Aggression - ATS1262 Week 7 PDF

Aggression 1 Recap of last week (week 6)... Leadership is an important topic in the social sciences because 1) leaders are drivers of social change (good and bad!) and 2) leadership is tied up with group dynamics, social identity and self-esteem. There are many useful theories of lea...

Aggression 1 Recap of last week (week 6)... Leadership is an important topic in the social sciences because 1) leaders are drivers of social change (good and bad!) and 2) leadership is tied up with group dynamics, social identity and self-esteem. There are many useful theories of leadership. ‘Great Man theories are outdated. Theories which emphasize context and fellowship are much more useful. Effective leadership is a group dynamic: effective leaders embody group norms and provide opportunities for positive-self appraisals. 2 This week… Part 1 Understanding Aggression ¡ What is it? Part 2 Why are people aggressive? Causes & motives Part 3 Do violent video games cause aggression? 3 Part 1 Understanding Aggression See also: DeLatamer 2018 ATS1262 – week 7 4 Many forms of aggression are a major societal concern 5 But… Many of the activities we enjoy (and which are generally condoned) involve aggression! 6 Some questions… Why are people How do we mitigate aggressive? aggression? Is aggression in things And, what do we actually that we enjoy (e.g. video mean by aggression? games) a problem? 7 What is aggression? ¡ Intention to harm is important ¡ Harm can be psychological (e.g. Ø Any behaviour aimed at harming emotional abuse) others physically or psychologically ¡ Physical violence is one form of aggression. 8 Two types of aggression 1. Hostile/retaliatory aggression An act intended for the sole purpose of harming others (often in reaction to a threat or an insult) ¡ Intention is to cause harm Ø Bullying, fighting, teasing, rumour spreading (note: some of these examples could have an instrumental component). 2. Instrumental aggression An act that harms others, and which serves a purpose in addition to the harm. ¡ Intention is to harm, because by doing harm, an additional goal can be achieved (harm is a means to an end) Ø Military intervention, corporal punishment, assault coupled with robbery, terrorism 9 Aggression is ubiquitous! …from major conflict to small everyday interactions. 10 Part 2 Why are people aggressive? (Causes & motivations) See also: DeLamater 2018 ATS1262 – week 7 11 Causes & motivations 1. Instincts and genetic explanations 2. Psychological processes ¡ Frustration-Aggression ¡ Aversive-emotional Arousal ¡ Positive Affect ¡ Deindividuation/anonymity 3. Social Learning ¡ Bobo the Clown experiments ¡ Violent media & popular culture 4. Situational factors – heat! 12  Genes do not directly influence (i.e. cause) aggression. But… Ø Genes influence neurochemical, hormonal and sensory systems that enhance aggressive potential/capacity What role do Ø Genes influence muscle and bone growth necessary for expression for aggression. instincts and genes have in In humans, aggression may have some evolutionary advantages. But… aggression? Aggression is not instinctual like other behaviors (eating, reproduction). Ø Aggression (unlike other instinctual behaviours) is not universal across cultures. 13 What about testosterone in aggression? In animals: strong evidence that testosterone drives aggression (e.g. castrated/neutered males) In humans (from Geniole et al 2020): Ø baseline testosterone is positively (but weakly) correlated with human aggression. Ø context-dependent changes in testosterone are positively (but weakly) correlated with human aggression. Ø No strong evidence for a causal role of testosterone in promoting human aggression 14 Frustration-aggression hypothesis Situational event Frustration Aggressive act impedes goal Original hypothesis (Dollard et al 1939): 1. Every frustration leads to some sort of aggression 2. Every aggressive act is due to some prior frustration Subsequent modifications Ø Individuals often restrain themselves due to fear of punishment/backlash Ø Frustration can lead to other responses (despair, depression, withdrawal) Ø Aggression can occur without frustration (e.g. ruthless person sabotaging others) 15 Aversive emotional arousal Accident, Negative attack, Aggressive act affect or insult 1. Accidents, attacks or insults cause people negative emotions 2. People want to reduce or eliminate negative emotion 3. Aggressive acts can be one means of reducing/eliminating negative emotion ¡ Aversive aggression is an instrumental aggression aimed at averting negative emotion 16 Positive affect ‘Classical’ theories on aggression have focused on the role of negative emotions. However, there is evidence that positive affect is a correlate and cause of aggression. Ø people commit some aggressive acts because they find it pleasurable (‘aggressive pleasure’) Ø E.g. sadism; people taking pleasure from acts of revenge 17 Deindividuation Ø A psychological state of diminished self identity and self awareness. Can happen to people in crowds, in wearing uniform, under the influence of drugs/alcohol, when online… Normal constraints on behaviour are weakened when a person loses their sense of individuality Person feels less likely to be identified and held responsible for aggressive behaviour Creates a path to aggression 18 Deindividuation – Philip Zimbardo’s classic work Zimbardo (1969): Deindividuation can be produced by ¡ Anonymity ¡ Diffused responsibility ¡ Size of group/crowd ¡ The activity ¡ A novel unstructured situation ¡ Arousal to noise ¡ Fatigue Stanford Experiment (1973) ¡ Guards’ aggression increased when: ¡ Wearing uniforms ¡ Wearing sunglasses ¡ At night-time. 19 Deindividuation - mask wearing Watson (1973) found that: ¡ Across 27 cultures: Warriors who conceal their identity by wearing face and body paint were more aggressive that those warriors who were identifiable 20  ¡ What role does behaviour modelling play? E.g. children observing aggressive parents Social learning ¡ What role does culture play? E.g, violent films, aggressive music, violent video games… 21 Bandura’s Social Learning Theory Observational learning Ø When individuals acquire attitudes and behaviours (including aggression) by simply observing others. Ø Based on the Bobo Doll Experiment ¡ 72 children: ¡ 24 exposed to an aggressive role model, ¡ 24 to a non-aggressive role model ¡ 24 no role-model (control group) 22 Bandura’s Social Learning