Ch 13. Aggression

General Aggression Model

A broad framework that explains why people act aggressively. It looks at how the situation, interpretations, and biological or cultural factors influence aggressive behavior.

Hostile Aggression

Aggression meant to hurt someone (physically or emotionally) that is driven by anger or hostility.

Instrumental Aggression

Aggression meant to hurt someone as a way to achieve a goal (e.g., getting attention, gaining money, or pushing political or ideological beliefs)

What factors increase aggressive behavior?

• Heat (the temperature)

• Media violence (limited research)

• Video Games

• Social Rejection

• Economic Inequality

How does the temperature affect Aggression?

The hotter it is, the more aggressive people are

How does Media Violence affects Aggression?

Research shows that violent media can increase aggressive behavior.

• However, lab studies have limits, so we can’t say for sure that violent media causes real-life violence.

• The ways aggression is measured in labs don’t reflect actual violent behavior, and these studies only show short-term effects of watching violent content.

How do Video Games affect Aggression?

increases aggression, aggressive thoughts aggressive emotions (esp anger)

• reduced prosocial behavior (e.g., helping or altruism)

• increases blood pressure and HR → physiological responses to fighting

Social Rejection and Aggression

Social Rejection is linked to aggressive behavior in Research:

• When the participant experienced virtual forms of rejection,fMRI images revealed that a region of the brain (theanterior cingulate) that processes physically painful stimuli lit up.​

• People who report a chronic sense of rejection are more likely to act aggressively in their romantic relationships, even resorting to physical abuse.​

Economic Inequality and Aggression

The two have a positive relationship. Research shows that…

• Homicides are more likely in countries where there is greater income inequality between the rich and the poor.

  • PSA: The United States is characterized by moderately high levelsof inequality.​​

What factors reduce aggression?

• Green Neighborhoods

Green Neighborhooids and Aggression

Urban areas that include green spaces encourage greater calm and civility and less aggression.​

Dehumanization and Aggression

Taking away the human quality of a person. Taking away their individuality. The attribution of nonhuman characteristics to groups other than one’s own.​ This works in two ways:

1. The aggressor: may cover themselves in paint, or wear a mask which symbolizes that they are no longer themselves. Dehumanization can unleash aggression for the simplereason that it’s easier to harm others who seem less human,less like ourselves.​

2. The victim: Reducing the person you’re attacking to less than human makes it easier to hurt them.

Does the way Aggression is expressed vary by Culture?

Yes. Anthropologists have long noted dramatic cultural variations in the expression of aggression.​

• Cultural Perspective on Aggression

  • Culture of Honor

    • Homicide

  • Sexual Violence

    • Rape-prone culture

Cultural Perspective on Aggression

certainvalues, as well as habitual ways of construing the self andothers, make members of one culture more aggressive andviolent than others.​

• (A) In some cultures, aggression is much less common at every age of development, as in Japan.

• (B) The Yanomami encourage aggression in their children and are known for their violent raids against their enemies. ​

Culture of Honor

A culture where people place a high value on reputation, are very sensitive to insults, and are willing to use violence to defend their honor.

• Research on white males in U.S. South

  • when their honor is challenged, they are more likely than those from the North to react aggressively.

  • tend to show stronger signs of anger—like angry facial expressions, higher testosterone, tighter grips, and more hostility—after being insulted compared to White men from the North.

  • The Southern U.S. has higher argument-related homicide rates than the North.

  • Argument-related homicide rates point to a sensitivity to slights and insults that characterizes a culture of honor in the South and Southwest.​

Culture and Sexual Violence

Rape-prone culture

Rape-prone Culture

A culture in which rape is used as an act of war or threat against women to keep them subservient to men​.

• These cultures generally have high levels of violence

  • history of frequent warfare

  • overemphasis on exaggerated masculinity

• Limit women’s rights and social status:

  • Why it works: Fear. Fear of rape limits women; keeps women obedient, suppressed, and subservient to men

Sexual Violence and Culture of Honor: How are the two connected?

Effective bc nothing more valuable than property; women are property—sometimes, raping is worse than killing.​

What are the four types of Rape?

• Power

• Anger

• Sadistic

• Opportunistic

Evolutionary explanation on instances of Aggression

• Men don’t want to hurt women because that’s how they reproduce

• Violence in stepfamilies

• Inclusive fitness

Evolution and Violence in Stepfamilies

Natural selection rewards those parents who devote resources to their own offspring.​

Evolution and Inclusive fitness ​

According to evolutionary biology, the fitness of an individual is based on reproductive success and the passing on of genes to future generations​

Gender Differences in Aggression: Men

Males are more physically aggressive:

• Likely to be involved in violent and criminal behavior​

• More likely to be victims of violence

  • Due to differences in hormone levels, social learning, or evolved tendencies​

Gender Differences in Aggression: Women

Females may display more relational or emotional aggression

• Aggressive in a more socially directed way.

  • ex: spreading rumors, vicious insults, talking behind each other’s backs, etc

Precarious Manhood Hypothesis:

the idea that a man’s gender identity of strength and toughness is more easily lost in competition, and that loss can trigger aggressive behavior​,

Aggression: How does Misconception lead to Polarization?

