Lecture 8: Aggression

definitions of aggression

-many different ways of defining aggression

-researchers struggle to agree on one definition

-makes it harder to define and compare between studies

Bandura (aggression definition)

-behaviour resulting in personal injury or destruction of property

Scherer (aggression definition)

-behaviour intended to harm another of the same species

Baron (aggression definition)

-behaviour directed towards the goal of harming or injuring another living being who is motivated to avoid such treatment

Baron & Byrne (aggression definition)

-intentional infliction of harm on others

Anderson & Bushman (aggression definition)

-behaviour directed towards another carried out with the proximate intent to cause harm

Baron & Branscombe (aggression definition)

-behaviour that is designed to harm others in some way 

-broad definition combining other definitions

-but researchers can have different ideas of what aggression is whilst all falling under this definition

studying aggression 

-measure aggression differently: 

• analogues of behaviour 

• signals of intention 

• ratings 

• observation 

analogues of behaviour (studying aggression)

-substitutes for physical aggression

-needed to pass ethical approval as cannot have real aggression in the lab

-e.g., bobo dolls or pressing a button to deliver a fake shock

evaluation of analogues of behaviour (studying aggression)

-is this generalisable to real life settings?

-hitting a doll is not the same aggression as hitting a person

signals of intention (studying aggression)

-expression of willingness to behave aggressively

-ask how willing they would be to behave aggressively

evaluation of signals of intention (studying aggression)

-intention does not always translate to behaviour

ratings (studying aggression)

-self-report

-reports by others

-observation

evaluation of ratings (studying aggression)

-social desirability bias → aggression is not a desired social behaviour so people are more likely to lie 

-observation → researcher may interpret behaviour in line with prior expectations/hypotheses 

indirect (studying aggression)

-non-physical aggression, relational/psychological aggression 

-is not objective as cannot see it 

-measured more by rating scales or self report 

evaluation of indirect (studying aggression)

-may inflate the prevalence of aggression if comparing to direct/physical measures of aggression

theoretical approaches

• biological

-psychodynamic

-evolutionary

• biosocial

-frustration and aggression

-excitation transfer

• social

-social learning theory

psychodynamic approach (biological approach)

-have an unconscious drive known as ‘thanatos death instrinct’ 

-over time this instinct builds up creating pressure which we cannot control and makes us do something aggressive 

-we deal with this tension by redirecting it to other activities → catharsis 

evolutionary approach (biological approach)

-aggressive behaviour is used to ensure genetic survival

-aggression must be linked to living long enough to procreate → can be seen comparing against animal behaviour

• males fighting other males for mating rights, hunting for food, protecting territory or resources

• mothers behave aggressively to protect their offspring

-among humans → obtain social and economic advantage to improve the survival rate other their children

critical evaluation of biological approaches

-unknowable and immeasurable → instinct can’t be measured or studied 

-evolutionary tendencies develop over thousands of years - difficult to measure in the lab 

-humans behave aggressively outside of situations when we need to defend ourselves/children

-doesn’t explain aggression towards our own relatives 

-not informative for prevention or intervention → no modifiable factors for identifying ways to tackle aggression in real life 

frustration and aggression hypothesis (biosocial approach)

-based on catharsis approach

-frustration is a precursor to aggression

• frustration → individual is prevented from achieving a goal by some external factor

-aggression is a cathartic release of the build-up of frustration

-cannot always challenge the direct source of aggression

sublimation (frustration and aggression hypothesis)

-using aggression in acceptable activities 

displacement (frustration and aggression hypothesis)

-directing our aggression outwards onto something or someone else 

excitation transfer (biosocial approach)

-experience physiological arousal in different contexts

-arousal in one context can carry over to other situations and may increase likelihood of aggressive behaviour

-requires three conditions:

• first stimuli produces arousal/excitation

• second stimulus occurs before the complete decay of arousal from the first stimulus

• there is misattribution of excitation to the second stimulus

strengths of biosocial approaches

-provides useful opportunities for interventions to target 

-Marcus-Newhall → meta analysis, found that participants who were provoked but unable to retaliate directly against the source of their frustration were significantly more likely to aggress against an innocent party than people who were not provoked → supports the idea of displacement 

limitations of biosocial approaches 

-frustration/being aroused does not always lead to aggression → can be aggressive without these → too simplistic

-some types of arousal can also make us feel good → this reduces aggression 

-Bushman → participants who vented their anger by hitting a punching bag became more angry and aggressive rather than less so → challenges the idea of displacement