Theory It seems obvious that children will imitate what they see, and that aggression will therefore be learned! Ø Prior to Bandura’s study, the ‘Catharsis Hypothesis’ was popular. Ø Catharsis Hypothesis argues we purge/expend our aggression through aggressive acts 23 Violence In Popular Culture There is strong evidence of a causal relationship between media violence and aggressive behaviour ¡ Brocato et al 2010: Even watching short violent ads on TV significantly increased aggression in children Ø Media provides us with ‘scripts, schemas and beliefs’ about how & when to expression aggression. Ø Positive modeling can work in the same way – promote pro-social behaviors through positive portrayals in media (Dittman 2004) 24 Phillips (1983): Sharp increase in U.S. homicides immediately after heavyweight championship prize fights 25  Violent music - Fischer and Greitemeyer (2006) study found that exposure to aggressive music… ¡ Increased aggression in both male and female participants; ¡ Increased aggressive behaviour ¡ Increased aggressive thoughts Other forms of Pornography – Ferguson et al (2022) undertook a ‘meta-analysis’ of studies over multiple-decades. Found that: media ¡ Evidence does not suggest that non-violent pornography is associated with sexual aggression ¡ Some evidence that violent pornography is weakly correlated with sexual aggression. ¡ Lots of methodological problems with studies makes it difficult to draw strong conclusions Video games/gaming – see Part 3! 26 SITUATIONAL FACTORS AND AGGRESSION – HEAT ¡ Physical pain and discomfort are associated with increased aggression ¡ Anderson et al (2011) proposed that: Increases in heat due to climate change may be reflected in an increase in the number of serious and deadly assaults ¡ Supported by a meta-analysis study undertaken by Hsiang, Burke & Miguel 2013). ¡ Domestic violence, riots, tribal conflicts, border conflicts. 27 Questions for you! ¡ Reflect on examples of violence you’ve seen in the media in the last week ¡ How is violence & violent behavior portrayed? Does it provide an alluring or appealing ‘script’ for being aggressive? ¡ Have your ever experienced ‘deindividuation’? ¡ Are you more likely to get frustrated (and aggressive?) when feeling hot or uncomfortable? 28 Part 3 Do violent video games cause aggression? ATS1262 – week 7 29 Violent video games – setting the scene ¡ Video games have existed since 1970s ¡ Last decade – improvement in console processing power means games are more realistic ¡ Gaming consoles prevalent in wealthy countries ¡ 55 million PlayStation 5 units sold as of Feb 2024. (118 million PlayStation 4 units) ¡ 28 million Xbox Series X/S units sold as of Feb 2024 ¡ Violent video games – extremely popular ¡ Call of Duty franchise generated $30 billion revenue in USD (as of 2022) ¡ Grand Theft Auto franchise generated $10 billion revenue in USD (as of 2024) Ø There is still considerable debate about the impact of violent video games on aggressive behaviour 30 Gaming in the late 1990s / early 2000s GTA San Andreas (2004) Goldeneye N64 (1997) 31  32 What does theory predict? The Catharsis Hypothesis would imply that: Ø Violent video games provide a safe outlet for aggressive tendances. Playing violent video games would thus decrease someone’s likelihood of engaging in aggressive behavior in the community. The Social Learning Hypothesis (e.g Observed learning) would imply that: Ø Violent video games promote aggression. Ø People may learn that aggression can result in rewards (or that aggression is not severely punished) Ø Video games provide ‘violent scripts’ – ideas about how to express aggressive behaviour (e.g. ‘copycat’ violence) Ø Video games desensitize people to violence. People are less likely to experience empathy for victims. What do the studies show? In general, studies have produced significant evidence that violent video games promote aggression (Anderson et al 2010). Also, exposure to violent video games: Ø Increases hostile expectation bias (Bushman and Anderson 2002) Ø Video games make us think other people are more hostile, and thus we are more likely to be aggressive towards them Ø Results in neural desensitization to violence in the real world (brain is less responsive) (Engelhardt et al 2011) Ø Reduces physiological arousal (e.g. heart rate) to violence in the real world 33 But, studies have also shown… Long-term violent video game playing does not effect (Kuhn et al 2019): ¡ Aggressive behaviors ¡ Sexist attitudes ¡ Empathy ¡ Impulsivity ¡ Interpersonal competencies One study (Dowsett and Jackson 2019) indicates that competition within games, rather than the violence of those games, is what impacts aggression. 34  35 So…what is going on? ¡ The relationship between exposure to violent video games and aggressive behaviour is very complex. There are lots of moderating factors that influence whether someone will become more aggressive (e.g. loneliness, exposure to domestic violence) ¡ Measuring violence in video games, and measuring aggression, are not straightforward. There are lots of methodological limitations and defects in studies in this area: “Video game violence studies have too often been shockingly and embarrassingly poor, with common use of unstandardized, and poorly validated measures, upon which unscientific claims of generalizability to real world acts of extreme violence are made (Ferguson 2010:31). ¡ This area of research is (like many areas of behavioral studies research) highly politicized. There are likely vested interests and biases on both sides of the debate. Essay question 4… Is there a relationship between violent media (e.g. video games, films) and violent, aggressive behaviour? You could any of make the following arguments: ¡ Yes, playing violent video games increases aggression. This is supported by the evidence… ¡ No, playing violent video games does not impact aggression. This is supported by the evidence… ¡ It is currently uncertain as to whether violent video games impacts aggression. This is demonstrated by contradictory evidence… Ø Any of these arguments/responses is acceptable. The purpose is to make and argument and support it with evidence. 