Social psych: ch 10 textbook

Cyberbullying

Aggression through online behavior, such as harassment, name-calling, threats, or harmful messages intended to hurt someone.

Aggression

Physical or verbal behavior intended to cause harm.

Physical aggression

Aggression that involves hurting someone's body, such as kicking, hitting, or slapping.

Social/relational aggression

Behavior intended to hurt someone's feelings or relationships, such as bullying, insults, harmful gossip, or social exclusion.

Hostile aggression

Aggression that springs from anger and aims to injure someone.

Instrumental aggression

Aggression that aims to injure someone but is committed in pursuit of another goal.

Hostile vs. instrumental aggression

Hostile aggression is driven by anger, while instrumental aggression is used to achieve another goal.

Aggression as a biological phenomenon

Aggression is influenced by biological factors, including evolutionary impulses, brain activity, genetics, and blood chemistry.

Instinctive behavior

Behavior that is innate, unlearned, and universal.

Evolutionary psychology and aggression

Aggression may have developed because it improved the chances of survival and reproduction throughout human history.

Neural influences

Brain systems can increase or decrease aggression. Activating certain brain areas increases hostility, while deactivating them decreases hostility.

Hypothalamus and aggression

Stimulating the hypothalamus can provoke rage in calm animals or reduce aggression in aggressive animals.

Amygdala and aggression

A brain area involved in emotion that can influence aggressive behavior.

Prefrontal cortex and aggression

Helps control aggressive impulses and acts like an emergency brake on deeper brain areas involved in aggression.

Genetic influences

Genetics can influence a person's tendency toward aggression, but genes interact with environmental experiences.

Biochemical influences

Blood chemistry, including alcohol and testosterone, can influence aggressive behavior.

Alcohol and aggression

Alcohol increases aggression, especially when people are provoked, by reducing self-awareness and self-control.

Testosterone and aggression

Higher testosterone levels are associated with increased aggression, dominance, and aggressive responses to provocation.

Poor diet and aggression

Diets lacking important nutrients may contribute to aggressive behavior, while better nutrition may help reduce aggression.

Aggression as a response to frustration

People may become aggressive when something prevents them from reaching a desired goal.

Frustration

Anything that blocks us from attaining a goal.

Frustration-aggression theory

The theory that frustration triggers aggression, especially when a person is prevented from reaching an important goal.

When is frustration strongest?

When motivation to achieve a goal is strong, gratification is expected, and the goal is completely blocked.

Berkowitz's revised frustration-aggression theory

Frustration is more likely to produce aggression when it seems unjustified, creates anger, and is accompanied by aggression cues.

Frustration-aggression process

Unjustified frustration → anger + aggression cues → aggression.

Displacement

Redirecting aggression or hostility away from its original source toward a safer target.

Example of displacement

Someone gets yelled at by their boss and later takes out their anger on their family.

Relative deprivation

Feeling deprived because of the gap between what you expect or believe you deserve and what you actually have.

Relative deprivation and aggression

People may become frustrated or aggressive when they compare themselves with others who appear to have more.

Aggression as learned social behavior

Aggression is learned through experiences, rewards, and observing other people's behavior.

Social learning theory

Albert Bandura's theory that people learn aggression by observing others and noticing the consequences of their actions.

Bandura's Bobo doll experiment

Children watched an adult attack a Bobo doll by hitting, kicking, and yelling at it. Later, children who observed the aggressive adult were more likely to behave aggressively toward the doll.

Results of Bandura's experiment

Children who observed aggression imitated the adult's actions and words, while children who did not observe aggression generally played calmly.

What did Bandura's experiment demonstrate?

Aggression can be learned through observation. Watching aggressive behavior lowers inhibitions and teaches people ways to aggress.

When is learned aggression most likely to occur?

When people are emotionally aroused and aggression seems safe and rewarding.

Aversive experiences

Unpleasant experiences that may provoke aggression, including pain, uncomfortable heat, attacks, and overcrowding.

Pain and aggression

Physical pain can trigger aggressive behavior, even when the target is not responsible for the pain.

Heat and aggression

Uncomfortably hot temperatures increase irritation, hostile thoughts, aggressive feelings, and the likelihood of retaliation.

Attacks and aggression

Being intentionally attacked or insulted is especially likely to provoke aggression and retaliation.

Arousal and aggression

Physical arousal intensifies emotions and can increase aggressive responses when people interpret their arousal as anger.

Aggression cues

Objects or situations associated with aggression that can activate aggressive thoughts and behaviors.

Weapons effect

The mere presence of weapons can increase aggressive thoughts and behaviors, even when the weapons are not used.

Media influences on aggression

Exposure to violent media can increase aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Pornography and sexual violence

Exposure to pornography depicting sexual aggression may distort perceptions of sexual coercion and increase acceptance of violence against women.

Desensitization to sexual violence

Repeated exposure to sexually violent content can reduce emotional reactions and sympathy toward victims.

