Aggression: Evolutionary and Cultural Perspectives

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Questions and Answers

What method involves sending out identical résumés with varied identifying details to detect biases?

Social identity theory

Implicit Association Test (IAT)

Bogus pipeline

Unobtrusive measures (correct)

What effect can prejudice and stereotypes have on victims' behavior?

They can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies (correct)

They create social identity threat

They invariably reduce anxiety

They enhance self-esteem

Which of the following best describes the concept of in-group bias?

Desire for acceptance leads to societal prejudices

Favoritism toward one’s own group (correct)

Blaming the victim for negative outcomes

Perception that all members of an out-group are alike

The Contact Hypothesis states that prejudice can be reduced when groups have what?

Equal status and shared goals Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of the Implicit Association Test (IAT)?

Assessing speed of associations between target groups and attributes Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a condition under which the Contact Hypothesis is effective?

Diversity among group members Signup and view all the answers

Realistic Conflict Theory suggests that prejudice arises from what?

Competition over limited resources Signup and view all the answers

What is a potential impact of social identity threat on individuals?

Anxiety that affects performance Signup and view all the answers

What is a recognized long-term effect of greater exposure to media violence during childhood?

Higher aggression in adulthood Signup and view all the answers

What is one ineffective strategy for reducing aggression mentioned?

Severe punishment Signup and view all the answers

Which component of prejudice involves generalized beliefs assigning identical traits to group members?

Cognitive Component Signup and view all the answers

What psychological effect can violent pornography have on viewers?

Acceptance of sexual violence in predisposed individuals Signup and view all the answers

What is a consequence of the catharsis myth regarding aggression?

Venting aggression intensifies future aggression Signup and view all the answers

Emotional prejudice is often resistant to change due to its relationship with which factor?

Logic and facts Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following approaches is suggested as a constructive way to handle anger?

Cooling off and reflecting Signup and view all the answers

What type of discrimination includes subtle insults and put-downs?

Microaggressions Signup and view all the answers

How does perceived stress impact health outcomes?

It increases vulnerability to illnesses regardless of the event type. Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes hostile aggression from instrumental aggression?

Hostile aggression involves causing harm itself. Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes the tend-and-befriend response to stress?

It centers on nurturing behaviors and building social connections. Signup and view all the answers

Which hypothesis connects aggression to dominance opportunities?

Dual-Hormone Hypothesis Signup and view all the answers

What is the effect of an external locus of control on stress?

It can exacerbate stress levels and worsen health outcomes. Signup and view all the answers

How does cultural context influence aggression according to cultural explanations?

Cultures of honor may encourage higher levels of aggression. Signup and view all the answers

Which type of social support is considered invisible?

Support that is offered without direct acknowledgment. Signup and view all the answers

What triggers aggression according to the Frustration–Aggression Theory?

Unexpected obstacles causing frustration. Signup and view all the answers

What coping strategy involves finding meaning in traumatic experiences?

Reframing Signup and view all the answers

What role do aggressive cues play in situations of provocation?

They serve to normalize aggressive behavior. Signup and view all the answers

Which behavior change strategy focuses on correcting misconceptions regarding injunctive norms?

Promoting healthier behavior Signup and view all the answers

Which statement reflects a misinterpretation of gender differences in aggression?

Men exhibit more relational aggression than women. Signup and view all the answers

What is a common characteristic of individualistic cultures in terms of social support?

Support is primarily sought and expressed explicitly. Signup and view all the answers

What is a common immediate reaction people have under stress?

Either confrontation with the stressor or avoidance. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes how social cognitive learning theory relates to aggression?

Aggression is learned through observation and imitation. Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between relative deprivation and aggression?

Relative deprivation can lead to heightened feelings of aggression. Signup and view all the answers

What factor may lead to inaccuracies in eyewitness testimonies due to the unexpected nature of events?

Encoding failures Signup and view all the answers

How does eyewitness confidence relate to the accuracy of their testimony?

