Week 11: Aggression

Question 1

What is aggression? What are the two types?

Answer 1

Aggression is physical or verbal behaviour intended to cause harm. This excludes unintentional harm and actions that may involve pain as an unavoidable side effect of helping someone.
The two types of aggression are hostile and instrumental aggression.

Question 2

What is hostile aggression?

Answer 2

Hostile aggression - comes from anger and aims to injure
e.g. Joe is angry that Bob is trying to steal her girlfriend, so she punches him in the face

Question 3

What is instrumental aggression?

Answer 3

is committed in the pursuit of another goal, and aims to injure
e.g. Kale spreads rumours about Tom, so she is more likely to be the school’s president

Question 4

Most terrorism and wars are (BLANK) aggression, while most murders are (BLANK) aggression

Answer 4

instrumental; hostile

Question 5

What are the 3 main theories of aggression?

Answer 5

biological phenomenon, response to frustration, and learned social behaviour

Question 6

What does the biological phenomenon theory of aggression?

Answer 6

Uses Instinct theory and evolutionary psychology
Views aggression as an instinctive behaviour. Aggression also has evolutionary benefits for survival (mostly men).

Instinctive behaviour - innate, unlearned behaviour pattern exhibited by all members of a species

Question 7

What are the two problems with the biological phenomenon theory of aggression?

Answer 7

Doesn’t explain variability in the population.
Uses the nominal fallacy aka explaining by naming fallacy
* e.g. this behaviour is aggressive (doesn’t explain how we know its aggression)

nominal fallacy - logical fallacy in which it is incorrectly assumed that giving something a name is tantamount to explaining it

Question 8

What is Instinctive behaviour? (Definition)

Answer 8

Instinctive behaviour - innate, unlearned behaviour pattern exhibited by all members of a species

Question 9

What is nominal fallacy? (Definition)

Answer 9

nominal fallacy - logical fallacy in which it is incorrectly assumed that giving something a name is tantamount to explaining it

Question 10

What are the neural and genetic influences for aggression?

1 for neural; 2 for genetic

Fall under the biological phenomenon theory of aggression

Answer 10

Neural - underdeveloped pre-frontal cortex increases aggressive behaviours
Genetics (heredity):
* sensitivity to aggression cues
* temperament (how intense and reactive we are)

Sleep deprivation also reduces activity in the prefrontal cortex

Question 11

What are the biomechial influences for aggression?

there are 4

Fall under the biological phenomenon theory of aggression

Answer 11

• alcohol enhances aggressiveness by reducing people’s self-awareness, by focusing their attention on a provocation, and by people’s mentally associating alcohol with aggression
• testosterone
• poor diet (low omega-3 fatty acids and calcium, high trans fats, high sweetened soda/drinks)
• low serotonin

Question 12

What is the response to frustration theory of aggression?

Aka what is the Frustration-aggression Theory, and what is frustation

Answer 12

Frustration-aggression Theory - suggests that frustration triggers a readiness to aggress
* frustration - the blocking of a goal-directed behaviour
* Frustration grows when motivation to achieve a goal is very strong, when we expected gratification, and when the blocking is complete
* We often see displacement onto a typically safer or more socially acceptable target

displacement - redirection of aggression to a target other than the source of the frustration

Question 13

What is the revised frustration-aggression theory diagram?

Note the 3 steps

Answer 13

unjustified frustration -> anger
anger + aggression cues -> aggression

Explains why some people will act more aggressive to agression than others

Question 14

Explain what Relative deprivation is and how it impacts frustration.

Answer 14

Relative deprivation - perception that one is less well off than other to whom one compares oneself
frustration arises from the gap between expectations and attainments

Question 15

What is the learned social behaviour theory of aggression?

Answer 15

The rewards of aggression (being aggressive can cause us to gain) and observational learned (social learning theory - Albert Bandura (1997)).

Social Learning Theory - We learn social behaviour by observing and imitating and by being rewarded and punished

Question 16

What is Social Learning Theory?

