Module 78: Agression

Question 1

Agression

Answer 1

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone, whether done out of hostility or as a calculated means to an end

Question 2

What are the biological factors that lead to aggression?

Answer 2

Genetic influences (twin studies)

Neural Influences (Amygdala and Frontal lobe of the brain)

Biochemical Influences (High levels of testosterone)

Question 3

Does Alcohol increases aggressive behavior?

Answer 3

yes, alcohol is a disinhibitor - it slows brain activity that controls judgment and inhibitions. Under its influence, people may interpret ambiguous acts as provocations and react accordingly.

Question 4

What is the Frustration Aggression Principle?

Answer 4

the principle that frustration - the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal - creates anger, which can generate aggression.

Aversive stimuli - hot temperatures, physical pain, personal insults, foul odors, cigarette smoke, crowding - can evoke hostility.

Frustration creates anger, which can speak aggression.

Even hunger can feed anger - making people “hangry”

Question 5

Does reinforcement lead to aggression?

Answer 5

Yes, if positive reinforcement follows an act of aggression, operant conditioning theory tells us that aggressive behavior is likely to repeat

Question 6

How does modeling lead to aggression?

Answer 6

Parents who act aggressively towards their children, screaming, yelling, or hitting them, may serve as models for their children of how to relate to others.

Parent-training program s often advise parents to avoid modeling violence by screaming and hitting

Question 7

What is social script?

Answer 7

Media violence primes us to respond aggressively when provoked and teaches us social scripts - culturally provided mental files for how to act in certain situations.

As more than 100 studies confirm, humans sometimes imitate what has been viewed

Question 8

Video Games and Violence

Answer 8

Video games can prime aggressive thoughts, decrease empathy, and increase aggression. University men who spend the most hours playing violent video games have also tended to be the most physically aggressive

Question 9

Biological Influences

Answer 9

• genetic influences
• biochemical influences, such as testosterone and alcohol
• neural influences, such as a severe head injury

Question 10

Psychological Influences

Answer 10

• dominating behavior (which boosts testosterone levels in the blood)
• believing that alcohol has been ingested (whether it has or not)
• frustration
• aggressive role models
• rewards for aggressive behavior
• low self-control

Question 11

Social-Cultural Influences

Answer 11

• deindividuation, or a loss of self-awareness and self-restraint
• challenging environmental factors, such as crowding , heat, and direct provocation
• parental models of aggression
• minimal father involvement
• rejection from a group
• exposure to violent media