In conflict, people develop distorted views, seeing their side as “good” and the other as “evil.” These misunderstandings lead people to believe conflict is polarized.

• reactive devaluation: People automatically see a negotiation offer as less valuable simply because it comes from the opposing side.

Is Violence more common in today’s age?

We are enjoying one of the least aggressive, most cooperative periods in human history.​

• The world has become substantially more interconnected: Our interests are more intertwined with those of people from other communities and nations.​

Relative Deprivation vs Displacement

Relative deprivation (RD) is feeling deprived compared to others (e.g., richer neighbors), while displacement involves redirecting frustration from an unattainable source (like the rich) onto a safer target (like a minority group or a boss), with RD acting as a powerful trigger for this displaced aggression, fueling discontent, social movements, and potentially crime or collective violence due to perceived unfairness. Displacement channels the anger from the comparison (e.g., "Why do they have more when I work hard?") onto an available target, explaining how inequality breeds conflict beyond just economic hardship. 

Is Aggression a learned response?

Aggression is learned through social learning theory, where individuals, especially children, observe aggressive models (parents, peers, media), imitate their behaviors, and learn that aggression can be effective or rewarded

• this is reinforced by witnessing positive outcomes (like getting attention or desired items).

• This observational learning teaches individuals how to express aggression under certain circumstances. 

Bobo Doll Experiment

The Bobo doll experiment, conducted by psychologist Albert Bandura in 1961, demonstrated that children learn aggressive behaviors through observation and imitation of adults, a key part of his Social Learning Theory; children exposed to aggressive adult models were significantly more likely to act aggressively toward a Bobo doll themselves, showing how behavior, including aggression, can be learned vicariously.

Key Findings

• Imitation: Children who saw aggressive models were much more likely to imitate the aggressive acts (kicking, hitting, verbal abuse).

• Gender Differences: Boys were more prone to physical aggression, especially after seeing male models; girls were more likely to imitate verbal aggression, particularly from female models.

• Influence of Consequences: Children were less likely to copy aggressive acts if they saw the model being punished, but still learned the behavior, showing a difference between learning and performing.

• Vicarious Learning: Children learned aggressive behaviors just by watching, whether the model was live, on video, or in cartoons, proving learning happens beyond direct experience. 

Significance

• It provided strong evidence for observational learning (modeling), suggesting aggression isn't just innate but can be learned from the environment, influencing views on media violence and parenting

Steven Pinker: The surprising decline in violence, TED

violence has been in decline for long stretches of time

• Today, we are probably living in the most peaceful time in our species' existence.

• Hunter-gatherer times (without settlements or government)

  • more males have died in these societies than males have died in early 20th century US and Europe (including ear deaths)

• Bible times

  • Kill men and children, rape virgins (Numbers 31)

  • death punishment was acceptable for crimes such as homosexuality, adultery, blasphemy, idolatry, talking back to parents

• Middle Ages

  • reduction in socially sanctioned forms of violence

    • routine forms of punishment: mutilation, torture, cutting body parts off

    • sadistic capital punishment: burning at stake, disemboweling, breaking on wheel, being pulled apart by horses, etc

  • death penalty was sanctioned for a list of nonviolent crimes:

    • criticizing king, stealing loaf of bread

  • Cruelty was a popular form of entertainment (cat burning)

  • Great decline in Homicide rates from middle ages to present.

• Since 1945

  • Steep decline in:

    • interstate wars (also worldwide)

      • deaths

    • deadly ethnic riots

    • military coups

• Why are we so wrong about how violent times are today, when really, they’re not so violent?

  • Better reporting

  • Striking information (e.g., violence you hear about in the news) engrains into our brain more easily

  • Availability Heuristic: rely on information that comes to mind quickly and easily when making judgments (causes to make overestimations)

  • Dynamics and Advocacy Markets

  • Guilt about treatment of native people and unwillingness to acknowledge anything good about western culture

  • Change in standards outpace change in behavior

    • people got sick of carnage and cruelty in their time; this pattern seems to be continuing. If we see

• Why has violence declined?

  • law enforcement →

    • life without government becomes violent—not because people crave violence, but because anarchy creates fear. Groups may attack first to avoid being attacked, triggering cycles of retaliation and vendettas.

    • A strong state can prevent this. When a government has the sole authority to use force, it can punish aggression fairly and consistently. This removes the incentive for groups to attack first or constantly avenge every insult.

  • Life is Cheap

    • If someone often experiences suffering and early death around them, they’re less likely to hesitate before causing harm to others.

    • Technology and economic efficiency make life longer and more pleasant, life has higher value

  • positive-sum games

    • technology increases the number of positive-sum games by allowing trade of goods, services and ideas

    • Thus, people are more valuable alive than dead, and violence declines due to selfish reasons

  • Evolution bequeathed us with a sense of empathy to people outside our circle

    • expansion powered by…

      • reciprocity

      • logic of golden rule

• Implications of violence decrease:

  • ask ourselves “why is there peace” (instead of “why is there war?”)

  • ask ourselves “what are we doing right” (instead of “what are we doing wrong?”)