36 Summary ¡ Aggression is a behaviour aimed at harming others physically or psychologically. Aggression is thus ubiquitous in contemporary society. Many forms of aggression are considered significant societal issues. However, there are ‘culturally mandated’ ways of expression aggression. ¡ Aggression is not instinctual, however our capacity to enact aggression is a consequence of genetic heritage. Aggression can be explained via various psychological processes (e.g. frustration, negative affect aversion, positive affect). It is also learned via observation. ¡ There is strong evidence that violent video game exposure causes aggression. However, there is also some evidence that it does not. This emphases the complexity of studying social behaviour 37  chaPter 11 AggrEssion introduction 370 Stress 382 What is aggression? 370 aggressive cues 383 Aggression and the Motivation to Reducing Aggressive Behavior 384 harm 371 reducing frustration 384 aggression as instinct 371 Punishment 385 frustration-aggression hypothesis 372 nonaggressive models 385 aversive emotional arousal 374 catharsis 385 Social learning and aggression 375 Aggression in Society 386 Characteristics of targets that influence Sexual assault 386 Aggression 376 Pornography and Violence 390 Gender and race 376 media Violence and aggression 392 attribution of intention 377 Summary 395 retaliatory capacity 379 List of Key Terms and Concepts 396 Situational impacts on Aggression 379 Copyright © 2018. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved. Potential rewards 379 Critical Thinking Skill: Applying Scientific Research to Policy Decisions 396 modeling 380 norms 381 369 DeLamater, John D., et al. Social Psychology, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, 9780813349503.indb 369 http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/detail.action?docID=1652845. 5/16/14 1:50 PM Created from monash on 2024-07-09 01:11:55.  370 aggrEssIon IntroductIon These disturbing incidents are stark demonstrations of persons’ ability to inflict On April 16, 2007, a single gunman, a pain and death on others. How can we ac- senior at Virginia Tech, entered a resi- count for such incidents and for the many dence hall on campus and gunned down forms of aggression that commonly occur two students. About two hours later, he in the United States and throughout the entered the engineering building and world? These phenomena are the focus of chained the doors shut. He proceeded to this chapter. enter a classroom and ended up killing 32 people before he finally killed him- What Is Aggression? self. One professor, Livi Librescu, held the classroom door against the gunman’s Defining aggression seems simple: Aggres- attempts to enter while his students es- sion is any behavior that hurts another, caped out the window. He was killed by whether physically or emotionally. But fur- bullets shot through the door he was ther thought makes us recognize it is not holding shut. the outcome so much as the intention that we must consider. We would not consider In November 2011, a 15-year-old-girl a surgeon an aggressor if a heart transplant was sexually assaulted at a party by four patient died on the operating table despite young men. One of the boys took pic- heroic efforts to save the patient’s life. Fol- tures of the assault that he passed on to lowing Krebs (1982), we will define aggres- his friends and their fellow schoolmates. sion as any behavior intended to harm an- The photos soon made their way onto so- other person (the target). Importantly, this cial media websites, including Facebook. harm must be something the target wants The girl in the photo, Rehtaeh Parsons, to avoid. According to this definition, a was taunted by her peers. She was bom- bungled assassination is an act of aggres- barded with texts and messages. Some sion, whereas heart surgery—approved by called her a slut, others asked to have sex the patient and intended to improve his or with her, some claimed she only cried rape because she regretted that her ac- tions became public. In April of 2013, unable to handle the bullying anymore, Rehtaeh committed suicide. Under investigation for murdering his wife, Josh Powell was allowed a super- Copyright © 2018. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved. vised visit with his two young sons, Char- lie, 7, and Braden, 5. As soon as the so- cial worker pulled up to the rental house with his children, the boys ran toward the front door, anxious to see their father. Powell let the boys in, locked the social American culture tends to associate physical worker out, and proceeded to attack the violence with aggression and ignores psychological and emotional abuse as additional boys with a hatchet. As the social worker types of aggression. If social service agencies and called to report him for locking her out, others can broaden individuals’ conception of Powell set the house on fire, killing both abuse, they can encourage more victims to seek his sons and himself in a murder-suicide. help. © miriam-doerr DeLamater, John D., et al. Social Psychology, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, 9780813349503.indb 370 http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/detail.action?docID=1652845. 5/16/14 1:50 PM Created from monash on 2024-07-09 01:11:55.  aggrEssIon 371 her health—is clearly not aggression, even if Aggression as Instinct the patient dies. Aggression should not be equated with A deep history of psychological thought, physical violence. Aggressive actions vary going back at least to Sigmund Freud (1930, widely. The intended harm may be physical, 1950), has considered aggression to be a psychological, or social—ranging from ho- basic human instinct—that is, an innate micide or battery, to emotional abuse and behavior that seems to emerge even with- cyber-bullying, to active neglect or harming out socialization or training. To Freud, the a target’s reputation. innate urge to destroy is as natural as our Drawing on research and theory, this need to breathe. This instinct constantly chapter addresses the following questions: generates hostile impulses that demand release. We often release these hostile im- 1. What motivates people to act pulses by aggressing against others, but we aggressively? can also turn violently against ourselves (suicide) or suffer internal distress (physical 2. How do characteristics of the target or mental illness). influence aggression? If our aggressive impulses are innate, that means they must be passed to us through 3. How do characteristics of the our genetic code and are a result of long situation influence aggression? evolutionary processes. As discussed in ear- lier chapters, evolutionary theories rely on 4. How can we reduce the frequency of the Darwinian principle of survival of the aggressive behavior in society? fittest. According to Lorenz (1966, 1974), the aggressive instinct has evolved because 5. What influences the incidence of it contributed to an animal’s survival. For interpersonal aggression—abuse, instance, in many species, the strongest bullying, assault, sexual assault, and and most aggressive animals occupy the murder—in our society? top positions in the group’s social hierar- chy. To fight for position in this hierarchy is adaptive in a Darwinian sense, for it gives aggreSSIon and the MotIvatIon the animal control over food, shelter, and to harM other resources needed to survive as well as access to mating partners. As the examples in the introduction show, Proponents of instinct theories are pes- human beings have a remarkable capacity simistic about the possibility of controlling Copyright © 2018. