week 12: aggression

Aggression

Aggression

Actions where there is intent to harm another and the target must want to avoid harm.

Physical aggression

Directly causing harm to someone's body.

Social or relational aggression

Hurting feelings and impacting relationships.

Hostile aggression

Expressing anger with an intent to make a point (e.g., silent treatment, racism).

Instrumental aggression

Using aggression for some end goal beyond the aggression itself (e.g., uprising, terrorist attack).

Instinctual Aggression

Aggression that is inherent, passed through genetic code, and needed to ensure our species' survival according to evolutionary social psychology.

Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

The notion that frustration leads to an aggressive act, suggesting that every aggressive act is a result of some past frustration. However, it is criticized for being dependent on situational constraints and the ability to control behavior.

Aversive Emotional Arousal

Negative emotions such as anger and discomfort that lead to aggression. Aggression is seen as a way to reduce or eliminate these negative emotions, for example, by punching a pillow or using rage rooms.

Characteristics of Targets of Aggression:

• gender

• race

• whether there was intent

• whether there might be retaliation

Catharsis

The act of finding an outlet to let emotions out as a way to reduce aggression. However, it is criticized for disinhibiting people from controlling their aggression and potentially arousing anger even further in the long run. It is only effective when targeted toward the source of frustration or anger, which is often unrealistic.