AGGRESSION: behaviour intended to hurt or damage a person or object (ie behaviour, intention, hurting/
damaging)
Types of aggression:
- physical vs social/verbal aggression
- direct vs indirect aggression
- offensive vs defensive aggression
- instrumental vs hostile aggression
Instrumental vs hostile aggression
Instrumental aggression: - aggression to reach a goal
- motivated by pursuing reward or avoid punishment
- deliberative, rational (cost-benefit analysis)
Hostile emotional aggression: - aggression with goal to hurt or impose damage
- emerges from anger or rage
- impulsive, irrational
eg bad treatment, ego-threat, revenge
Gender differences in aggression
Men are more often murderer and victim
- male offender/male victim: 65.1 percent
- male offender/female victim: 22.4 percent
- female offender/male victim: 10.1 percent
- female offender/female victim: 2.4percent
Individual factors
- heritability
- hormones/neurotransmitters (eg testosterones, serotonin)
- gender
- personality traits (eg narcissism)
- attribution style (eg hostile attribution style)
,ORIGINS OF AGGRESSION
(1) inborn
- Freud: death drive (Thanatos)
- suppression = damaging, explosive outbursts
- belief that expressing anger releases tension and decreases aggression (catharsis)
HOWEVER, expressing anger only leads to more aggression
- Lorenz: instinct
- fight or flight instinct
Bushman (2002) boxing ball experiment
Task: participants were first made angry (negative evaluation). In 2 of 3 conditions, participants were
subsequently asked to hit a boxing ball
- hit the ball and think of the student who gave the negative evaluation
- hit the ball and think of getting physically in shape
Aggression: noise blasts for mistakes in decibels
(2) response to negative affect (ie frustration)
- frustration-aggression theory: aggression is always a response to frustration
- frustration stems not from deprivation itself, but from the gap between expectations and
achievements
- triggered displaced aggression: aggression sometimes displaces to different 'target' than
original source of frustration
- cognitive-neoassociationist model: negative effect is the main cause of anger and effective
aggression
- such tendencies can be suppressed through self-regulation
,(3) learned
- learning that aggression pays by experience and observation of others' successes
- Bandura: observational learning (ie children learn aggression by observing role models)
- aggression will increase if aggression is rewarded (through operant conditioning)
'Bobo doll' study
Participants: 48 boys, 48 girls
- adult model (live vs film)
- cartoon model (film)
- no model
After watching the model, children were first frustrated (room with beautiful toys that they were not
allowed to touch).
After that, left alone in different room for 20 minutes to play with toys. Children's behaviour was
observed and coded for aggression and imitation
Results: main effect for gender, also notable that men were more affected by male models and females
were more affected by female models
However, consider that
- the experiment was designed for rough treatment (ie could elicit aggression)
- is it possible to generalise aggression to toys with aggression to people?
, INFLUENCE OF AGGRESSION
(1) aversive experiences
- includes frustrations, discomfort, pain and personal attacks (physical and verbal)
(2) arousal from any source can be transformed into other emotions like anger
eg Schachter & Singer (1962) study: 2-factor theory
- physical arousal and labelling causes more aggression or more laughter when triggered
- anger when with annoying person, laughter when with funny person
(3) viewing violence
- breeds modest increase in aggressive behaviour (especially in provoked individuals)
- desensitises viewers to aggression
- alters perceptions of reality
(4) group situations
- occurs by diffusing responsibility and polarising actions
(5) social and situational factors
- alcohol consumption: (learned) disinhibition, decreased self-awareness
- heat and seasonal variation: higher tendency for aggression when heat increases
eg slight increase in water temperature may cause 'lemon damselfish' to become 6 times
more active, bold and aggressive
study on hiring and firing
results: temperature was especially linked to intergroup conflict
- crowds: bigger crowds, more aggression
- pain
- situational/aggression cues
- weapons effect: guns not only permit violence, they can stimulate it as well
- contingent on people's association with the weapon (eg some hunters may have no
such association)
- social/situational role, behaviour of others, norms, etc
eg people from culture of honour are more aggressive when insulted or hurt
- aggression following hurt egos is aimed towards the source
- motive: revenge, restoring honour, confirming superiority and feeling control
- differs with culture: eg Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures places