Eyewitness confidence does not always correlate with accuracy Signup and view all the answers

What does the own-race bias refer to in the context of eyewitness testimony?

A higher accuracy in recognizing faces of one's own race Signup and view all the answers

What is a consequence of post-identification feedback in police lineups?

It increases the witness's confidence in their testimony Signup and view all the answers

What approach is recommended for improving the accuracy of eyewitness identifications?

Avoiding leading questions during the lineup Signup and view all the answers

What does the Story Model in juror decision-making involve?

Formulating a coherent narrative from evidence presented Signup and view all the answers

What impact do video recordings of confessions have on juror assessments?

They can distort the perception of the confession's validity Signup and view all the answers

What is a significant concern regarding the recovered memory debate?

False memories may arise from suggestive therapy practices Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

LO 12.1: Evolutionary, Cultural, and Learning Explanations of Aggression

Aggression is intentional behavior causing physical or psychological harm.
Hostile aggression is aimed at causing harm.
Instrumental aggression is using harm as a means to another end.

Evolutionary Explanations

Genetic Basis: Aggression aids in defending groups and ensuring genetic survival. Males often aggress due to sexual jealousy or dominance.
Hormonal Influences: Testosterone is modestly linked to aggression, but the effect depends on the context. A "dual-hormone hypothesis" links aggression to dominance opportunities, while a "challenge hypothesis" links it to mating contexts. Animal behavior shows variability in aggression amongst species, like chimpanzees versus bonobos, with inhibitory mechanisms controlling aggression when necessary.

Cultural Explanations

Cultural Variability: Cooperative and collectivist cultures generally display lower aggression, while cultures of honor exhibit higher aggression linked to economic and social contexts.
Trends Over Time: Global violence (war, murder, torture) has declined in general.
Gender and Cultural Norms: Men are more prone to physical aggression, while women tend toward relational aggression. Societal norms and provocation influence the extent of these gender differences.

Learning Explanations

Social Cognitive Learning Theory: Aggression can be learned through observation and imitation. Beliefs, perceptions, and situational interpretations influence this learning.

Frustration-Aggression Theory: Frustration increases aggression, especially when obstacles are illegitimate or unexpected. Relative deprivation (feeling worse off than others) can exacerbate aggression more than absolute deprivation.
Provocation and Reciprocation: Aggression is often a response to provocation, and mitigating factors can reduce this response.
Social Influences: Aggressive cues (like guns) can increase aggression in frustrating contexts; institutional violence (such as dehumanization) can lead to large-scale aggression, while psychological distancing and moral reasoning can lessen personal accountability.

LO 12.3: Effects of Observing Violence

Media Effects: Watching violence, especially through video games, correlates with increased aggression, particularly in children. Violent video games can decrease empathy. Sexual violence in media can lead to the acceptance of violence, particularly amongst predisposed individuals.
Long-Term Effects: Greater exposure to media violence in childhood can lead to increased aggression in adulthood. Aggressive individuals may seek violent media to complicate assessing the causal link between media violence and aggression; family and environmental factors also play a significant role

LO 12.4: Reducing Aggression

Ineffective Strategies: Punishment is often ineffective in reducing aggression, as it can model aggressive behavior rather than deter it; it's best used only when promp and certain.

LO 13.1: The Three Components of Prejudice

Definition of Prejudice: A hostile or negative attitude toward a group based on membership in that group; this involves cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components.
Cognitive Component (Stereotypes): Generalizations about a group, ascribing similar traits to all members, regardless of individual differences. Positive stereotypes can still be limiting.
Affective Component (Emotions): Deep-seated emotions like admiration, envy, and contempt associated with stereotypes; these emotions resist change.
Behavioral Component (Discrimination): Negative actions towards individuals based on group membership; this includes institutional discrimination (e.g., biased hiring practices) and microaggressions.