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved. to harm others—even those they love or are human aggression. At best, they believe, expected to protect. Why do people turn aggression can be channeled into approved against others? What motivates human ag- competitive activities such as athletics, ac- gression? There are at least four possible an- ademics, or business. In these types of ac- swers: (1) people are instinctively aggressive; tivities, there are social rules to govern the (2) people become aggressive in response to expression of aggression intended to pre- events that are frustrating; (3) people ag- vent competition from degenerating into gress against others as a result of aversive destructiveness. Quite often, however, so- emotion; and (4) people learn to use aggres- cially approved competition stimulates ag- sion as a means of obtaining what they want. gression: Football and hockey players start This section considers each of these in turn. throwing punches, soccer fans riot violently, DeLamater, John D., et al. Social Psychology, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, 9780813349503.indb 371 http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/detail.action?docID=1652845. 5/16/14 1:50 PM Created from monash on 2024-07-09 01:11:55.  372 aggrEssIon and businesspeople destroy competitors or allowed some children to play with the toys cheat the public through ruthless practices. immediately while others were made to wait Although the propensity for aggression 20 minutes. The children who waited be- can be passed through human generations haved much more destructively during play, and aggression is common in social life, smashing the toys on the floor and against most social psychologists have not seen the walls. Here, aggression is a direct re- instinct theories of aggression as particu- sponse to frustration—that is, to the block- larly useful. One reason is that generalizing ing of a goal-directed activity. By blocking findings about animal behavior to human the children’s access to the tempting toys, behavior is hazardous. Moreover, cross-cul- the researchers frustrated them. This, in tural studies suggest that human aggression turn, elicited an aggressive drive that the lacks two characteristics that are typical of children expressed by destroying the re- instinctive behavior in animals—univer- searchers’ toys. More recent research sug- sality and periodicity. The need to eat and gests that the link between frustration and breathe, for example, are universal to all aggression may be an important cause for members of a species. They are also peri- the positive link between video games and odic, for they rise after deprivation and fall violence. More competitive games tend to when satisfied. Aggression, in contrast, is increase aggressive behavior, supporting the not universal in humans. It pervades some role of frustration—from losing in a com- individuals and societies but is virtually ab- petitive situation—on increasing aggression sent in others. Moreover, human aggression (Adachi & Willoughby, 2011). is not periodic. The occurrence of human Several decades of research have led to aggression is largely governed by specific modifications of the original hypothesis social circumstances. Aggressive behavior (Berkowitz, 1978). First, studies have shown does not increase when people have not ag- that frustration does not always produce gressed for a long time or decrease after they aggressive responses (Zillman, 1979)—frus- have recently aggressed. Thus, our biologi- trated individuals often restrain themselves cal makeup provides only the capacity for due to fear of punishment. Take, for exam- aggression, not an inevitable urge to aggress. ple, being laid off. Losing one’s job is a frus- trating experience. Researchers predicted Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis that small increases in layoffs would lead to violence in communities. Large increases, The second possible explanation for aggres- however, would lead to reduced violence sive behavior is that aggression is an inter- because those still working would be afraid nal state that is elicited by certain events. of being laid off for causing trouble (Cata- Copyright © 2018. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved. The most famous view of aggression as an lano, Novaco, & McConnell, 1997). Data elicited drive is the frustration-aggression from San Francisco supported these predic- hypothesis (Dollard et al., 1939). This hy- tions. Frustration can also lead responses pothesis asserts that (1) every frustration other than aggression, such as despair, de- leads to some form of aggression and (2) pression, or withdrawal. Second, research every aggressive act is due to some prior indicates that aggression can occur without frustration. In contrast to instinct theories, prior frustration (Berkowitz, 1989). The this hypothesis states that aggression is in- ruthless businessperson or scientist may stigated by external, environmental events. attempt to sabotage competitors due to the In one early demonstration (Barker, desire for wealth and fame, even though the Dembo, & Lewin, 1941), researchers showed competitors have not blocked his or her children a room full of attractive toys. They goal-directed activity. DeLamater, John D., et al. Social Psychology, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, 9780813349503.indb 372 http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/detail.action?docID=1652845. 