Aggression

Question 1

What is aggression?

Answer 1

Intent to harm, injure another living being
who is motivated to avoid such treatment.

• hurt, destroy somebody or yourself

Question 2

What are the types of aggression

Answer 2

1. Direct aggression (e.g. hitting)
   - Out-group hostile
2. Indirect Aggression
   -intention but no direct consequence
   (e.g. refusing to help in an emergency - showing kind of aggression)
   -In-group Favoritism
3. Hostile aggression (e.g. bloddy nose =physical harm)
4. instrumental aggression ( passive aggression; superordinate goal, manipulation threat)
5. Proactive aggression
   (e.g before you hit us, we will hit you)
6. Reactive aggression
   -reaction respond
   -self-defend
   -legitimate
   (Hostile +Instrumental)

Question 3

Classes of Explanations for aggression

Answer 3

1. Biological
2. Evolutionary
3. Social Explanation

Question 4

Biological Explanation of aggression

Answer 4

• nature-nurture controversy

- innate action tendency

Question 5

aggression as an instinct

Answer 5

• pattern of response that is predetermined genetically

- driven by impulse

Question 6

Characteristics of an instinct

Answer 6

1. Goal-directed = has a specific consequence (e.g. attack)
2. beneficial= for the individual and the whole species
3. adapted= to a normal environment
4. shared = by all members of the species
5. Developed= clear way as the individual matures
6. unlearned= made out of personal experience

Question 7

nature-nurture controversy

Answer 7

discussion if some behavior is learned by environmental factors or genetically predetermined

Question 8

Psychodynamic self theory

Answer 8

- Freud 
aggression builds up naturally through bodily tension
- self-destruction 
- redirection to someone else 
- need for release = one factor theory 
- innate death instinct (Thanatos)

Question 9

Ethnology

Answer 9

study of instincts of a species in its natural social environment
(how people act in their natural environment)

Question 10

What is Ethnology about?

Answer 10

• behavior is genetically determined
• control through natural selection
• aggression triggered by environmental factor = releaser
• survival value

Question 11

releasers

Answer 11

specific stimuli in the environment that triggers aggressive behavior

Question 12

Two factor- conditional theory

Answer 12

1. innate urge to aggress

2. response depends on environmental stimulus (releasers )

Question 13

Evolutionary social psychology

Answer 13

complex social behavior = adaptive + function to help individuals, kin and the whole species to survive

-innate basis of aggression
= all social behavior has an biological basis

-Darwinian theory: “survival of the fittest” transferring genes

Question 14

Biosocial explanation

Answer 14

emphasis on innate component of behavior but not a fully instinct that influences the behavior

Question 15

Frustration-aggression hypothesis

Answer 15

all frustration leads to aggression

all aggression comes from frustration

Question 16

Problem with Frustration aggression hypothesis

Answer 16

1. what is really frustration

2. what kind of frustration does really lead to aggression

Question 17

Excitation-transfer model

Answer 17

• mostly that you transfer any produced emotional arousal (i.e. aggression) by an experience to another situation (gym - parking space)

Function of aggression expression =

1. learnt aggressive behavior
2. arousal from another source
3. interpretation of the arousal state (appropriate)
4. arousal can transfer from a previous situation to another that can trigger aggression (if you tend to be more aggressive) +

• lossing control over the arousal

Question 18

Social learning theory (Bandura)

Answer 18

human social behavior can be learned from appropriate models

• not innate
• learning form direct experience
• learning from vicarious experience
• learning by modeling

Question 19

Process of social learning

Answer 19

1. Acquiring behavior patterns
2. practicing the behavior in public
3. keeping the behavior in long term

Question 20

learning by direct experience

Answer 20

reward and punishment for a specific behavior

-learning through socialization

• reward =higher likelihood that you will do the behavior again
• modelling and imitation

Question 21

Learning by modeling

Answer 21

• you act and behave like your role model = observational learning
• aggressive models = leads to imitation of behavior
• learning a script (cognitive schema)
• result: internalizing aggressive behavior

Question 22

Is it possible to modify or remove behavior ?

Answer 22

yes if it is an learned behavior

Question 23

Individual differences for aggression

Answer 23

1. Personality
2. Hormones
3. Gender
4. Catharsis
5. Alcohol
6. Disinhibition
7. Deindividuation
8. dehumanisation

Question 24

Personality factors

Answer 24

age, gender,

• self-esteem
• frustration tolerance

situational context

• previous experience with others aggressive behavior
• success of own aggressive behavior in the past
• likelihood of reward and punishment

Question 25

Type A- personality | Coronary-prone personality

Answer 25

characterized by the heart disease - over-activeness - ambition to achieve things - excessively competitiveness - preference to work alone

Question 26

Catharsis

Answer 26

release of aggressive emotion when you act against an object replacement of the aggression to an object

Question 27

Catharsis hypothesis

Answer 27

acting aggressively or only view aggressive material = reduction of aggressive emotion

Question 28

Characteristics of narcissistic people

Answer 28

- inflated self-esteem - feel that they are more entitled to things - prone to aggression

Question 29

Disinhibition hypothesis

Answer 29

that learnt control mechanisms against acting antisocially, impulsively are weakened e. g. alcohol impairs cortical control - increase in more primitive brain areas

Question 30

Deindividuation

Answer 30

losing sense of having a socialized individual identity | - more unsocialized, antisocial behavior

Question 31

Collective aggression

Answer 31

group acts together against an individual or another group

Question 32

Problem with catharsis

Answer 32

- if you place your aggression on to another object you are more likely to act more aggressively afterwards

Question 33

General Aggression model

Answer 33

combination of situational and personal factors + cognitive and affective processes for explaining aggression -activation of internal states (affect, cognitive, arousal)

Question 34

What are Sociotal Influence/Factors?

Answer 34

1. disadvantaged groups - relative deprivation - fraternalistic deprivation 2. Cultural norms - culture of honor

Question 35

Culture of honor

Answer 35

culture that allows men to use violent behavior when they feel that they are threatened in their status or ego

Question 36

What is the role of the media related to aggression ?

Answer 36

Desensitization - social learning theory connected to children's habits - promotion of violence and aggression through reading or simple exposure to aggressive content - automatic reaction process

Question 37

Desensitization

Answer 37

you are less likely to respond to a presented material/scene that would usually provoke strong emotional feelings against it like violence or sexuality

Question 38

neo-associationist- analysis

Answer 38

provided violent material by mass media my provoke/promote antisocial behavior later on

Question 39

Priming

Answer 39

when you activate existing/accessible categories or schemas in your memory - influences how we behave when you get new information - mostly automatic process - arise of similar feelings linked to aggressive emotions

Question 40

Institutionalized aggression

Answer 40

if the aggression is formally/informally accepted and recognized by the the government - integrated into the social structure (rules/norms) - Authoritarianism

Question 41

Agentic State

Answer 41

state of mind that when you follow any given instructions without questioning them transfer personal responsibility to the person who gives the orders -distance yourself from responsibility

Question 42

What promotes collective group based aggression ?

Answer 42

= consequence of societal uncertainty -uncertainty about one's identity as a group member --> leads to extreme violent protection behavior in favor of the the in-group

Question 43

What can you do to reduce aggression?

Answer 43

- not rewarding violent acts - avoiding physical punishment interpersonal level: - increasing optimism = behavior modification( skills training - Peace studies - educational promotion of non- violent behavior