea that if you are drinking alcohol then you must be over 18?
Hypothesis Confirming Bias
The tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities.
Pluralistic ignorance
Where people fail to accurately evaluate others’ behaviour. E.g. University Students thinking others drink more than they do and are happier.
Kin Selection
The process by which evolution selects for genes that cause individuals to provide benefits to their relatives.
Reciprocal Altruism
Being nice to someone in expectation that they will do the same in the future.
Identifiable Victim Effect (IVE)
Tendency to offer greater assistance to an individual rather than a group.
Machiavellianism
A personality trait of willingness to exploit and manipulate others.