PSYC 1004: Introduction to Social Psychology
Lecture 8 Notes – Aggression
What is aggression & types of aggression
Aggression - Behaviour intended to injure another person who is motivated to avoid such treatment.
Violence - Aggression, with the goal of extreme physical harm
Types of aggression
• Instrumental aggression - Aggression aimed at accomplishing a goal
• Hostile aggression - Aim of the aggression is to inflict harm
• Indirect aggression - The aggressive act is not face to face
• Direct aggression - Face to face aggression
Theories of aggression
Instinct/ Biological Theories
• Aggression has biological basis
• Freud - Man has a death instinct – thanatos
• Impulse to destroy self & others
• Can be activated without external stimulus
• Konrad Lorenz - Ethological approach
• Aggressive drive is innate like sex
– Males in particular biologically programmed to fight over resources
• Hydraulic model of aggression
– Aggressive energy built up until discharged
Evolutionary Psychology
• Prehistorically
o Males compete for females
o Competitors removed/ driven away by aggression
o Successful aggressors pass on genes
o Tendency of males to aggress against other males
o Theories of aggression - Drives
Drive theories + role of external factors
• Frustration-aggression hypothesis (Dollard et al., 1939)
• “Aggression is always a consequence of frustration”
• How it works
– Attempting to achieve a goal + Interference with achievement of goal = Frustration Arousal of
aggressive drive Source of frustration targeted
• Leonard Berkowitz (1965)
• Reformulated frustration-aggression hypothesis
• Frustration leads to aggression only if it causes negative feelings
LEARNING AND SOCIAL FACTORS - THE MEDIA
Social Learning Theory
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PSYC 1004: Introduction to Social Psychology
• Albert Bandura (1997)
• Aggression is learned
o Acquired via modelling
o Is not innate
• Bobo doll experiments
• Adult models display aggression towards doll
• Children copy aggressive behaviour
Learning and the Media
• Media – TV, Films, Video Games, Music
• Exposure increases aggression
• Longitudinal Studies
• More children watched violent films and movies greater violence as adolescents
• Who is most affected?
• Children 9-12
• Family background – dv
• Personality traits
• Violent Video Games (Anderson et al., 2010)
• Increase aggressive
o Cognitions
o Emotions
o Behaviour
• Increase aggression in short-term and long term
• Violent Pornography
• Linz et al. (1988)
• Leads to aggression against women
• Leads to desensitization
• Myths about acceptability of rape
SITUATIONAL FACTORS AND AGGRESSION
Provocation
• Provocation aggression
• Direct attacks
• Verbal
• Physical
• Condescension
• Teasing
Rejection and Exclusion
Emotions and Aggression
Excitation Transfer Theory (Zillman, 1994)
• Arousal in one situation
• Persists & intensifies later emotions
• When arousal attributed to the current situation
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PSYC 1004: Introduction to Social Psychology
FACTORS WITHIN THE INDIVIDUAL
Cognitive Information Processing & Aggression
• Role of Attributions (Dodge, 1986)
• Hostile attribution bias
o Perception of ambiguous actions by others as aggressive
• Hostile perception bias
o Perception of social interactions as being aggressive
• Hostile expectation bias
o Assume people will react to potential conflicts with aggression
• The role of scripts (Heusmann, 1988)
o Scripts learned by observation or experience
o Observation of aggression learning of scripts for aggression
Traits As Situational Sensitivities (TASS) Model (Kammarath, Mendoza-Denton & Michel, 2005)
• Trait aggression aggressive behaviour in right situation
• ↑trait aggression + mild provocation ↑aggression
• ↓trait aggressiveness + mild/moderate provocation no response
• Factors within the individual
• ↓ trait aggressiveness + strong provocation = strong aggression
Personality Types
Narcissistic Personality Disorder/ Narcissistic traits
• Strong negative self-worth
• Grandiose compensation
• Prone to narcissistic injury
Antisocial personality
• Impulsive
• Reckless regard for safety of self and others
• Aggressive feelings – prone to fighting
• Lack of remorse
• Antisocial inmates more likely to be convicted for violent crime
Type A Personality
• Hostile
• Competitive, time urgency
• At risk for heart disease
• Tend to instrumental aggression, and hostile aggression
Theories of aggression - GAM
General Aggression Model (Anderson & Bushman, 2002)
• Aggression the result of a chain of events
Situational factors
• Frustration
• Provocation
• Aggressive models
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PSYC 1004: Introduction to Social Psychology
• Cues associated with aggression
• Causes of discomfort
Individual/personal factors
• Character traits – Type A personality
• Hostile attributional bias
• Beliefs – revenge or turn the other cheek
Current internal state
• Affected by situational & personal factors
• Physiological arousal - excitement
• Emotional state
• Cognition
Appraisal & decision
• Impulsive action – aggression
• Thoughtful action
Gender and Aggression
• Is one gender more aggressive?
o Not really
o Small differences
• Men more aggressive than women
o Direct
o Instrumental
o Presence of provocation
• Women more aggressive than men
o Indirect (backbiting, exclusion) but mainly in children
o Relational
o Hostile
• Aggression in women and men equal
o Verbal aggression
o Indirect – in adults
o Socially acceptable
• Greatest variation in aggression
o Within-gender variation often greater than between gender
The Weapons Effect
• Availability of weapons can increase aggression
• How?
• Increase aggressive thoughts & feelings
• Causes priming of aggressive associations
o Makes thoughts more accessible
• Anger must already be present
Effects of alcohol and drugs
• How alcohol & drugs lead to aggression
• Lowering of defences – disinhibition
• Impairs executive functioning
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PSYC 1004: Introduction to Social Psychology
• Affects information processing
• Trigger past associations of alcohol and aggression
Role of childhood trauma
• Abuse of children
• Emotional – name calling
• Physical
• Sexual
• Neglect
• Rejection
• Abandonment – emotional or physical
Aggression in relationships
Domestic Violence/ Intimate Partner violence
• Tends to be highest 18-24
• Some reasons for battering
• Need for control
• Family history of dv
• Family history of violence - licks
• Alcohol
• Low self esteem
Aggression amongst peers
Bullying
• An individual is chosen as a target
• Person perceived as weak
• Does not defend self
• Becomes a target of aggression
• Aggression in relationships
Aggression in the workplace
• Outsiders cause most of workplace violence
• Most common workplace aggression
o Obstructionism
o Incivility
Causes
• Perceived unfairness
• Changes in staff – lay offs
• Abusive supervisors
Prevention and control of aggression
Myths
• Catharsis Hypothesis
• Opportunities to discharge aggression safely will lead to reduction
• Provides a brief temporary relief
Punishment
• Eye for an eye – hanging, imprisonment
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PSYC 1004: Introduction to Social Psychology
o “Closure”
o Deterrence
o Protection of society
Does Punishment Work?
• Does not address the cause
• Aggression is often spontaneous/ impulsive
• Punishment often unfair
o class
• Proven to be the least effective way to teach new behaviour
• Often leads to an increase in anger
• It can be effective in some instances
o If prompt
o If strong
o If perceived by recipient as justified
Methods of controlling aggression
• Raise children without aggressive models
• Self-control
• Assertiveness training
• Working through reasons for aggression – therapy
• Teaching forgiveness – empathy
• Aging
Required Reading
Social Psychology
Robert A. Baron * Nyla R. Branscombe
Chapter Ten
Aggression – Its Nature, Causes and Control
