Week 12 Flashcards
What is aggression?
An act performed with the intent to harm another, who wishes to avoid such harm
covers all types of harm (e.g., physical, emotional)
perpetrator’s intention is important
accidental harm isn’t aggression
success of act doesn’t matter
victim’s wishes are important
Violence = extreme acts of aggression
Biological factors
There is a genetic link to aggression.
A ‘violent temper’ is heritable
‘Giving people a hard time’ is heritable
Assault (verbal, indirect, direct) is heritable
Propensity for adolescent misconduct heritable
Some argue there’s a genetic basis for criminality
Testosterone
Male sex hormone, but present in men and women
Positively correlated with aggression
Evidence:
Testosterone changes due to sex reassignment treatment predict changes in aggression
Prenatal testosterone exposure (lower 2D:4D ratio) associated with more physical aggression in men
Successful aggression can increase testosterone
Stress elevates both testosterone and aggression
Steroids increase both testosterone and aggression
Serotonin
Neurotransmitter that helps people restrain impulses
Negatively correlated with aggression
Serotonin levels tend to drop when someone hasn’t eaten or is stressed (associated with impulsive anger)
Drugs that increase serotonin (e.g., anti-depressants) can reduce aggression
The amygdala helps register threat, and prepare for fight or flight response. As such, the amygdala is implicated in aggression
Aggression
But no person is inevitably aggressive … social psychologists are more interested in how social factors and patterns of thinking might lead to aggression.
negative feelings
The frustration-aggression hypothesis (Dollard et al., 1939)
According to the frustration-aggression hypothesis, frustration (interrupted progress toward an expected goal) always elicits the motive to aggress … so all aggression is caused by frustration
Frustration can lead to displacement (aggressing against a substitute target). So a healthy way to reduce this motive is catharsis (e.g., taking it out on an object).
Goal interference
Build up of psychic energy
Frustration
AGGRESSION
(which is often displaced onto a “scapegoat”)
The frustration-aggression hypothesis: does the evidence support it?
Yes, frustration is related to aggression.
Classic 1941 study:
Children got to play with attractive toys either right away or the toys were locked up behind a wire screen and they had to wait to play with them
Those in the waiting condition were more likely to smash the toys, throw them around, step on them
The frustration-aggression hypothesis: does the evidence support it?
Frustration is greater when:
people are close to reaching their goal
the obstacle is unexpected
Frustration is less likely to lead to aggression:
If frustration is understandable, legitimate, and unintentional
Person who we would lash out at is bigger and stronger
Frustration-aggression hypothesis: revised
The strong version of the hypothesis has been softened in light of the data.
Now, frustration is seen as one of many unpleasant experiences that can lead to aggression by creating negative, uncomfortable feelings.
It is the negative feelings, not frustration itself, that can trigger aggression. And negative feelings can be caused by a wide variety of things …
Provocation
Provocation (e.g., insult, shove) can increase aggression … unless mitigating factors are known in advance
Pain
Participants were asked to put their hand in a bucket of water that was either ice cold or room temperature. They were then put in a position where they could supervise (and give feedback on) a partner’s work.
Those who had to endure pain were more punitive to their partners when supervising their work
Heat
More riots, family disturbances, rapes, and assaults occur in the summer
Number of players hit by pitchers in baseball goes up as the temperature increases
Violence rates tend to be higher for countries the closer they are to the equator; and even within those countries violence increases with temperature.
Limits to frustration-aggression link
As the intensity of negative stimuli increase, so does negative affect and aggression … but only up to a point
When negativity is too intense, escape or fatigue become more dominant aggression decreases
Positive emotions (i.e., laughing at funny cartoons) can help cancel out negative feelings and reduce aggression
Learning from direct experience
Direct experience with rewards and punishments can affect the likelihood of future aggressive responses.
Positive reinforcement
Aggression produces desired outcomes
Negative reinforcement
Aggression prevents or stops undesirable outcomes
Punishment
Aggression results in negative outcomes for you
Social Learning Theory
Indirect experience (observing others) affects the likelihood of future aggressive responses
Bobo Doll Study (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1961)
Children were exposed to same or opposite sex adult who modeled non-aggressive or aggressive behavior (by bashing a Bobo doll)
The kids were then exposed to a frustrating experience : Told that the toys they were playing with were reserved for other children, but they could go to another room and play with those toys.
Kids exposed to the aggressive model played more aggressively … particularly after watching same-sex model.
Positive correlation between
Amount of violent TV watched as a child and aggressiveness as a teenager (as rated by teachers and classmates).
Time spent watching TV during adolescence / early adulthood and subsequent violent acts against others (i.e., assault, armed robbery)
not due to differences in parental education, family income, neighborhood violence, or earlier aggression
Experimental Evidence: Liebert & Baron, 1972
Children randomly assigned to watch
violent TV show (police drama)
exciting but nonviolent TV show (sporting event)
Participants were told there was a child in the next room playing a game that involved turning a handle.