5/16/14 1:50 PM Created from monash on 2024-07-09 01:11:55.  aggrEssIon 373 Aggressive acts often stem from frustration. Both the mother who yells at her children and a player who yells at an umpire do so because they are frustrated, one with her children fighting and the other with the umpire’s call. Left: © Ocean/Corbis; right: © Gabe Palmer/Corbis The frustration-aggression hypothesis tration in another driver, blocking the driv- implies that the nature of the frustration er’s attempt to reach a goal, such as arriving influences the intensity of the resulting ag- on time for an appointment or securing an gression. Two factors that intensify aggres- available parking spot. This frustration may sion are the strength and the arbitrariness lead to many types of aggression. Social of frustration. psychologists distinguish between driver aggression (honking, tailing, making ob- Strength of Frustration. The more we de- scene gestures) and driver violence (chasing sire a goal and the closer we are to achieving the other car or its driver, throwing objects, it, the more frustrated and aroused we be- or shooting at him or her). Mild frustration come if blocked. If someone cuts ahead of tends to cause the former, whereas stronger us just as we reach the front of a very long frustration causes the latter. Research finds line, our frustration will be especially strong that men and women are equally likely to and result in a more aggressive response report engaging in driver aggression in re- than if we were further back. Researchers sponse to frustrating events, but only men demonstrated this in a field experiment reported driver violence (Hennessy & Wie- (Harris, 1974). They had confederates cut senthal, 2001). ahead of people in lines at theaters, restau- rants, and grocery checkout counters. The Arbitrariness of Frustration. People are confederate cut in front of either the sec- also apt to feel more hostile when they ond or the twelfth person in line. Observ- believe the frustration is arbitrary, unpro- Copyright © 2018. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved. ers recorded the reactions of the person. As voked, or illegitimate than when they attri- predicted, people at the front of the line re- bute it to a reasonable, accidental, or legit- sponded more aggressively. They directed imate cause. more than twice as many abusive remarks In a study demonstrating this principle, toward the confederate than people at the researchers asked students to make appeals back of the line. for a charity over the telephone (Kulick & Cases of “road rage” also exemplify the Brown, 1979). The students were frustrated frustration-aggression hypothesis and the by refusals from all the potential donors (in relationship between the intensity of frus- reality, confederates). In the legitimate frus- tration and intensity of aggression. Road tration condition, potential donors offered rage most commonly occurs when one mo- good reasons for refusing (such as “I just lost torist engages in a behavior that causes frus- my job”). In the illegitimate frustration con- DeLamater, John D., et al. Social Psychology, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, 9780813349503.indb 373 http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/detail.action?docID=1652845. 5/16/14 1:50 PM Created from monash on 2024-07-09 01:11:55.  374 aggrEssIon Angry Arousal Aggression 1 50 0.8 LEVEL OF VERBAL AGGRESSION BY CALLER 45 FORCE USED IN HANGING UP PHONE 0.6 40 0.4 35 0.2 0 30 Legitimate Illegitimate Legitimate Illegitimate LEGITIMACY OF FRUSTRATION FIgure 11.1 effect of legitimacy of Frustration on Aggressive Responses Source: Adapted from “Frustration, Attribution of Blame, and Aggression” by Kulick and Brown, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 15: 183–194. Copyright 1979, with permission from Elsevier. dition, they offered weak, arbitrary reasons actions by others and unavoidable accidents (such as “charities are a rip-off”). As shown could trigger aggressive reactions. Physical in Figure 11.1, individuals exposed to ille- pain, such as stubbing one’s toe, and verbal gitimate frustration were more emotionally and physical attacks can arouse us and elicit aroused than those exposed to legitimate an aggressive response. Insults—especially Copyright © 2018. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved. frustration. They also directed more verbal those involving traits that we value, per- aggression against the potential donors. haps intelligence, honesty, ethnicity, or at- tractiveness—can also provoke aggression. Aversive Emotional Arousal Repeated insults and bullying by classmates contributed to Columbine and other more In the eight decades since the original state- recent school shootings by students. ment of the frustration-aggression hypoth- Accidents, attacks, and insults tend to esis, research has identified several other increase aggression because they all arouse causes of aggression. In one study, commu- aversive affect—negative emotion that nity residents and university students were people seek to reduce or eliminate (Ber- asked what events upset or angered them kowitz, 1989). When persons act aggres- (Averill, 1982). Some replied that legitimate sively in response to this negative affect, the DeLamater, John D., et al. Social Psychology, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, 9780813349503.indb 374 http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/detail.action?docID=1652845. 5/16/14 1:50 PM Created from monash on 2024-07-09 01:11:55.  