Aggression Flashcards
Aggression
Physical, verbal, and nonverbal behaviour intended to hurt someone
– hostile, instrumental, relational
hostile aggression
hurting someone else because we are angry
instrumental aggression
hurting someone else to achieve some other purpose
relational aggression
aggression that harms someone else through the manipulation of friendships
Agression: nature or nurture
Nature: evolutionary instincts, genes, testosterone
nurture: social learning theory (Bandura), culture of honour
social learning theory
*behaviourism
*social learning theory
We learn how to behave by behaving and experiencing consequences (Behaviourism)
we learn how to behave by observing others behave and observing the consequences of their behaviour (social learning theory / observational learning)
culture of honour
southern, southwestern US states are classified as “cultures of honour”
- herding cultures with great distance from law enforcement
- strong concerns about reputation
- insults deserve retaliation
- imposing violence on people who threaten your reputation
- became cultural norm in south of states which is still around today
murder rates in the culture of honour
argument-related murders are much more common in the south and southwest than in other regions of the US because of that area’s culture of honour
culture also impacts facial expressions, southerners tend to look more angry when someone crosses them
- southerners are more inclined to violence
Culture of Honour in Canada
Canada had law enforcement scattered everywhere
- people would chose to settle in areas that may have been close to or far away from forts
- more violence for those further away
situational causes of aggression
frustration-aggression theory and displacement
frustration-aggression theory
states that the single best determinant of aggression is frustration
– in this view, we will aggress when our goals are blocked
displacement
when we aggress towards something similar to what blocked our goal
critiques of the frustration-aggression hypothesis
Learned helplessness
frustration/goal-blocking does not always cause aggression
–valid excuses and apologies can cause you to not be aggressive towards someone else
– learned helplessness
* when they experience continuous stressful situations where they just accept their goal being blocked
revised version of frustration-aggression theory
neo-associationistic account of aggression
Neo-associationistic account of aggression
starts with an aversive event (old model would say this leads to aggression)
Mediating process of emotion - aversive event leads to anger
if anger doesn’t go away, leads to aggression (physical and emotional)
anger management
based on the middle stage of mediating the process of emotion
– training people to recognize anger
– recognizing elevated arousal when angry
situational causes of aggression
* relative deprivation theory
relative deprivation theory
– perception that individuals (or their social group) have less than they deserve is associated with aggression
big gaps between socioeconomic status would cause high amounts of relative deprivation theory
countries with low income inequality have lower amounts of relative deprivation so less aggression and anger
income inequality and aggression
as income inequality goes up, so do homicide rates
- when there is a gap between what you expect and what you actually attain, it causes anger and aggression
situational causes of aggression (4)
- relative deprivation theory
- heat
- alcohol
- the weapons effect
Heat and aggression
heat is an environmental irritant
* hotter = more aggression
— more road rage, more violent crime
why? — makes you uncomfortable, increases arousal
– misattributing being mad about heat to being mad at others
Alcohol and aggression
Alcohol increases aggressive behaviour
* reduces anxiety and reduces inhibitions against aggression
* interferes with information processing
– alcohol myopia: reduces self-awareness and enhances de-individuation
* less spotlight feeling which increases aggressive responses
– S2 inhibitor
– heightens negative emotions like sadness and anger
** people perceive a negative event to be way worse when they are intoxicated
the weapons effect
the mere presence of weapons acts as a cue that can cause violence
- in an experiment, participants gave way more shocks when there was a weapon around
do violent video games cause violence
increased aggression
decreased prosocial behaviour
increased aggressive thoughts
increased aggressive emotions
– playing video games creates schemas that other people don’t have
- evidence that they increase aggression but also that they might not have an effect on aggression that actually matters
catharsis
venting emotions
- catharsis should relieve aggression
- but sometimes ends up with being angrier than to begin with