“help” button would help the child turn the handle and make it easier to win the game.
“hurt” button made the handle feel hot – will hurt the child
had to press one or the other, but could choose how long they held it down for – helping/hurting for longer
Media Violence and Aggression
The link between media violence and aggression is stronger when violence is:
described as real vs. fictitious morally justified by the situation described as revenge is carried out by someone participants identify with is approved by an adult
Culture of Honour
In some cultures emphasis is placed on honour and status, particularly for males
Aggression is used to protect honour
Even minor conflicts or disputes are often seen as challenges to social status and reputation and can trigger an aggressive response
Cultural Differences: North vs. South U.S
North Settled by farmers Livelihood not easily stolen Cooperation & community are adaptive Honor is not paramount value Insult says something about insulter South Settled by herders Livelihood easily stolen Independence & toughness are adaptive Honor is paramount value Insult says something about the self
Culture of Honor Studies (Cohen et al)
Participants were white males from North or South.
Participants were told to walk down narrow corridor, drop off form and return
Insult condition: Confederate bumps into participant with shoulder and calls him “asshole”
No insult condition
After the insult
Hormone levels cortisol (stress) testosterone (prepared for aggression) Behaviour: do they act like tough guys? Firmness of handshake Chicken game
Self-control
Being able to resist impulses and act in line with personal/societal standards for appropriate behaviour
Poor self-control predicts greater aggression
towards strangers & romantic partners
crime
cyberbullying
Aggressive people try to control their anger but are less successful than are non-aggressive people.
Alcohol
Studies show that alcohol is linked to
60-70% of homicides
75% of stabbings
70% of beatings
50% of fights and domestic assaults
narrows attention to the most salient aspects of the situation
limits ability to think through the implications of the cues
Alcohol myopia
“a state of shortsightedness in which superficially understood, immediate aspects of experience have a disproportionate influence on behavior and emotion, a state in which we can see the tree, albeit more dimly, but miss the forest altogether”.
Alcohol myopia leads to more extreme behavior when there is inhibition conflict
Salient cues encourage one response, but inhibiting cues encourage restraint
With alcohol myopia, people process the salient cue, but not the inhibiting cue
Zeichner & Pihl, 1979
Participants consumed alcohol or a placebo drink. They then received a loud burst of noise from “another participant” via headphones. To stop the noise, participants could press a button that gave the partner an electric shock (from mild to intense). But then the partner could indicate how much pain they were in by giving another burst of noise.
Conflicting cues
desire to retaliate (salient cue)
don’t want painful tones in return (inhibiting cue)
Results
Intoxicated participants were more aggressive (gave more shock)
For those who were alcohol-affected, behaviour driven by salient cue (desire to retaliate) … the inhibiting cue was less influential
Punish aggressive behavior?
Physical punishment can backfire
because it models aggressive behaviour
Correlational evidence
Measured times spanked and antisocial behavior (2 years later)
More spanking was associated with increased antisocial behavior
Not due to earlier antisocial behavior or SES
When can (non-violent) punishment be effective?
When it’s prompt (immediately follows the
aggressive behaviour).
When it’s certain (consistently applied, unavoidable)
When it’s seen as fair/legitimate
When it’s strong enough to deter the aggressor, but not too harsh (harsh punishments unlikely to lead people to internalize the desired behaviour).
Get it out of our systems?
Catharsis …
A popular belief is that people have to let out their aggression in safe ways or it will build up and lead to lots of aggression. Cathartic acts include performing an aggressive act, watching others be aggressive, or imagining aggressive things.
Nice idea, but it doesn’t work … Imagined aggression or watching aggression in others is more likely to increase arousal and aggression than reduce it.
Catharsis backfires
Geen et al (1975):
Participants angered by a confederate
½ the participants were given an opportunity to shock him (catharsis)
All participants were given the opportunity to shock him on a subsequent task
Those who gave shocks first time gave more shocks the second time
Reasons for the increase
Even low levels of aggression may loosen restraints against more violent behaviour
Feelings of hostility and anger may persist and possibly increase.
Increase empathy
30-hour elementary school program to teach empathy:
Taught kids to put themselves in another’s situation
“What would the world look like to you if you were as small as a cat?”
“What birthday present would make each member of your family happiest?”
Retold stories from perspective of different characters
Children who participated in this program were more empathic, higher in self-esteem, more generous, and less aggressive than those who hadn’t participated.
Increase self-control
Participants first engaged in self-control training (or didn’t)
For 2 weeks, use non-dominant hand from 8am-6pm every day
They were then provoked after performing a speech:
‘‘Honestly, I wasn’t impressed. Ur speech was boring and u sounded like u haven’t given much thought at all to ur future goals. What a waste of my time listening to u.’’
They were then given the opportunity to aggress against the person who provoked them (by giving noise blasts as a “reward” for winning a game).