aggrEssIon 375 aggression is often instrumental. That is, it more aggressive toward the doll than those is intended to reduce or eliminate the cause who had observed a nonaggressive model. of the affect. Often, this affect is anger, but They engaged in aggressive behavior such as it can be pain or other types of discomfort. kicking the doll and made comments simi- For example, one of the reasons violence is lar to those they had observed. higher in the summer months is because Many children learn aggressive behavior the higher temperatures produce discom- from their parents. Indeed, 90% of parents fort and people look for a way to discharge in the United States report using physical this aversive affect (Anderson, Anderson, punishment to discipline their children & Deuser, 1996). Turning on the air con- (see Chapter 3). Children who are spanked ditioner, yelling at your little sister, kicking or slapped for transgressions are learning the dog, or shooting someone who insults that if someone’s behavior breaks rules you are instrumental actions to deal with or makes you angry, it is okay to punish the discomfort. them physically. A longitudinal study of Aggression resulting from aversive affect 717 boys found that boys who experienced is called affective aggression. Affective ag- harsh parenting practices at ages 10 to 12 gression is more common among persons were more likely to be involved in violent who believe that acting aggressively will dating relationships at age 16 (Lavoie et al., make them feel better. If someone believes 2002). Much of the other aggressive behav- that acting aggressively will not decrease ior within the family—child abuse, intimate the discomfort or negative affect, he or she partner abuse, or sibling abuse—can also be will engage in other instrumental actions. explained with social learning theory. Peo- ple who abuse their intimate partners or Social Learning and Aggression children often grew up in families in which they either witnessed or were the targets of Social learning theories provide a fourth ex- abuse (Gelles & Cornell, 1990). Growing up planation for aggressive behavior. Two pro- in a family in which some members abuse cesses by which aggression can be learned others teaches the child that not only is it are imitation and reinforcement. acceptable to engage in physical aggression but that occupants of certain roles—such as Imitation. Many people learn their aggres- husbands, girlfriends, or children—are also sive behaviors by observing others commit appropriate targets for aggression. aggressive acts and then enacting these same behaviors themselves. In one exper- Reinforcement. Social learning theory iment, children observed an adult playing holds that aggressive responses are acquired Copyright © 2018. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved. with a five-foot-tall, inflated rubber Bobo and maintained—like any other social be- doll (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1961). In one havior—through experiences of reinforce- experimental condition, the adult engaged ment and reward (Bandura, 1973). Individ- in aggressive behavior toward the doll, in- uals learn early on that aggression can be cluding punching and kicking it and sitting associated with desired outcomes, thereby on it. These actions, accompanied by the reinforcing the behavior. Muggers may at- shouting of aggressive words and phrases, tack a person to take his or her money. One continued for nine minutes. Later, each child child knocks down another to obtain the was intentionally frustrated and then left toy he or she desires. Students bully other alone in a room with various toys, including students to gain esteem or deference from a smaller Bobo doll. The children who had their peers. Even if we do not consciously observed the aggressive model were much consider the rewards we might gain, we can DeLamater, John D., et al. Social Psychology, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, 9780813349503.indb 375 http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/detail.action?docID=1652845. 5/16/14 1:50 PM Created from monash on 2024-07-09 01:11:55.  376 aggrEssIon learn that aggression leads to individual of violence involving current or former in- gain, thus reinforcing the behavior. timate partners, women are the victims of 74% of the murders and 85% of the assaults and sexual assaults (Greenfeld et al., 1998). characterIStIcS of targetS that These patterns are found among Blacks, Influence aggreSSIon Latinos, and Whites (Rennison, 2001), but the rates appear to be lower among Asian The preceding section introduced four and Pacific Islanders (Johnson & Ferraro, potential sources of the motivation to ag- 2000). gress. Once aroused, such motives incline Although men and women are equally us toward aggressive behavior. Whether ag- likely to engage in aggressive behavior, men gression occurs, however, also depends on engage in significantly more violent be- the characteristics of the target—the per- havior. Of reported cases of rape or sexual son toward whom the aggressive behavior assault, 95% involve a male offender and is directed. In this section, we discuss four female victim. As Table 11.1 reports, men target characteristics related to aggression: were responsible for almost 90% of mur- race and gender, attributions for the aggres- ders, of both men and women, committed sor’s attack, and retaliatory capacity. in 2009. Most murders and aggravated as- saults—an attack by one person on another Gender and Race with the intent of causing bodily injury—in- volve two men. Aggression does not occur at random. If it These patterns indicate that the display did, we would observe aggressive behaviors of aggression is channeled by social beliefs by all kinds of people directed at targets and norms. Observing violence within one’s of both genders, all ethnic groups, and all family teaches children that violence within ages. In fact, aggression is patterned. First, the family is acceptable. Similarly, beliefs aggressive behavior usually involves two and norms in U.S. society encourage men people of the same race or ethnicity. This is to direct physical and sexual aggression to- true of aggression within the family, as most ward women and other men. For example, families are racially and ethnically homoge- masculine gender norms encourage men to neous. But it is also true of violent crimes be dominant over women (Connell, 2005). such as assault, sexual assault, and murder. These gender norms also associate mascu- Table 11.1 reports FBI murder statistics that linity with status and toughness, motivating demonstrate this within-race tendency. men to use aggression to gain the respect The relationship between aggression and of others (Thompson & Pleck, 1986). Men Copyright © 2018. