Social Psych #5 (CH. 10, 12, 11)

10- Aggression, 12- Helping, 11- Attraction

Aggression

Behavior INTENDED to cause harm.

Hostile Aggression

Primary goal is to hurt somebody. Driven by anger/emotion (physical/verbal assault).

Instrumental Aggression

Aggression to achieve another goal. Means to an end (harmful manipulation).

Sanctioned Aggression

Aggression society considers acceptable (often lined to rules/roles. e.g. sports).

Evolutionary view of aggression

Aggression may have helped ancestors survive.

biological influences on aggression

Brain systems (amygdala, prefrontal cortex, hormones/NT’s, genetics).

Social learning view of aggression

Aggression is learned through reinforcement/punishment, observation/modeling, cultural norms.

Personality factors & aggression

Low self-control, narcissism, irritability, psychopathy.

Anger

Angry increases aggressive responses.

Attack

Attack often triggers retaliation.

Pain

Pain can trigger aggression.

Uncomfortable environmental conditions

Heat, crowding/lack of personal space, foul odors/pollution can trigger aggression.

Pornography (mostly violent)

Less empathy for victims of assault, desensitization, increased acceptance of violence.

Alcohol

Alcohol can increase aggression, lead to more violent crimes (poorer judgment, reduced inhibition/self-awareness).

Catharsis hypothesis

Releasing aggression reduces anger/aggression (often BACKFIRES)

Healthier ways to manage anger

Delay, relaxation, distraction, incompatible emotion.

Punishment may reduce aggression if:

Immediate, consistent, certain, severe enough to matter.

Altruism

Purely selfless helping (only goal is improvement of another’s welfare).

Egotistic helping

Helping that is at least partly selfish (whether we know it or not).

Daniel Batson’s Empathy - Altruism Theory

Empathy → pure altruism

Empathy

Compassionate, emotional understanding of someone’s feelings.

Robert Cialdini’s Empathy - Punishment Theory:

Empathy only leads to more helping because it’s more punishing (increases guilt, sadness, distress etc.).

Social exchange theory (egoism)

Cost-reward model: goal is to MAXIMIZE rewards and MINIMIZE costs (we help when REWARDS>COST).

Norm of reciprocity

Help those who’ve helped us (strong & universal norm).

Social responsibility norm

Help those in need (more common in collectivistic cultures).

Norm of justice

Help those who deserve our help.

Social learning

Direct reinforcement & punishment (more likely to help again if reinforced, less likely to help if punished).

Negative State Relief Model

We help to improve our negative mood; sadness, guilt, distress. (EXCEPTIONS: anger, grief, disgust, feelings of inadequacy → not as motivated to help).

3 Ways helping/empathy can promote survival:

1: Reciprocity

2: Kin protection

3: Spontaneous communication

Individual differences

Empathy, agreeableness, positive emotionality, self-efficacy, genetics, religion/faith.

Why do we help?

Liking/closeness, physical attractiveness, similarity, gender (women > men), physical condition, perception of victim responsibility.

Darley & Latane’s Decision-Tree Model of Helping: EMERGENCY!

If any steps not noticed, one does not help.

1. Notice Event

Obstacles:

1: Distraction

2: Event not salient

3: Social norm to avoid staring

2. Interpret event as an emergency

Obstacles:

1: Situation ambiguity

2: Pluralistic ignorance

3. Assume responsibility

Obstacles:

1: Diffusion of responsibility

Bystander effect: A person is less likely to get help as the number of bystanders increase.

4. Know how to help

Obstacles:

1: No clear way to help

2: Feelings of incompetence

5. Implement diffusion

Depends on all of the factors that influence helping.

Reward theory

We like people who we associate with rewarding experiences.

Similarity (opposites do not attract)

We like those who are similar to us in: demographics, attitudes, personality, mood.

Proximity & familiarity

Physical proximity (mere exposure effect) very important determinant of liking.

Misattribution of arousal (excitation transfer)

Arousal from one source can be misattributed to attraction for someone.

Reciprocity of attraction

We like those who like us.

Physical attractiveness

We like those who are physically attractive (especially in initial encounters).

Matching hypothesis

Friends & partners have similar attractiveness to us.

What is attractive?

1: Symmetry

2: Average size of features

3: Gender differences

Passionate love

Emotion, intense longing, desire for close physical contact.

Companionate love

Strong commitment & support; caring/trusting/affection.

Consummate love

Intimacy (liking), commitment (empty love), passion (infatuation).

Exchange relationship

Emphasis on equity and reciprocity; keep track of exchanges.

Communal relationship

Don’t keep track; share & share alike, responsiveness to the other’s needs.