chapter 12
what is Aggression:
Physical or verbal behavior intended to harm another who is motivated to avoid such treatment
Emotional/hostile aggression:
Inflict harm for its own sake
Instrumental aggression:
Inflict harm to obtain something of value
Forms of aggression:
-physical
-Verbal
-nonverbal
-direct
-non-direct
-cyberbullying
Displacement=
we take our anger out on a substitute
Violence=
we intended to inflict serious harm
3 different factors against aggression…
-reactive/hostile, emotional just want to hurt
-proactive/instrumental, kill our partner to be with someone
-appetitive, we derive pleasure from aggression
Biological factors that predict aggression:
*Instinct
*Evolution
*Genetics
*Hormones
Darwin=
having an instinct, survival of the fittest
Freud=
Eros- encourages us to do actions to survive
Thanatos- an instinct for death and destruction
*2 famous theories
*Freud’s death wish
*Lorenz’s instinct theory
what is Catharsis:
Aggression is energy that builds up over time until it is released, release of suppressed energy or emotion “bottling up your feelings”
*Not generally an effective way of dealing with aggressive feelings
Lorenze instinct theory of aggression-
Our innate drive to live leads to our desire to aggress against others
Adaptive:
Those who are aggressive are more likely to survive (so are their offspring)
*79% of child deaths are caused by abuse/neglect from a parent
*About 182 Canadian women were victims of homicide in 2004; 62 of these were spousal homicides
*In Canada, only 1 in 10 sexual assaults are reported to the police, making it difficult to quantify; it is estimated they occur at 73 per 100 000.
what is Genetics in aggression-
Up to 50% of the variance in aggression may be caused by genetic factors
*Children who are highly aggressive early in life are more likely to be aggressive in later life
what are Hormones in aggression-
*In virtually all societies, males are more aggressive than females
*Maybe because of the presence of the male sex hormone testosterone
*highly aggressive People have higher levels of testosterone than those who are less
aggressive
*Testosterone rates are also correlated with the level of violence in women
What is Social Learning Theory:
We learn behavior by observing/modeling others’ behavior as well as by the presence of punishments and rewards
*Males and females are taught different things about the costs and benefits of aggression
*Males have higher rates of physical aggression
*Females have higher rates of relational aggression
what is the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (DACC)-
activates when we perceive a social threat, higher activation of DACC is more likely to agree.
what is the MAOA-
the gene is activated we are less likely to agress.
Low levels of serotonin=
like aggression, low levels of serotonin mean less communication between the frontal lobes and the amygdala.
We learn to agress through:
observation, operant conditioning, and cognitive dissonance
High testosterone:
This leads to an increased readiness to react aggressively to Provocation, Makes people more impatient and irritable, and Experiences more arousal, tension, and frustration
Bi-directional:
Testosterone can increase aggression, aggression, and aggressive cues can
increase levels of testosterone, the Neurotransmitter serotonin is also linked to Aggression.
Theories that explain how psychological factors influence aggression:
*Frustration-aggression theory
*Cognitive-neo-association theory
*Excitation transfer theory
*Social learning theory
*General aggression model
what is the Frustration aggression theory-
Frustration always leads to the desire to aggress; all aggression is caused by some form of frustration. When the target of your frustration is not available, you displace your anger on whatever target is available.
Tend to displace aggression toward certain people:
*Immigrants, the unemployed, welfare recipients, etc.
what is Domestic violence study=
Study was conducted to see what present of people accepted domestic violence. Particpanrs heard girl being slammed around in the other room and when she came into the same room as the studies she said something about how he still loves her and 29% of participants from southern states said the agression was okay so did, 24% hispanic community and onyl 10% from the norther states.
what is Relative deprivation:
Discontent is caused by the belief that you fare poorly compared to people in other groups
*Leads to perceived injustice and frustration
*People displace their economic frustrations onto minorities
what are Critiques of frustration-aggression theory…
*Frustration may not lead to aggression, but instead to other emotions, such as disappointment, sadness, and depression
*Not all aggression stems from frustration
*Frustration is more likely to lead to emotional/hostile aggression rather than instrumental aggression
what is Cognitive-neo-association theory-
Any event that leads to a negative affect (e.g.,heat, pain, unpleasant noises, odors, crowding) can lead to aggression
Aggressive behavior could include observing the following types of aggression:
*Aggression in daily life
*Aggression in the media
*Reading a story containing aggressive acts
what do hot temps have to do with aggression
As the temperature increases, so does the incidence of aggressive acts (murder, rape, domestic violence, assault)
*Heat leads to increased physiological arousal and hostile feelings and thoughts
-Aggression is also produced when people experience other bad conditions (pollution, threatened self-esteem, crowding, pain, noise, poverty, etc.)
Cues to aggression=
The mere presence of an object associated with aggression can trigger aggressive behavior.
what is Arousal-affect/excitation transfer model:
Aggression is influenced by the intensity of arousal
and the type of emotion produced by the stimulus
*We misattribute our feelings of arousal caused by other sources to the situation
*If there are cues to aggression in the situation, we interpret our arousal as aggression
what is Social learning theory…
-Behavior is learned by observing or modeling others’ behavior as well as by the presence of punishments and rewards, or reinforcements
-Both of these factors can lead to aggressive behavior
Triggered display of aggression=
We are in situation A and we get mad and want to agress but don't, we are now in situation B and we get mad and frustrated but now it's way bigger.