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved. gender depends on the type of aggressive in our society frequently compete with each behavior. In cases of abuse within the fam- other for various rewards, such as influence ily, both genders are targets. Boys and girls over one another, status in a group, the are equally likely to be abused by a parent. companionship of a woman, or other sym- Wives abuse their husbands as often as hus- bols of success. These competitions often bands abuse their wives (Gelles & Strauss, lead to insults that provoke anger or direct 1988). However, the types of abuse are dif- physical challenges. There are norms in ferent. Women are more likely to slap, kick, some groups, cultures, or subcultures that bite, or to try to hit their partner with an require men to defend themselves in such object. Men are more likely to beat up their situations. For example, observers have of- partner and to push, grab, or shove. In cases ten described the American South as having DeLamater, John D., et al. Social Psychology, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, 9780813349503.indb 376 http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/detail.action?docID=1652845. 5/16/14 1:50 PM Created from monash on 2024-07-09 01:11:55.  aggrEssIon 377 TABle 11.1 Race and sex of Murder Victim by Race and sex of offender, 2009 rACe oF oFFenDer Sex oF oFFenDer ToTAl WhITe BlACk oTher unknoWn MAle FeMAle Race of Victim White 3518 84.2% 12.9% 1.1% 1.7% 87.7% 8.7% Black 2867 7.3% 90.8% 0.5% 1.4% 88.5% 10.0% Other 181 27.6% 14.4% 57.5% 0.6% 89.5% 9.9% Unknown 65 41.5% 33.8% 1.5% 23.1 67.7% 9.2% Sex of Victim Male 4638 44.3% 52.2% 1.9% 1.6% 87.9% 10.4% Female 1928 60.6% 34.3% 3.7% 1.4% 89.2% 9.4% Note: This table is based on incidents in which some information about the offender is known by law enforcement. Therefore, when the offender’s age, sex, and race are all reported as unknown, these data are excluded from the table. For summaries related to sex, percentages for those of an unknown sex are omitted. Source: FBI Homicide data. a norm that requires men to defend them- diate appraisal (or attribution) of an attack selves against insults—a “culture of honor” or hostile situation, a reappraisal of the sit- (see Box 11.1). uation only occurs if there are sufficient re- sources (for example, time or cognitive ca- Attribution of Intention pacity) and the initial appraisal is somehow unsatisfactory. Direct attacks, both verbal and physical, typ- These appraisals of the situation as well ically produce an aggressive reaction (Geen, as related attributions for harm have im- 1968; White & Gruber, 1982). Nevertheless, portant implications for our responses we withhold retaliation when we perceive to aggression. In one study of 70 abused that an attack was not intentional. We are women, those living with their violent part- unlikely to respond aggressively, for exam- ner sometimes blamed themselves for the ple, if we see that a man who has smashed abuse. They attributed it to their incom- his grocery cart into our car in the parking petence, unattractiveness, or talking back lot was trying to save a child from an on- to the partner. Other women blamed situ- coming car. However, we must first realize ational factors such as their partner’s stress. Copyright © 2018. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved. the man’s intention. Aggression following The women most likely to leave their abu- harm is both more probable and stronger sive partners were those who blamed him— when we attribute the attack to the actor’s rather than themselves or the situation—for intentions rather than to accidental or le- the abuse (Andrews & Brewin, 1990). gitimate external pressures (Dyck & Rule, An important influence on attributions is 1978). In the former case, the target of our whether an attacker apologizes. An apology aggressive response deserves that response often states or implies that the harm another more than when the harm is accidental. did to us was unintentional. In one study, an The general aggression model (Anderson experimenter made mistakes that caused & Bushman, 2002), based on a dual-process the participant to fail at the tasks. When the model, proposes that after an initial imme- experimenter apologized, the participants DeLamater, John D., et al. Social Psychology, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, 9780813349503.indb 377 http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/detail.action?docID=1652845. 5/16/14 1:50 PM Created from monash on 2024-07-09 01:11:55.  378 aggrEssIon Box 11.1 research update: The Culture of honor Students were milling around the cafeteria of made their way down the hallway, a confederate Spring High School—just outside of Houston, bumped the unsuspecting student and called Texas—before school on a September morning. him an “asshole.” Observers situated in the hall- Some were eating breakfast, others catching up way, ostensibly working on their homework, on their homework, many simply talking with gauged the participants’ reactions. Participants friends before the first bell rang. Just outside the then participated in a series of judgment tasks to cafeteria, Joshua Broussard “bumped” into Luis gauge their reactions to the incident. Alfaro as he moved through the crowded hall- Comparisons of the reactions of Southerners way. The two exchanged words. Moments later, and Northerners supported the idea of a “culture Alfaro pulled out a knife and attacked Broussard. of honor” in the South. Social scientists argue that As students scattered, Broussard collapsed in the individuals from places with a “culture of honor” school hallway and died. are more likely to perceive a benign incident as The attack at Spring High School is not un- an interpersonal threat. Furthermore, once of- usual. A large number of the homicides that oc- fended or insulted, those who accept a “culture cur in any given year are triggered by arguments, of honor” will feel the need to restore honor and many of these disputes are over trivial mat- by retaliating against the insult. Sure enough, ters, including offensive comments or name Southerners who were bumped by the confeder- calling. However, what is most interesting about ate were more likely to see the insult as a cause the incident is its similarity to a series of social for anger rather than amusement and to see vi- psychological experiments conducted 20 years olence as an appropriate reaction to an “affront.” earlier on the “culture of honor” (Cohen, Nisbett, Whereas Northerners were able to brush off the Bowdle, & Schwarz, 1996). insult and remain unaffected, Southerners who In those experiments, both “Northerner” and were insulted were primed for aggression and “Southerner”* students from the University of would act out if given the right stimulus. Later Michigan were invited to the laboratory for what studies found that Southerners were also more they believed was an experiment on response prepared to aggress on a physiological level, times and human judgment. Upon arrival, they with higher cortisol and testosterone levels than were asked to fill out initial paperwork and take Northerners who had also been insulted. it to a table at the end of a long, narrow hallway. A tremendous amount of research on the Unbeknownst to the participants, the experi- culture of honor conducted since these early mental treatment actually occurred during the studies supports these findings. Social psycholo- walk to this table. As some of the participants gists recently considered this concept in relation to school violence and found that high school students in culture-of-honor states—including Copyright © 2018. