Psychology Chapter on Aggression Concepts

Aggression and Violence

• Aggression is any behavior—physical, verbal, or relational—intended to harm someone who doesn't want to be harmed.
• Aggressive behavior is observable action, not internal thoughts or feelings.
• Aggressive acts are intentional, not accidental.
• Victims of aggression want to avoid harm.
• Aggression may or may not achieve its intended goal.
• The aim of aggression is to intentionally hurt another person.
• Examples of aggression include:
  • Danny telling a coworker he believes Sarah is stealing printer ink.
  • Tristan throwing a punch (but missing).
  • Susie kicking her partner under a table.

Violence

• Violence is aggression intended to cause extreme physical harm, serious injury, or death.

Frustration Aggression Theory 1

• Aggressive behavior is always caused by frustration.
• Frustration always leads to aggression.
• Frustration is caused when a person is blocked from achieving a goal.
• Limitations: this theory doesn't account for tiredness, anxiety, or other causes of aggression.

Reformulated Frustration-Aggression Model 2

• Frustration generates aggressive inclinations only if negative affect is produced.
• Frustration and other discomforts lead to aggression insofar as they:
  • Elicit negative affect.
  • Elicit aggressive inclinations.
• Frustration does not automatically cause aggression.
• Aggression occurs when frustration is attached to negative affect.
• Unintentional, accidental, or meaningless frustrations reduce the likelihood of aggression because they don't produce negative affect.

Expectation and Proximity

• Understanding that you may not reach a goal reduces frustration and negative affect.
• The closer you are to achieving a goal, the more frustrating it is when it is taken away at the last minute.

Negative Affect

• Factors that can cause negative affect:
  • Frustration
  • Pain
  • Discomfort
  • Heat or humidity
  • Offensive odors

Factors Influencing Aggression

• Personality
• Mood
• Gender
• Culture
• Cognitive biases
• Alcohol
• Media

Social Norms and Aggression

• Social norms influence aggressive behavior.
• Consequences can prevent aggression.
• Men are more inclined to turn aggressive feelings into actions than women.
• People are more aggressive towards those of the same gender and age range.

Gender and Aggression

• Unprovoked men are more aggressive than unprovoked women.
• When a man is emotionally aroused, he is more aggressive than a woman.
• Men are more physically aggressive.
• Girls use more indirect aggression than boys; boys use more physical aggression.
• There is no difference in verbal aggression.
• 5% of the difference in aggression is due to gender.
• Aggressive behavior is influenced by culture.

Culture and Aggression

• Cohen et al. (1996) research proved that culture influences aggression.
• Law enforcement in the South has been problematic or inadequate.
• Culture of honor influences individuals to be self-reliant.
• A culture of honor develops through group norms; it still exists today.
• Parents in cultures of honor are more controlling toward their sons than their daughters, leading to more aggressive behavior in sons over time.

Culture of Honor

• An honor culture is where people feel obligated to protect their reputation through insults, threats, and violence.
• Honor cultures exist in:
  • America
  • Southern America.
  • Inner-city neighborhoods.
  • Middle East
  • Jails.
  • Mafia.
  • Action Movies
  • Lack of Authority
  • Lack of law enforcement
  • Individuals need to protect themselves.
• Responding to small things with inappropriate levels of violent behavior.
• Aimed at establishing themselves as leaders and not being messed with.
• Protecting themselves
• Deter others from messing with them.

Violence and Justification

• Violence used for self-protection or protecting children is justified.
• Homicide due to conflicts and arguments is justified.

Testosterone and Aggression

• Testosterone increases aggressive reactions, anticipation of aggression, and is both a cause and consequence of aggression.

Insults and Aggression

• Insults are a significant threat to a person's honor, especially in front of an audience.
• Southerners view public insults as negatively impacting their masculinity.

Culture of Honor and Aggression

• Southern men want to prove their masculinity and display more aggressive behaviors.
• Honor cultures increase the risk of war.
• American presidents born in the South are more likely to engage in war.

Culture of Honor and Domestic Violence

• Increased intimate partner violence and school violence in honor cultures.
• People in honor cultures are less likely to seek mental health support.

Cognitive Biases and Aggression

• Hostile Attribution Bias
  • The tendency to perceive ambiguous actions by others as hostile.
  • High hostile attribution style linked to aggression.
  • Develops from early experiences and personality styles.
  • Assumes the worst from others and responds with aggression.
  • May perceive laughs as being directed at them.
• Hostile attribution children leading to aggressive adults.
• Hostile attribution 4 times more likely to die before 50.
• More likely to have martial conflict and dissatisfaction.
• Leads to aggressive parenting behaviors and hard discipline.
• Leads to aggression.
• Aggressive people tend to interpret ambiguous situations as threats and hostile intentions.
• People who display hostile attribution bias also display aggression.
• Relationship between hostile attribution biases and aggression is correlational.

Alcohol and Aggression

• Alcohol is purposely used to encourage aggression.
• Soldiers are given alcohol to reduce anxiety and increase aggression, resulting in violence.
• Violent crimes are often associated with alcohol consumption.
• Increased alcohol consumption leads to more violent responses to provocation.
• Alcohol is a disinhibitor and reduces self-control.
• Alcohol decreases glucose.
• Alcohol increases aggression to people's expectations.

Media and Aggression

• Children exposed to violent TV are more aggressively towards their friends.
• Teens who frequently watch violent shows engage in more aggressive behaviors.
• Exposure to televised boxing matches can lead to more violent deaths in the same demographic if the fighter loses.
• Desensitization to violence occurs with higher TV consumption.
• Watching violent media decreases emotional response and empathy towards violence in real life, making individuals more aggressive.
• Violent media programs condition individuals to be more aggressive and responsive to provocation.
• Exposure to images or words associated with alcohol increase aggression even if the individual doesn't consume alcohol.

Video Game Violence and Aggression

• No significant difference in aggressive behavior was observed between groups that played either violent or non-violent video games.
• Social learning theory: Individuals exposed to violent media (including video games) develop aggressive or violent scripts that they may enact in real life (Bobo Doll Study).
• Catharsis hypothesis: Expressing or venting emotions (e.g., violence) doesn't necessarily reduce future aggression. Violent video games don't actually help with emotional release.
• Mood management theory: Individuals choose media to regulate their emotional states. Violent media may help individuals deal more healthily with depression or stress.

Study Limitations

• Quasi-study design; correlation. can't determine causation.
• Limited sample size
• Insufficient test protocols did not generate enough frustration to elicit aggression.

Explore the factors influencing frustration and aggression in this quiz based on psychological concepts. Dive into the differences in aggressive behavior between genders and understand how cultural contexts shape these dynamics. Test your knowledge on key studies and statistics related to aggression and its underlying influences.