5. Aggression

Question 1

What is the definition of aggression?

Answer 1

Behaviour that is intended to harm another person who is motivated to avoid that harm

Question 2

What is the psychodynamic theory of aggression?

Answer 2

Human aggression stems from Thanatos (death instinct)

Question 3

What is Lorenz’s (1966) theory for aggression?

Answer 3

Humans have a fighting instinct- our impulse to aggress which is claimed to be shared by other animals

Question 4

What is the cathartic hypothesis?

Answer 4

We aggress as an outlet or release for pent-up emotion

Question 5

What personality type is more aggressive?

Answer 5

Type A: overactive, achievement-orientatied

Question 6

How does alcohol have an impact on aggression levels?- biological reasons

Answer 6

Effects cortisol control and increases activity in more primate areas

Question 7

What did Taylor and Sears find in an interaction between alcohol and social pressure?

Answer 7

Participants that drank more gave more high-intensity shocks after being pressured and when pressure was withdrawn

Question 8

What did Begue et al (2009) find in a placebo study of the interaction between alcohol and aggression?

Answer 8

PPt’s who thought they had consumed alcohol were more aggressive even if they were given a non-alcoholic cocktail

Question 9

What is disinhibition and online disinhibition?

Answer 9

Disinihibition: a reduction in social rules that stop us behaving antisocially or in an immoral/illegal way
Online: people often do and say things online they wouldn’t do normally

Question 10

What are Suler’s (2004) 6 factors that contribute to online disinhibition?

Answer 10

Dissociative anonymity
Invisibility
Asychronicity (messages/posts aren’t seen immediately after sending)
Solipsistic introjection (feeling like you know people online)
Dissociative imagination (seeing the online world as a game)
Minimisation of authority

Question 11

What is a social example of dehumanisation?

Answer 11

Gustave Le Bon= people feel anonymous in crowd situations e.g. riots, football hooliganism

Question 12

What is the frustration- aggression hypothesis?

Answer 12

Aggression is always caused by frustration and directed towards the source of frustration

Question 13

Whats a critisism of the frustration- aggression hypothesis?

Answer 13

Not clear how frustration leads to aggression- not a causal relationship

Question 14

What is social learning theory?

Answer 14

Behaviour is learned from a model and learning by experience or vicarious experience

Question 15

What are some themes of peaceful societies?

Answer 15

Co-operation and group success
Positive interpersonal relations reinforced
Competition is associated with aggression and violence

Question 16

What did Cohen et al (1996) find about the north or south divide in aggression in the us?

Answer 16

More homocides in the south
A confederate bumps into a ppt in the hallway- southern students reported increased aggression

Question 17

What did Fujihara et al find were the differences in cultures and aggression?

Answer 17

Indirect verbal aggression + physical - more acceptable in individualistic
Direct verbal aggression- more accceptable in collectivist