TV shows, movies, and online videos

Viewing violent content is associated with increased aggressive behavior, including physical and social aggression.

Longitudinal studies

Studies that follow people over time to examine whether earlier exposure to violence predicts later aggressive behavior.

What did longitudinal studies demonstrate?

Exposure to violent media can predict later aggression, although other factors may also influence behavior.

Media-viewing experiments

Experiments comparing people exposed to violent versus nonviolent media to examine whether violent content increases aggression.

Bandura and Walters (1963) filmed Bobo doll experiment

Children who watched an adult attack a Bobo doll on film imitated the aggression just as much as children who observed it live.

What do media-viewing experiments demonstrate?

Exposure to violent media can increase aggressive behavior compared with nonviolent media.

Three reasons violent media affects behavior

Arousal, disinhibition, and imitation.

Arousal from violent media

Watching violence increases emotional arousal, which can intensify aggressive responses.

Disinhibition

Exposure to violence lowers people's inhibitions against aggression by making aggressive behavior seem more acceptable.

Imitation

People, especially children, may copy aggressive behaviors they observe in media.

Prosocial behavior

Positive behavior intended to benefit others, such as helping, sharing, and cooperating.

Prosocial media modeling

Watching characters help others can teach children positive, helpful, and cooperative behavior.

Three cognitive effects of violent media

Desensitization, altered perceptions of reality, and cognitive priming.

Desensitization

Repeated exposure to violence reduces emotional reactions to cruelty and can decrease empathy for victims.

Altered perceptions

Heavy exposure to violent media can cause people to exaggerate how dangerous and violent the real world is.

Cognitive priming

Watching violent media activates aggression-related thoughts, making people more likely to interpret ambiguous behavior as hostile.

Example of cognitive priming

After watching violence, people may interpret an accidental shove as intentional.

Violent video games and aggression

Research in your notes reports that playing violent video games increases aggressive behaviors, thoughts, and feelings on average.

Aggressive behaviors from violent video games

Players may become more likely to argue, fight, or behave aggressively toward others.

Aggressive thoughts from violent video games

Players may become more likely to interpret situations aggressively and expect hostility from others.

Aggressive feelings from violent video games

Playing violent games can increase feelings of hostility, anger, and revenge.

Desensitization from violent video games

Repeated exposure to violent games can reduce emotional reactions to violence and empathy toward others.

Prosocial video games

Games in which people help others. Research shows that playing these games can increase helping, sharing, and cooperation.

Catharsis hypothesis and video games

The belief that violent games allow people to safely release anger. Research challenges this idea because practicing violence may increase aggression instead.

Group influences on aggression

Groups can amplify aggressive reactions because people imitate others, experience reduced personal responsibility, and become influenced by group behavior.

Social contagion

Aggressive behavior spreads rapidly through a group as people observe and imitate others' actions.

Social contagion among juvenile, orphaned elephants

The uploaded notes do not describe this specific example. The main concept is that aggressive behavior can spread through social influence and imitation.

Diffusion of responsibility

People feel less personally responsible for their aggressive actions when responsibility is shared among group members.

Group polarization and aggression

Group interaction can strengthen members' existing aggressive tendencies, leading to more extreme behavior.

Deindividuation in groups

People may lose their sense of individual identity and personal responsibility, making aggressive behavior more likely.

Catharsis

The idea that expressing or releasing pent-up anger and aggression reduces aggressive feelings and behavior.

Does catharsis reduce aggression?

Research generally shows that venting anger through aggressive behavior increases aggression rather than reducing it.

Bushman (2002) punching bag experiment

Angered participants who hit a punching bag while thinking about the person who angered them felt angrier and behaved more aggressively than those who did not hit the bag.

Rumination

Repeatedly thinking about upsetting experiences, which can maintain or increase anger and aggression.

Distraction as an anger-reduction strategy

Redirecting attention away from an upsetting experience can reduce anger more effectively than repeatedly thinking about it.

Social learning approach to reducing aggression

If aggression is learned, it can be reduced by changing the experiences, rewards, punishments, and models that influence behavior.

Rewarding nonaggressive behavior

Cooperative and nonaggressive behavior should be rewarded to encourage positive responses instead of aggression.

Modeling prosocial behavior

Parents and teachers can reduce aggression by modeling and rewarding cooperation, sensitivity, and nonviolent behavior.

Teaching conflict-resolution skills

Teaching emotional control, communication, and problem-solving can reduce aggressive behavior.

Reducing violent media exposure

Limiting violent media and teaching children to question its messages may reduce aggressive behavior.

Culture change and world violence

Cultural attitudes and social institutions can change over time, influencing how frequently aggression and violence occur.

Historical decline in violence

The textbook describes long-term declines in many forms of violence, although violence has not disappeared.

Institutions that reduce violence

Economic trade, education, government, policing, and justice can contribute to reducing violence and promoting peaceful cooperation.