Aggression and Violence Theories

Aggression and Violence

• Aggression is any behavior (physical, verbal, or relational) intended to harm someone who does not want to be harmed.
• Key features of aggression include being visible, observable, intentional, not accidental, and where the victim wants to avoid harm. It may or may not achieve its intended goal. The goal is to harm another person on purpose.
• Violence is aggression intended to cause severe physical harm, serious injury, or death.
• Examples of aggression include:
  • Danny telling a coworker that Sarah is stealing printer ink to harm her reputation
  • Tristan punching someone but missing
  • Susie kicking her partner under the table before he reveals a secret.

Theories of Aggression

• Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis: Aggressive behavior is always caused by frustration. Frustration occurs when a person is blocked from reaching a goal, which leads to aggression. Limitations include excluding other causes such as tiredness and anxiety.
• Reformulated Frustration-Aggression Model: Frustration does not always lead to aggression; it only does so when negative emotions like anger, distress are elicited. Two key factors are negative affect (frustration, pain, discomfort, heat, odors) and aggressive inclinations (emotional tendency to act aggressively). The more unexpected the frustration, the greater the negative affect and aggression. Aggression is more likely if goals are just within reach and then taken away.

Factors Contributing to Aggression

• Personal Factors: Personality, mood, gender, and cognitive biases (like hostile attribution bias) influence aggression.
• Social Norms: Societal expectations have an impact on aggression (e.g., acceptable behavior and punishments), affecting how aggression is shown and how acceptable it is.
• Consequences: Punishment can deter aggression.
• Target and Victim Attributions: The characteristics of the target (e.g., gender, age) can affect how aggression is directed; perceptions (e.g., men are more likely to be aggressive towards other men, gender and age impact how aggression is directed) affect aggression.

Gender and Aggression

• Studies indicate that gender explains only a small percentage of aggression differences. Men tend to be physically aggressive, while women often use indirect forms of aggression like relational aggression (gossip, exclusion). Boys are more physically aggressive than girls, who are more likely to use relational aggression.
• Cultural differences exist in how gender and aggression manifest cross-culturally (e.g., women in Australia and NZ show more aggression than men in other parts).

Culture and Aggression

• Social Learning Theory: Parents modeling aggression, especially physical control, more with sons, contributes to how aggression is learned and displayed. Specifically, cultures shape how aggression is learned and manifested (e.g., aggression in childhood correlates with later aggression).

Culture of Honour

• A culture where individuals feel compelled to protect their reputation through violence or threats. This is often found in places like the Southern USA, the Middle East and in some subcultures such as mafia or action movies.
• It arises due to a lack of law enforcement and authority, making individuals feel compelled to protect themselves.
• Characteristics of such cultures include aggressive responses to insults, and associating aggression with masculinity. Aggressive behavior is used to deter others from disrespecting or threatening them.

Cognitive Biases and Aggression

• Hostile Attribution Bias: The tendency to interpret ambiguous actions as hostile. Often associated with increased aggression. Aggressive people see threats where there are none, sometimes leading to overly aggressive responses. This bias impacts interpersonal relationships.

Alcohol and Aggression

• Alcohol reduces self-control, increasing the likelihood of aggressive behavior.
• Physiological effects of alcohol, reduce glucose levels which impairs brain function, thus affecting self-control.
• Cultural perceptions of alcohol often associate alcohol with aggression reinforcing its impact.

Media and Aggression

• Exposure to violent media can lead to aggressive behaviour (e.g., in children).
• Correlation exists between violent media exposure and higher rates of aggression.
• Excessive or frequent exposure to violent media can lead to a reduction in emotional responses, empathy.
• Video games are not definitively linked to aggression (mixed findings exist).

Theories of Video Game Violence

• Social Learning Theory: Aggressive behavior learned through observation and imitation
• Catharsis Hypothesis: Releasing aggression through media can reduce future violence
• Mood Management Theory: Media use to cope with or change negative emotions.

Limitations

• Much media violence research has methodological limitations (correlations not necessarily causation in studies)

Explore key concepts and theories related to aggression and violence, including definitions, examples, and the frustration-aggression hypothesis. This quiz aims to deepen your understanding of these important behavioral aspects.