LO 13.2: Measuring Hidden Prejudices

Detecting Suppressed Prejudices: Unobtrusive measures, such as sending identical resumes with varied identifying details.
Detecting Implicit Prejudices: Techniques like the Implicit Association Test (IAT), which measures association speed between groups and attributes. This is controversial about its true reflection.

LO 13.3: Effects of Prejudice on Victims

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies: Prejudice and stereotypes can affect behavior and confirm stereotypes.
Social Identity Threat: Anxiety due to activation of stereotypes about a group can impact performance and well-being.

LO 13.4: Causes of Prejudice

Conformity to Normative Rules: Societal norms and institutional discrimination can influence prejudice, leading individuals to follow those societal prejudices.
Social Identity Theory (Us vs. Them): In-group bias (favoring one's own group), out-group homogeneity (seeing all out-group members the same way), and blaming the victim (attributing fault to the victim) can contribute to prejudice formation.
Realistic Conflict Theory: Limited resources (e.g., jobs, power) can create prejudice, as individuals may target out-groups to displace their frustration.

LO 13.5: Reducing Prejudice

The Contact Hypothesis: Bringing in-group and out-group members together can reduce prejudice under certain conditions, such as equal status, shared goalsrequiring cooperation, and authority endorsement of interaction. Superordinate goals requiring mutual dependencies are also effective.
The Jigsaw Classroom: A cooperative learning strategy where diverse backgrounds work together; it improves self-esteem and performance, and increases empathy, reduces intergroup hostility, and promotes intergroup friendships.

SPA 2.1: Defining Stress and Its Effects on Health

Definition of Stress: Negative feelings and the belief that one's coping mechanisms are insufficient to handle environmental demands.
Impact on Health: Resilience (ability to recover after stress), negative life events, perceived stress, and perceived control impact health. External locus of control (believing outcomes are outside of one's control) worsens health.

SPA 2.2: Coping with and Recovering from Stress

Coping Styles: Fight-or-flight, tend-and-befriend; individuals may also use social support.
Social Support: Support provided by others, either visible or invisible.
Reframing: Finding meaning in traumatic events through writing or verbal sharing of trauma. This improves long-term health.

Prevention and Behavior Change: Social psychological techniques can promote healthier behaviors by correcting misconceptions about expected behaviors, and promoting positive health practices.

SPA 3.1: The Accuracy of Eye-Witness Testimony

Biases in Memory Processes: Encoding (inaccuracies during events), Storage and Retrieval (errors during storage and recollection), and Own-Race Bias (differing facial recognition accuracy for different races), Reconstructive Memory (confusing the source of a memory).
False Confidence and Identification: Too much confidence does not equate to accuracy. Post-identification feedback from law enforcement can improve confidence but not necessarily accuracy.
Recovered Memory Debate: Recovered memories may be accurate, but they may also be false. Therapy suggested events may lead to false memories.
Improving Eyewitness Accuracy: New guidelines for lineups encourage avoidant behavior towards leading or suggestive questions or behaviors. Witnesses should be asked for their confidence shortly after making an identification.

SPA 3.2: How Juries Make Decisions

The Story Model: Jurors create a coherent narrative from the presented evidence.
Lawyers and Persuasion: Lawyers who organize evidence into a compelling story are more persuasive because of a coherent narrative.
Confessions and Interrogations: False confessions can occur from coercive interrogation techniques.
Group Processes: Group pressure and conformity will generally make juries more likely to accept majority opinions.
Applications of Social Psychology (to justice systems): BIASES and pressures in jury dynamics can impair fairness, and acknowledging this can be important for jury trials. Methods for improving accuracy include acknowledging biases and employing balanced evidence presentation.

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Description

This quiz explores the different explanations of aggression, focusing on evolutionary, cultural, and learning aspects. It discusses the genetic and hormonal factors influencing aggressive behavior, as well as how cultural contexts affect levels of aggression. Engage with the material to deepen your understanding of this complex topic.