Who do we usually display anger on?
somebody who is weaker than us, pets, children, or family members that have to put up with us
what does Modeling cause-
*Children can learn to engage in aggressive behavior by watching such behavior
*In real life or through television and movies
what is the General aggression model-
*Both individual differences (genetics, personality, hostility) and situational factors
(frustration, aggression cues) lead to aggression
-related thoughts, feelings, and/or physiological arousal
*People vary in their general tendency toward aggression
*Exposure to cues of aggression (aggressive words, photo of a weapon, violent movie, or video game, songs with violent lyrics) can trigger aggressive thoughts and feelings
*Activation of aggressive thoughts and feelings can lead to aggressive behavior
Several factors contribute to the link between media violence and aggression:
*Modelling aggression
*Priming aggressive thoughts and emotions
*Creating physiological arousal
*Reducing reactions to aggression
Provides aggression model-
*One-way exposure to violence on television can lead to aggression is via modeling
*People exposed to media violence learn aggressive ways to act as well as the rewards for this behavior
*Television shows and movies portray the world as full of people who are evil and violent
*Creates a suspicious and cynical worldview, which can increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior
Primes aggressive thoughts and feelings-
Exposure to violence in the media primes aggressive thoughts and feelings, which in turn
can lead to aggressive behavior.
What creates philosophical arousal?
*Watching highly violent television leads to physiological arousal
*Increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and skin’s conductance of electricity, which in turn can increase aggression
*Arousal can energize, or heighten, whatever a person is already feeling
*Increases the likelihood a person will act on his/her feelings
*Arousal can lead to misattribution of the cause of this arousal
*May react more strongly if provoked by another person
what is Desensitization/disinhibition:
Repeated exposure to violence over time can reduce
people’s psychological and physiological reactions to aggressive images
*People who are repeatedly exposed to violence in the media show lower levels of arousal in response to aggression images
*Desensitization can also reduce people’s inhibitions about engaging in aggressive
Behavior.
Ways of reducing aggression:
*Punish aggressive behavior
*Model nonaggressive responses
*Train in communication and problem-solving skills
*Increase empathy
Bad mood/ cognitive neo-association model-
negative emotions link frustration and aggression. Any factor that creates negative emotions within us, is linked to and associated with frustration.
what is Punishment:
Provision of unpleasant consequences to try to reduce a negative behavior
*May reduce aggression, but also models the use of aggression
Modeling non-aggressive responses-
*Children can learn and model nonaggressive responses
*Parents can also discuss problems with television modeling
Training in communications and problem-solving skills-
*Show people how to respond constructively (rather than aggressively) to frustrating situations
*Apologize
*Acknowledges wrong-doing and expresses regret
*Let the person know you are angry
*Distract yourself
what does empathy have to do with aggression
If we feel empathy towards others, we feel guilty if we hurt them, so we find it harder to aggress against them
*Learning information indicating that a person should not be held fully responsible for his/her
actions can also reduce our desire for aggression
Prevalence of domestic violence
*Canada is among the countries with low homicide rates
*The U.S. is one of the most violent Western countries
*Collectivistic countries tend to have higher rates of aggression
*But peer-directed aggression is lower in collectivistic cultures
*Child-rearing norms can influence the acceptability of aggression
Power distance:
The extent to which status and hierarchical relationships are valued in a culture.
Hostile attribution bias-
Attribute others' behavior to ill intentions and hostiles.
Hostile expectation bias-
We expect others to act in a hostile way
Hostile perception bias-
Our tendency is to see social situations as much more hostile than they actually are.
what is Rumination-
-think about something negative or upsetting over and over again. In this instance, we are more likely to agress.
Subcultural differences in aggression,
Peaceful societies are found throughout the world
*Intense focus on intergroup cooperation
*Avoidance of competition
*Inhibition of emotions
what are the three parts of the dark triad
narcissism= super inflated ego, tend to think we are better than everyone
Machniavellianism= extremely manipulative
Psycho= no conscience, no empathy, compassion, or guilt. We disregard the rights of others on a continuous basis.
narcissism=
super inflated ego, tend to think we are better than everyone
Machiavellianism=
extremely manipulative
Psycho=
no conscience, no empathy, compassion, or guilt. We disregard the rights of others on a continuous basis.
Interpersonal causes-
Selfishness and influences no matter how kind we are, we are still a little selfish.
All in the family-
people who abuse tend to come from abuse. Learning via modeling and imitation takes layaway our security we are more likely. Develop hostile conditions.
External factors of aggression…
unpleasant environments
Weapons effect-
the mere presence of a gun in a room increases aggressive thoughts and emotions, and more testosterone.
Media-
seems to be a link between violence and media and in real life, We feel arousal when watching violent things, which distorts our perception of the world. Less likely to have no empathy.