Person & Social - Week 2 - Aggression

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What is Aggression?

Behviors performed with the goal of harming someone else physically / emotionally

Broadly broken down into two categories: INSTRUMENTAL & HOSTILE aggression

Instrumental Aggression

Agressive behavior is used to reach a particular goal - an example might be tackling someone in Rubgy

Hostile Aggression

Behaviour that stems from feelings of anger which aims to inflict pain - e.g. swearing at someone who cuts you up in their car

Origins of Agression

Is aggression innate? Freud,

Lorenz both believed we have an inborn biological drive to be aggressive

Evolutionarily useful - particularly for men in dominance and paternity maybe?

Aggressive behaviours are more freq in males (even when controlling for provocation)

Testosterone has positive correlation with aggression

However, Bandura believes that aggression is learned behaviour through received or observed social reward

E.g. When a child learns that you get the toy

by punching someone you reinforce the behaviour.

Peaceful

tribes vs “culture of honour”

See study

by Vandello

et al. (2009) For culture of agression

See study by DeWall et al. (2007) for provocation

Female Agression

Although males tend to use more physical aggression, females tend towards using more relational aggression - harming through damaging social

relationships (think Mean Girls Movie)

Situational Determinants include:

Provocation

Frustration

Situation

Poverty is related to aggression

‘Displacement’ = taking your anger out on

someone else, even if they didn’t cause the frustration.

Revised version of the above

anger evoked + aggression cue present e.g. someone knocking on the door at the moment you're most wound up

Emotion

Theory (Appraisal Theory) (Berkowitz, 1989, 1993)

Not

achieving a goal leads to anger when person feels this is someone

else’s fault but

to sadness when person feels it is her fault

Siuational - Weapons Effect

Berkowitz and Le

Page, (1967) - the mere presence of a weapon can increase liklihood of agression

Situational - Discomfort

Heat, loud,

crowded, bad smell are all environments which increase aggressive behaviour in people

Instances of rape go up in the summer

Instances of assault increase with temperature

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General Model of Aggression

Cognition: e.g. “I feel attacked, this is

not what I deserve.” If you feel attacked you’re much more likely to behave

aggressively

Beliefs about aggression – i.e. if you believe the world is a bad place you are more likely to behave aggressively

Thoughtful Action: Similarly if you think things through,

sometimes you are less likely to behave aggressively

Arousal: CAN be nothing to do with the

cause of the frustration

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Internal States - Arousal

If you are aware of your internal state and its cause you are less likely to attribute it to the wrong cause and therefore less likely to increase your aggression.

If you are not aware of the cause of your arousal you are more likely to attribute it to the wrong cause and more likely to increase aggression.

E.g. Finding out that the plane is

delayed doesn't have an affect if the person is aware that they are already

feeling nervous about meeting the in laws. If not aware, then it can enhance

the tendency to behave aggressively, but

attributed to the wrong cause.

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Media Violence

Exposure to violence is likely to increase aggressive cognitions and behaviour - particularly if there is no 'closure' at the end of a game for example

Factors such as poverty are difficult to change in a society but some argue that exposure to violence is an easy thing to change that could have a direct outcome

Main factors are reduced EMPATHY and COMPASSION

Desensitisation

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Inhibiting Impulses

Often children struggle to inhibit aggressive impulses

People with high self control are more likely to inhibit an aggressive impulse

- See hot snack experiment Dewall et al. (2007)

Consumption of alcohol is more likely to lead to aggressive behaviours, provocation and lack of inhibition / self control - importantly it is also likely to impact on cognition / ability to reason in the situation i.e. "They are just having a bad day and didn't mean to provoke me." Vs "That person's always had it out to get me...."

((Baumeister et

al., 2007))

Catharsis / blowing off steam (such as punchin a punch bag) is not likely to reduce aggression - infact it is likely to increase it

As will anger rumination and 'self immersion' strategies

Self reflection and 'self distancing,' however will reduce aggression (e.g.,

writing a letter, Pennebaker,

1990) as this can help people to let go of their feelings, or referring to yourself in the third person when discussing what happened.

ALWAYS if you raise COMMUNICATION and EMPATHY aggression is likely to be reduced

- See Mischkowski et al. (2012)

Other defence against aggression:

Apologising (Weiner

et al., 1982)

Using

humour as

incompatible response (Baron,

1976)

Preventing aggression in society:

Punishment must be prompt

Training that focus on preventing aggressive behaviours can be effective if they centre on communication / empathy (Reading,

2008).

SUMMARY: Whether or not aggressive action is

actually expressed depends on a complex interplay between: Innate tendencies,

various learned inhibitory responses, and the precise nature of the social

situation.