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved. *Students were classified as “Southern” if they lived in one of the following states for at least six years: dela- Texas—were more likely to bring a weapon to ware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, school and were at higher risk of school shoot- South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, ings than were students in other states (Brown, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, or Texas. All Osterman, & Barnes, 2009). Although many at- other students, except those who lived in Washington, dC, were considered “Northern.” On average, those classified tributed the tragedy at Spring High to gang vio- as “Southern” had lived 87% of their lives in the South, lence, the culture of honor may have also played whereas those classified as “Northern” had spent only 4% an important role in the events of that Septem- of their lives in the South. ber morning. DeLamater, John D., et al. Social Psychology, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, 9780813349503.indb 378 http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/detail.action?docID=1652845. 5/16/14 1:50 PM Created from monash on 2024-07-09 01:11:55.  aggrEssIon 379 refrained from acting aggressively toward curs because the aggression is instigated by her. Apologies may also lessen resulting ag- a different source and then displaced onto a gression because they sometimes provide less powerful or more available target who mitigating information—accounts of ex- had no responsibility for the initial response ternal causes of the offending action—that (Umberson, Williams & Anderson, 2002). facilitate a reappraisal (Barlett & Anderson, Displaced aggression is a common expla- 2011). However, it is important to note that nation for aggression directed toward part- as the severity of the harm increases, the ef- ners, children, or pets—“She is taking her fectiveness of apologies decreases (Ohbuchi, bad day out on us.”—but does it actually oc- Kameda, & Agarie, 1989). cur? A meta-analysis of social psychological research on the subject provides substantial Retaliatory Capacity evidence that displaced aggression is quite real (Marcus-Newhall, Pedersen, Carlson One of the consequences that we might & Miller, 2000). Some argue that displaced consider in calculating the costs (and bene- aggression may partially account for higher fits) of aggression is the likelihood of retali- incidences of domestic violence in poor and ation by the target. working-class households (Umberson, An- Research suggests that the threat of re- derson, Glick & Shapiro, 1998). Frustration taliation reduces aggressive behavior. In with a lack of control over events outside the one experiment, participants were told to home, whether related to work or in other deliver electric shocks to another person interactions, ends up directed toward fam- and that they could select the intensity of ily members (see the discussion of spillover the shock. In one condition, participants from work to home in Chapter 15). Similar were told that after they had delivered the processes can also help explain why children shocks, the experiment would be over. In who are bullied are more likely to be bullies another condition, participants were told themselves (Salmivalli & Nieminen, 2002). that after they had delivered shocks, they Research on displaced aggression also would change places with the other per- finds that the more negative the insult, at- son. In other words, they would be in a tack, or frustration and the more similar the position in which the other person would instigator and the target, the greater the like- be delivering shocks (and could retaliate). lihood that displaced aggression will occur. Participants in the latter condition deliv- ered significantly less intense shocks than in the former condition (Prentice-Dunn & SItuatIonal IMPactS on aggreSSIon Rogers, 1980). These findings help explain Copyright © 2018. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved. why anonymous cyber-bullying is described There are a number of specific characteris- as more severe than nonanonymous forms tics of situations that make aggression more of bullying. Bullies may be inclined to en- likely. Five covered in this chapter are po- gage in more aggressive acts when they use tential rewards, presence of models, norms, fake aliases or post on anonymous websites stress, and aggressive cues. like ask.fm because the risk of retaliation is significantly smaller. Potential Rewards Sometimes, there are instances of dis- placed aggression—defined as aggression Three types of rewards that promote ag- toward a target that exceeds what is justified gression are direct material benefits, social by provocation by that target. This often oc- approval, and attention. DeLamater, John D., et al. Social Psychology, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, 9780813349503.indb 379 http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/detail.action?docID=1652845. 5/16/14 1:50 PM Created from monash on 2024-07-09 01:11:55.  380 aggrEssIon The material benefits that armed robbers among elementary students and teenagers and Mafiosi obtain by using violence sup- but also among adults. port their aggression. If the material bene- Just as the last chapter discussed the fits are reduced—say, by vigorous law en- importance of models in demonstrating forcement—this type of aggressive violence types of helping acts that are possible, ag- will decline. gressive models demonstrate the possible Although aggression is generally con- negative behaviors. Consider the riots that demned, social approval is a second com- occurred in London and other parts of the