importance on the 'feelings of honour'
damaging)
Types of aggression:
- physical vs social/verbal aggression
- direct vs indirect aggression
- offensive vs defensive aggression
- instrumental vs hostile aggression
Instrumental vs hostile aggression
Instrumental aggression: - aggression to reach a goal
- motivated by pursuing reward or avoid punishment
- deliberative, rational (cost-benefit analysis)
Hostile emotional aggression: - aggression with goal to hurt or impose damage
- emerges from anger or rage
- impulsive, irrational
eg bad treatment, ego-threat, revenge
Gender differences in aggression
Men are more often murderer and victim
- male offender/male victim: 65.1 percent
- male offender/female victim: 22.4 percent
- female offender/male victim: 10.1 percent
- female offender/female victim: 2.4percent
Individual factors
- heritability
- hormones/neurotransmitters (eg testosterones, serotonin)
- gender
- personality traits (eg narcissism)
- attribution style (eg hostile attribution style)
,ORIGINS OF AGGRESSION
(1) inborn
- Freud: death drive (Thanatos)
- suppression = damaging, explosive outbursts
- belief that expressing anger releases tension and decreases aggression (catharsis)
HOWEVER, expressing anger only leads to more aggression
- Lorenz: instinct
- fight or flight instinct
Bushman (2002) boxing ball experiment
Task: participants were first made angry (negative evaluation). In 2 of 3 conditions, participants were
subsequently asked to hit a boxing ball
- hit the ball and think of the student who gave the negative evaluation
- hit the ball and think of getting physically in shape
Aggression: noise blasts for mistakes in decibels
(2) response to negative affect (ie frustration)
- frustration-aggression theory: aggression is always a response to frustration
- frustration stems not from deprivation itself, but from the gap between expectations and
achievements
- triggered displaced aggression: aggression sometimes displaces to different 'target' than
original source of frustration
- cognitive-neoassociationist model: negative effect is the main cause of anger and effective
aggression
- such tendencies can be suppressed through self-regulation
,(3) learned
- learning that aggression pays by experience and observation of others' successes
- Bandura: observational learning (ie children learn aggression by observing role models)
- aggression will increase if aggression is rewarded (through operant conditioning)
'Bobo doll' study
Participants: 48 boys, 48 girls
- adult model (live vs film)
- cartoon model (film)
- no model
After watching the model, children were first frustrated (room with beautiful toys that they were not
allowed to touch).
After that, left alone in different room for 20 minutes to play with toys. Children's behaviour was
observed and coded for aggression and imitation
Results: main effect for gender, also notable that men were more affected by male models and females
were more affected by female models
However, consider that
- the experiment was designed for rough treatment (ie could elicit aggression)
- is it possible to generalise aggression to toys with aggression to people?
, INFLUENCE OF AGGRESSION
(1) aversive experiences
- includes frustrations, discomfort, pain and personal attacks (physical and verbal)
(2) arousal from any source can be transformed into other emotions like anger
eg Schachter & Singer (1962) study: 2-factor theory
- physical arousal and labelling causes more aggression or more laughter when triggered
- anger when with annoying person, laughter when with funny person
(3) viewing violence
- breeds modest increase in aggressive behaviour (especially in provoked individuals)
- desensitises viewers to aggression
- alters perceptions of reality
(4) group situations
- occurs by diffusing responsibility and polarising actions
(5) social and situational factors
- alcohol consumption: (learned) disinhibition, decreased self-awareness
- heat and seasonal variation: higher tendency for aggression when heat increases
eg slight increase in water temperature may cause 'lemon damselfish' to become 6 times
more active, bold and aggressive
study on hiring and firing
results: temperature was especially linked to intergroup conflict
- crowds: bigger crowds, more aggression
- pain
- situational/aggression cues
- weapons effect: guns not only permit violence, they can stimulate it as well
- contingent on people's association with the weapon (eg some hunters may have no
such association)
- social/situational role, behaviour of others, norms, etc
eg people from culture of honour are more aggressive when insulted or hurt
- aggression following hurt egos is aimed towards the source
- motive: revenge, restoring honour, confirming superiority and feeling control
- differs with culture: eg Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures places
importance on the 'feelings of honour'
