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What Is Aggression? Aggression Physical or verbal behavior intended to cause harm The definition excludes unintentional harm Hostile Aggression Aggression that springs from anger; its goal is to injure Instrumental Aggression Aggression that is a means to some other end Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Philosophical Views of Aggression Philosophers have debated whether our human nature is fundamentally bad or fundamentally good. The 18 th century Jean-Jacques Rousseau had argued that we are basically good, and society is to blame for social evils The British philosopher Thomas Hobbes ( ) had argued that we are basically evil and need to be restrained by society. The idea that aggressive drive is innate and thus inevitable was promoted by Freud and Konard Lorenz.

Freud and Lorenz Freud saw aggression as the expression of the death instinct, the Thanatos, that is directed outwardly Lorenz, and animal expert, saw aggression as adaptive- the member of the species who is more aggressive controls more resources and have higher lieklihood to survive Aggressive energy is seen by Freud and Lorenz as instinctive, that is, unlearned and universal; if not discharged, it build up until “explosion” Instinct theory fails to account for the variation of aggressiveness' from person to person and from culture to culture Chapter 5: Note issues of similarity among people, emphasized by the evolutionary perspective, and the individual differences, emphasized by the cultural diversity perspective. Pp Be very familiar with the main evolutionary concepts, such as natural selection and examples of the universality of human nature, such as the capacity to learn and to adapt. P. 159 Cultural diversity and cultural norms. Note examples of cultural similarity, such as incest taboo, norms for friendship and status, etc. pp What are social roles? What is role reversal and what does it enable us to do? (will NOT be on the test) Study well the section on gender similarities and differences. Why were social psychologists reluctant to explore this area in the past? Pp Note areas of gender differences, such as independence (male), and connectedness (female), social dominance, aggression, and sexuality. Pp Note how males and females differ in their mating preferences. Give examples. Pp Note impact of sex hormones, especially testosterone. P. 180 Note issue of gender roles and how they vary with culture and over time Note Harris’ ideas of peer-transmitted culture

What Are Some Theories of Aggression? Aggression as a Biological Phenomenon Instinct theory and evolutionary psychology Innate, unlearned behavior pattern exhibited by all members of a species Evolutionary psychology sees aggression as a strategy for gaining resources, defending against attacks, etc Neural influences Abnormal brains can contribute to abnormally aggressive behavior Genetic Influences Heredity influences the neural system’s sensitivity to aggressive cues Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Theories of Aggression? Aggression as a Biological Phenomenon Biochemical influences Alcohol: Unleashes aggression when people are provoked. Alcohol enhances aggression by reducing self- awareness and by focusing attention on the provocation Testosterone Poor diet Biology and behavior interact Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Biochemical (cont-d) Testosterone: Hormonal influences appear to be much stronger in animals than in humans, but aggressive behavior does correlate with the male hormone testosterone Drugs that diminish levels of testosterone in violent human males will subdue their aggressive tendencies After age 25 the testosterone levels diminish and so does violent behavior Testosterones levels tend to be higher in violent criminals

Testosterone (cont-d) Testosterone levels tend to be higher among prisoners convicted of planned and unprovoked violent crimes High testosterone levels in men are related to delinquency, hard drug use, and aggressive responses to provocation In men, testosterone increases the width of the face relative to the length of the face, and men with relatively wider faces display more aggression

Low levels of Serotonin Serotonin is one of the brain’s neurotransmitters Low levels of serotonin were found to be related to difficulties in impulse- control Biology and behavior interact: Testosterone may facilitate aggressive and dominant behaviors, but dominating behavior (such as winning a soccer match) boosts testosterone levels.

What Are Some Theories of Aggression? Aggression as a Response to Frustration Frustration Blocking of goal-directed behavior Frustration-aggression theory Theory that frustration triggers a readiness to aggress Displacement because of fear of punishment Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Theories of Aggression? Frustration-Aggression Theory Revised Original theory overstated the frustration-aggression connection Frustration produces anger, an emotional readiness to aggress Theory is designed to explain hostile aggression, not instrumental aggression Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Theories of Aggression? Aggression as a Response to Frustration Relative Deprivation Perception that one is less well off than others with whom one compares oneself Explains why happiness tends to be lower and crime rates higher in communities and nations with large income inequality Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Theories of Aggression? Aggression as Learned Social Behavior Rewards of Aggression Through experience and by observing others, we learn that aggression often pays Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Theories of Aggression? Observational Learning Social learning theory We learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded and punished Family Culture Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Influences on Aggression? Aversive Incidents increase the likelihoods of acting aggressively Pain: aversive stimuli Heat: as well as offensive odors, cigarette smoke, air pollution Studies found that when the weather is hot, violent crime is more likely Attacks Includes insults Over-crowding Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Influences on Aggression? Arousal A given state of bodily arousal feeds one emotion or another, depending on how the person interprets and labels the arousal This is the Two-Factor Theory of Emotion (Schachter and Singer, 1962) Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Influences on Aggression? Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display. Aggression cues: Violence is more likely when aggressive cues release pent-up anger The sight of a weapon is such a cue

What Are Some Influences on Aggression? Media Influences: Pornography and Sexual Violence Distorted Perceptions of Sexual Reality Studies confirm that exposure to pornography increases acceptance of the rape myth Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Influences on Aggression? Media Influences: Pornography and Sexual Violence Distorted Perceptions of Sexual Reality Aggression Against Women Studies suggest that the exposure to violent pornography increase punitive behavior toward women Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Influences on Aggression? Media Influences: Television and the Internet Media’s Effects on Behavior Correlating Media Viewing and Behavior Frequent result of correlating children’s TV viewing with aggressiveness is the more violent the content the more aggressive the child Extends to indirect aggression Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Influences on Aggression? Media Influences: Television and the Internet Media’s Effects on Behavior Violence Viewing Experiments Anderson (2003) and Coyne (2008) Showed college students and girls exposed to more violence led to an increase in viewer aggression Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Influences on Aggression? Media Influences: Television and the Internet Media’s Effects on Behavior Why Does Media Viewing Affect Behavior? The arousal that it produces Viewing violence disinhibits Media portrayals evoke imitation Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Influences on Aggression? Media Influences: Television and the Internet Media’s Effects on Thinking Desensitization Social Scripts Culturally provided mental instructions for how to act in various situations Altered Perceptions Media portrayals shape perceptions of reality Cognitive Priming Media portrayals prime thinking Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Influences on Aggression? Another Media Influence: Video Games Effects of Video Games Games are becoming more violent and sometimes include Carjacking Shooting Sex Murder Games that are rated “M” for mature are often marketed to those younger Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Influences on Aggression? Another Media Influence: Video Games Effects of the games kids play Increases aggressive behaviors Increases aggressive thoughts Increases aggressive feelings Habituation in the brain Greater likelihood of carrying a weapon Decreases in self-control and increases in antisocial behavior Decreases in helping others and in empathy for others Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are Some Influences on Aggression? Group Influences Can amplify aggressive reactions partly by diffusing responsibility Increases with distance and number Social contagion Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

How Can Aggression Be Reduced? Catharsis? Contrary to the catharsis hypothesis, expressing aggression by catharsis tends to breed further aggression, not reduce it Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

How Can Aggression Be Reduced? A Social Learning Approach Controlling aggression by counteracting the factors that provoke it Reducing aversive stimulation Rewarding nonaggression Modeling nonaggression Eliciting reactions incompatible with aggression Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

How Can Aggression Be Reduced? Culture Change and World Violence Cultures can change Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.