Week 10 Exam Notes: Aggression and Violence PDF

**Week 10 Exam Notes: Aggression and Violence** **Aggression** - **Definition**: Any behavior (physical, verbal, or relational) intended to harm someone who does not want to be harmed. - **Key Features of Aggression**: 1. Aggression is visible and observable. 2. It's not an in...

**Week 10 Exam Notes: Aggression and Violence** **Aggression** - **Definition**: Any behavior (physical, verbal, or relational) intended to harm someone who does not want to be harmed. - **Key Features of Aggression**: 1. Aggression is visible and observable. 2. It's not an internal response (e.g., thoughts or feelings). 3. It's intentional, not accidental. 4. The victim must desire to avoid harm. 5. Aggression may or may not achieve its intended goal. 6. The goal is to harm another person intentionally. - **Examples of Aggression**: 1. **Danny** tells a coworker Sarah is stealing printer ink, intending to harm Sarah's reputation. 2. **Tristan** throws a punch at someone but misses. 3. **Susie** kicks her partner under the table before he discloses a secret. **Violence** - **Definition**: Aggression intended to cause extreme physical harm, serious injury, or death. **Theories of Aggression** 1. **Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis (Theory 1)**: - Aggressive behavior is always caused by frustration. - Frustration occurs when a person is blocked from achieving a goal, leading to aggression. - **Limitations**: Excludes other causes of aggression (e.g., tiredness, anxiety). 2. **Reformulated Frustration-Aggression Model (Theory 2)**: - Frustration **does not always** lead to aggression; only when it elicits negative affect (anger, distress). - **Two key factors for aggression**: 1. **Negative affect** (e.g., frustration, pain, discomfort, heat, odors). 2. **Aggressive inclinations** (emotional tendency to act aggressively). - **Role of Expectation**: The more unexpected the frustration, the greater the negative affect and aggression. - **Proximity effect**: Greater frustration if goals are just within reach and then taken away. **Factors Contributing to Aggression** - **Personal Factors**: - Personality, mood, gender, and cognitive biases. - **Aggression influenced by**: 1. Social norms (what's acceptable behavior in a society). 2. Consequences (e.g., punishment may deter aggression). 3. **Target attributions** (e.g., men are more likely to exhibit aggression towards other men). 4. **Victim attributions** (e.g., gender and age impact how aggression is directed). **Gender and Aggression** - **Studies**: - **Hyde (1984)**: Gender explains only 5% of the difference in aggression. - **Men** are more physically aggressive; **women** tend to use indirect aggression (e.g., relational aggression). - **Boys** are more physically aggressive; **girls** are more likely to engage in relational aggression (e.g., gossip, exclusion). - **Cultural differences**: Gender and aggression vary across cultures (e.g., women in Australia and NZ show more aggression than men). - **Culture and Aggression**: - **Social Learning Theory (Endendiijk et al., 2017)**: Parents model aggression, especially physical control, more with sons than daughters. - **Cultural factors** shape how aggression is learned and displayed (e.g., aggression in childhood correlates with later aggression). **Culture of Honour** - **Definition**: A culture where individuals feel the need to protect their reputation through violence or threats. - **Where Found**: - Southern USA, the Middle East, jails, mafia, action movies. - **Why Develops**: - Lack of authority or law enforcement; individuals feel compelled to protect themselves. - **Characteristics**: - Aggressive responses to insults. - Associated with masculinity. - Used to deter others from disrespecting or threatening them. - **Cohen et al. (1996)**: In Southern USA, violence is used to protect one's honor. - **Violence and Testosterone**: - Higher testosterone levels increase aggression, especially when insulted publicly. **Cognitive Biases and Aggression** 1. **Hostile Attribution Bias**: - The tendency to interpret ambiguous actions as hostile. - Associated with increased aggression. - **Dodge (1980)**: Aggressive people see threats where there are none, which can lead to overreactions. - **Tuente et al. (2019)**: Hostile attribution bias is linked to aggressive behavior. 2. **Impact on Relationships**: - Hostile attribution bias contributes to martial conflict and aggression in parenting. **Alcohol and Aggression** - **Disinhibitory Effects**: Alcohol reduces self-control and makes aggressive behavior more likely. - **Physiological Effects**: Alcohol reduces glucose, impairing brain function related to self-control. - **Cultural Impact**: Society associates alcohol with aggression, reinforcing its effects. - **Brown et al. (2011)**: Alcohol exposure (even in images) increases aggression, particularly in adolescents. **Media and Aggression** - **Eron (1982)**: Correlation between childhood exposure to violent media and aggression in adolescence. - **Liebart & Baron (1972)**: Children exposed to violent TV behave more aggressively toward peers. - **Desensitization**: - **Cline et al. (1973)**: Frequent TV violence exposure leads to reduced emotional response to real-life violence. - **Thomas et al. (1977)**: Viewing violence decreases emotional arousal and empathy. - **Video Games and Aggression**: - **Ferguson & Rueda (2010)**: No significant link between violent video games and aggression. - **Theories of Video Game Violence**: 1. **Social Learning Theory**: Exposure to violent media can lead to aggressive behavior via imitation. 2. **Catharsis Hypothesis**: Suggests that violent media allows people to release aggression and reduce future violence (mixed evidence). 3. **Mood Management Theory**: Individuals use violent media to cope with negative emotions or improve mood (mixed findings). - **Limitations**: - Many studies on media violence suffer from methodological issues (e.g., correlation vs. causation, small sample sizes). **Summary of Key Findings** 1. **Aggression** is intentional harm, whereas **violence** is aggression aimed at extreme harm (serious injury or death). 2. The **Reformulated Frustration-Aggression Model** explains aggression through frustration that causes negative affect and aggressive inclinations. 3. **Cultural** and **gender differences** affect the way aggression is expressed, with **honour cultures** promoting aggression to protect reputation. 4. **Hostile attribution bias** plays a significant role in aggressive behavior, especially in interpersonal relationships. 5. **Alcohol** and **media** (TV, video games) can increase aggression, but their effects are influenced by expectations and societal norms. **Key Research Studies to Remember** 1. **Cohen et al. (1996)** -- Culture of Honour in the Southern USA. 2. **Hyde (1984)** -- Gender differences in aggression. 3. **Endendiijk et al. (2017)** -- Social Learning Theory and aggressive behavior in children. 4. **Ferguson & Rueda (2010)** -- Video game violence and aggression. 5. **Brown et al. (2011)** -- Alcohol and aggression. Use these notes to guide your understanding of aggression and violence in both social and cultural contexts.