Aggression
- Created by: Sess
- Created on: 11-05-15 17:06
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- Aggression
- Definition
- Physical or verbal behaviour intended to intentionally cause harm.
- Excludes intentional actions where pain is unavoidable eg medical treatment.
- Buss (1961) outlined two broad kinds
- Social Aggression (Displays of rage)
- Leads to Hostile Aggression in Humans
- Silent Aggression
- Leads to Instrumental Aggression (aims to injure but only as a means to an end)
- Social Aggression (Displays of rage)
- Theories of Aggression
- Biological theories
- Instinct Theory
- Aggression is an adaptive strategy
- Purposeful aggression increases chance of survival + reproduction
- McAndrew (2009)
- But it fails to account for the variations in aggressiveness from culture to culture eg Amish people
- Horstein (1976)
- Neural Influences
- Low levels of serotonin in the brain reduces inhibitory effect in pre-frontal cortex so aggressive impulses are harder to control
- Raine et al (2008)
- Mann et al (1990) manipulated serotonin levels with injections to healthy males. Low levels increased aggression
- Low levels of serotonin in the brain reduces inhibitory effect in pre-frontal cortex so aggressive impulses are harder to control
- Genetic Influences
- Twin studies show that MZ twins are more similarily aggressive than DZ
- McGuffin & Gotesman (1985)
- Biochemical Influences
- Testosterone
- High testosterone causes aggression
- Archer (1991)
- Meta-analysis involving 5 studies, 230 males.
- Cortisol
- Lower Cortisol acts as a mediator for high testosterone causing aggression
- van Goozen et al (2007)
- Alcohol
- Unleashes aggression. 4/10 prisoners were drunk when they committed a violent crime
- Carlberg & James (2005)
- Testosterone
- Instinct Theory
- Behavioural theories
- Bandura (1986)
- Children learn aggression from observing others
- They are vicariously rewarded for it when they see others being rewarded
- He proposed 3 aggressive role models: media, family and culture
- Mass media enables learning of violence
- Criticisms of Bandura are demand characteristics and low external validity
- Cognitive Theories
- Frustration-aggression Theory
- Frustration: Anthing that blocks attainment of a goal. It grows as motivation to achieve a goal grows
- The Mmore frustrated you are , the more likely to be aggressive
- Dollard (1939)
- Displacement then occurs, aggression is re-targeted, possibly to something with similar tendencies
- Was revised, frustration produces anger and it is released only when cues are present (weapon etc)
- Berkowitz (1989)
- Schemas (Scripts)
- The factors that promote this are perceived realism, identification with characters, developmental age, rehersal
- Frustration-aggression Theory
- Biological theories
- Factors Influencing
- Aversive Incidents
- Heat
- Hippocrates wondered if the heat makes humans angrier
- Students were asked to fill out a questionnaire in either a hot or normal room. They reported feeling more irritable in the former & were therefore more aggressive to a stranger
- Griffit (1970)
- Pain
- When lab rats were shocked electrically when near each other, they just attacked with the shock was reduced instead of being friendly
- Uni students had their hands in either cold or lukewarm water. Those with hands in cold water were more irritable, readily blasted strangers with noise
- Berkowitz (1998)
- Arzin (1967)
- Attacks
- Being attacked or insulted leads to anger
- Ppts competed against a programme they thought was human in a reaction time contest. The winner had to shock other, ppts retaliated with equally strong shocks
- Onbuchi + Kambara (1985)
- Heat
- Arousal
- 2 groups of men were injected with adrenaline. One warned about side effects, the other not
- The ones warned were irritated by standing next to a rude persson and amused by a cheerful one. 2nd group ignored side effects of drug
- Therefore, a state of bodily arousal feeds one emotion or another depending on the situation
- Schacter + Singer (1962)
- Aversive Incidents
- Situational Cues
- Weapons
- The presence of weapons predisposes to violence
- Ppl with weapons in their house were 2.7 more times likely to be killed, usually by family or close accquaintance
- Kellerman (1997)
- ***********
- The most popular storyline involves women resisting while a man 'persuades'.
- Showed University males 2 sexual films (where a man overcomes a woman without her express consent) or 2 non-sexual ones.
- A week later when surveyed by another experimenter, those who saw the sexual films were more accepting to violence against women
- Malamuth & Check (1981)
- Sun et al (2008)
- Television Violence
- Desensitisation
- Video Games
- The greater the exposure to videogames, the more hostile students were to teachers
- Gentile et al (2004) USA
- repeated exposure desensitises you
- Linz et al (1988)
- Showed 'Slasher'horror films for 2 weeks. Took measurements of fear from 1 and last day
- The ppts perceived them to be less violent and degrading to women, anxiety & depression about it decreased in the end
- Video Games
- There is an abundance of violence on telly
- Viewing violence at age 8 was a predictor of a serious criminal offence at 30.
- Bhutan: Last nation to get telly in 1999. It resulted in an increased crime rate and everyone feeling jealous + stressed
- Eron + Heusmann (1984)
- Desensitisation
- Video Games
- The greater the exposure to videogames, the more hostile students were to teachers
- Gentile et al (2004) USA
- Weapons
- Definition
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