Unit 12- aggression Flashcards
Aggression
intentional behavior aimed at doing harm or causing harm to another person
Instrumental aggression
aggression as a means to some goal other than causing pain
hostile aggression
aggression stemming from feelings of a anger and aimed at inflicting pain
Aggressive behaviors are associated with an area in the core of the brain called the…
amygdala
What is serotonin
A chemical substance that occurs naturally in the midbrain, seems to inhibit impulsive aggression
What other hormone is associated with aggression?
Testosterone
Frustration-aggression theory
the idea that frustration– the perception that you are being prevented from attaining a goal– increases the probability of an aggressive response
Several things can increase frustration:
- delay
- goal proximity
- unexpectedness of the frustration
Aggressive stimulus
an object that is associated with aggressive responses and whose mere presence can increase the probability of aggression
Social learning theory
the idea that we learn social behavior (ex. aggression) by observing others and imitating them
Scripts
Ways of behaving socially that we learn implicitly from our culture
Catharsis
The notion that “blowing off steam”- by performing an aggressive act, watching others engage in aggressive behaviors, or engaging in a fantasy of aggression– relieves built-up aggressive energies and hence reduces the likelihood of further aggressive behavior
What predicts aggression?
- being male
- having an aggressive personality
- being drunk
- watching violence
- being anonymous
- being provoked
- seeing a weapon
- being in a group
It is possible to control our anger by actively enabling it to dissipate
- using simple devices such as counting to 10 before shooting your mouth off
- journaling
