SOCPSY W10: Aggression

Aggression

Behaviour intended to injure another

Characteristics of aggression

1. It is a behaviour (not upset feelings)

2. It is intentional (not accidental harm)

3. It is aimed at hurting (not due to assertiveness or playfulness) 

Assertiveness

Behaviour intended to express dominance or confidence (eg. returning an undercooked dish in a restaurant)

4 Types of aggression:

1. Indirect aggression

2. Direct aggression

3. Emotional aggression

4. Instrumental aggression

Indirect aggression

Hurting someone without obvious face-to-face conflict

Eg. Spreading negative rumours about your classmate behind their back

Direct aggression

Hurting someone to “his or her face”

Eg. Insulting/name-calling your classmates in class

Emotional aggression

Hurting someone stemming from angry feelings

Eg. in a race, you intentionally trip your opponent because you overheard them speaking badly of you, which made you angry

Instrumental aggression

Hurting someone to accomplish another (non-aggressive) goal

Eg. in a race, you you intentionally trip your opponent because you really want to win

Gender differences in aggression displaying

No clear sex difference in reported anger, but women are more prone to:

• Experience jealousy in r/s

• Use physical aggression against partners eg. slapping

• Use more indirect aggression

Men’s aggression more associated with physical harm

eg. men commit vast majority of homicides (increasing over the years)

4 Goals of aggressive behaviour: (CGGP)

1. Coping with feelings of annoyance

2. Gaining material and social rewards

3. Gaining or maintaining social status

4. Protecting oneself or others

Coping with feeling of annoyance (no definition)

Frustration-aggression hypothesis (original theory)

Frustration (and only frustration) from any blocking of goal-directed behaviour ALWAYS leads to aggression (of all forms) 

Revised theory:

Any unpleasant stimulation (eg. frustration, pain, heat) tends to lead to negative feelings which lead to emotional aggression

Excitation transfer theory

Any form of emotional arousal (negative, positive, and even neutral) can increase aggressive responses 

Eg. students become more aggressive after watching nonviolent erotic films or riding bikes

What contributes to arousal and irritability?

The intensity of the emotions rather than the type (anger is physiologically similar to other emotional states)

Type A behaviour pattern

Group of personality characteristics consisting of time urgency, competitiveness, and chronic irritability 

4 things type A people are associated with:

1. More success in business

2. Conflict with subordinates

3. More aggressive driving

4. Higher risk of coronary disease

4 types of unpleasant experiences/situations

1. Pain

2. Heat

3. Poverty

4. Unemployment

Pain

(study)

3 things increase in temperatures are associated with:

1. More aggressive horn-honking

2. Increases in assaults, murders and urban riots 

3. Major league pitchers throwing more balls at batters

Graphical explanation

Curvilinear hypothesis of heat and aggression

Relative deprivation

The unpleasant feeling in which one has less than others in the group they compare themselves to

We usually compare ourselves to

People of similar levels (eg. peers)

Real life example of aggression and economic downfall

Lynching events in South America increased when cotton prices dropped (negatively related)

R/S between unemployment and aggression

Catalano et al. interview: the odds of violence (been in a fight, used weapons etc) are 6x higher among respondents who had lost their jobs in the past year, even for those with no history of violent behaviour

Weapons effect

Tendency for weapons eg. guns to enhance aggressive thoughts, feelings and actions

(study)

Gaining material and social rewards

Material rewards can motivate aggressive and unethical actions

Eg. winning the Olympic medal motivated figure skater Tonya Harding to involve in carrying out an attack against Nancy Kerrigan (both favourites for 1994 Olympic medal in figure-skating)

Social learning theory of aggression

Theory that aggressive behaviour is learnt (through TV, parents’ behaviour etc)

Eg. Andrew Golden and his gun buddy carried out a school shooting with bullets & guns taken from their kin

2 types of people who finds rewards in violence

1. Psychopaths who are:

• Impulsive

• Irresponsible

• Lowly empathetic 

• Insensitive to punishment

2. Alcohol intoxicated people

• May turn off normal empathetic feelings

Eg. men who beat wives drank 13x as much as nonviolent patrons of the same pub

Violent media 

Watching violence magnifies violent inclinations

Evidence of violent TV-watching and violence

Children who watch a lot of violent TV become more violent towards their peers

Movie watching and aggression

(study)

Evidence of violent video gaming and aggression

VVG is associated with history of property destruction and hitting other students 

Gender variances in VVG and aggression

(study)

Gaining or maintaining social status (no definition)

Differential parental investment

The theory that the sex with higher obligatory parental investment (typically females in many animal species - carrying foetus & nursing young) becomes more selective in choosing mates, while the other sex (typically males) becomes more competitive and aggressive with e/o to pursuit more valuable mating opportunities

Gender proportion in same-sex homicides

Men commit 90% to near 100% of same-sex homicides across countries like Canada, Miami & Denmark

The effect of testosterone on aggression and social dominance

Higher levels of testosterone leads to higher aggression and social dominance

Evidence for that

Dabbs & colleague found high testosterone levels in

• Aggressive boys

• Men & women with criminal records

• Violent criminals

• Military veterans who went AWOL or got into trouble after service

R/S between testosterone and age

Total and free testosterone levels declines with age (dips after 20-30y/o)

R/S between testosterone and marital status

Testosterone levels decreases from unmarried men > married with no children > married with children; fathers

R/S of gender deaths (male-to-female ratio) with age through external & internal mortality

• External: during ages 25-34, over 5 times as many males as females die due to external causes like homicides & accidents

• Internal: much lower, and relatively similar & stable deaths for both genders due to internal causes like diseases

Why do more young men suffer from external mortality?

Young men engage in more high-risk behaviours compared to young women

Sex change operations

Women —> men (got testosterone injections): became more aggressive and sexual

Men —> women (got testosterone suppressants): became less aggressive and sexual

R/S between SES, testosterone and delinquency

(study)

Examples of altercations linked to insults:

• Aggressive behaviour In the lab

• Teenager’s description of events that made them most angry

• College students’ homicidal fantasies

• Urban gang fights

• A substantial portion of male homicides

Culture of honour

Set of societal norms where people (particularly men) should be ready to defend their honour; pride with violent retaliation if necessary

Cultural differences in related aggression

Southerners are more aggressive than northerners

• The south has more honour-related homicides

• Southern students respond more aggressively to an insult in a lab setting

Protecting oneself or others (no definition)

What is rated the most justified aggression in Spain, Finland and Poland?

‘Self-defence’ and ‘protecting others’

Exception to apparent self-defence weapons eg. guns

Guns more often used to kill friends, acquaintances, or self

• owning guns triples chance of being killed

• risk of teen suicide is 4-10x higher in homes with guns