Answer 16

Social Learning Theory - We learn social behaviour by observing and imitating and by being rewarded and punished

Question 17

Bandura (1977) “Bobo” doll experiment

Answer 17

IV: Type of aggressive viewing (saw an adult being aggressive vs not see aggression)
Results: children in the aggressive condition showed more aggressive behaviours that kids that did not. They also copied the aggressive behaviours of the adult. Observing aggressive behaviour had both lowered their inhibitions and taught them ways to aggress.
Suggests: we learn to copy behaviours in our enviromnment

Question 18

How does observational learning impact aggression when considering family and culture?

Answer 18

Family: violence begets violence (cf. likeness begets liking)
Culture: e.g., “culture of honour” in southern United States

Question 19

What does the Social learning theory of aggression look like?

AE -> EA, RaC -> AC, EA + AC -> A

Answer 19

Aversive experiences -> Emotional arousal
Rewards and costs -> Anticipated consequences
Emotional arousal + Anticipated consequences -> Dependency, Achievement, Withdrawal and resignation, Aggression, Bodily symptoms, Self-anaesthetization with drugs and alcohol, Constructive problem solving

Question 20

What are the 5 specific influences on aggression?

Answer 20

aversive incidents, arousal, aggression cues, the media, and the group context

Question 21

What aversive incidents influence aggression and how?

Answer 21

• Pain - Increase pain (physical or psychological) -> increase aggression
• Heat - Increase heat correlates with increased aggression
• Attacks -> hostile aggression

Question 22

How does arousal impact aggression?

Answer 22

Main Principle: A given state of bodily arousal feeds one emotion or another (arousal fuels emotions)
* Dependent on how person interprets and labels arousal

Question 23

Describe the elements of aggressive reactions model

Answer 23

Aversive situation: Pain or discomfort, Frustration, Attack or insult, Crowding
Leads to: Hostile thoughts and memories, Angry feeling, arousal
Leads to: aggressive reactions

Question 24

How does aggression cues impact aggresssion?

Answer 24

As we noted when considering the frustration-aggression hypothesis, violence is more likely when aggressive cues release pent-up anger.

Question 25

What are the 3 media influences that impact aggression?

Answer 25

• Pornography And Sexual Violence
• Television and the Internet
• Video Games

Question 26

How does Pornography And Sexual Violence impact aggression? What is a solution to this problem?

Answer 26

• Distorted perceptions of sexual reality (how women respond to sexual coercion)
• Increases men’s aggression against women (film condition vs shock intensity graph)
• Media awareness education is a solution

Question 27

How does Television and the Internet impact aggression?

Effects two main thinks in multiple ways

Answer 27

Effects on Behaviour:
* One type of arousal energizes other behaviours
* Viewing violence disinhibits (primes the viewer for aggressive behaviour by activating violence-related thoughts) (children who viewed TV >3 hrs and 2-3 hrs were much more likely to have a criminal conviction - stronger for boys)

Effects on Thinking:
* Desensitization
* Social scripts
* Altered perceptions
* Cognitive priming

Question 28

How does Video Games impact aggression?

Answer 28

Identifying with, and playing the role of, a violent character
Actively rehearsal of violence, instead of passive watching
Engage in whole sequence of enacting violence
* e.g., selecting victims, acquiring weapons, stalking victim, aiming weapon, pulling trigger

Question 29

What results did the film condition vs shock intensity graph show?

Answer 29

• 120 men watched a neutral, an erotic, or an aggressive-erotic (rape) film
• Then had to “teach” confederate, shocking them for incorrect answers
• men who had watched the rape film administered stronger shocks particularly to women

Question 30

Describe the violent video games diagram.

Answer 30

↓ Repeated violent game-playing ↓
↓ Aggressive beliefs and attitudes, Aggressive perceptions, Aggressive expectations, Aggressive behaviour scripts, Aggressive desensitization ↓
Increased aggressive personality

Question 31

How does the group influence aggression? 3 ways

Answer 31

• Diffusion of responsibility
• Social contagion
• Group polarization

Question 32

Is the need for catharsis a valid way of reducing aggression?

Answer 32

No. Misconception of “venting” - expressing aggression increased subsequent aggressive behaviours

Question 33

What is the social learning approach for reducing aggression?

Answer 33

A social learning approach:
* reward cooperative, nonaggressive behaviour
* teach conflict-resolution strategies as alternatives
* reduce media influences
* reduce triggers of aggression