Antisocial and Prosocial Behaviors: Comprehensive Study Notes

Antisocial behavior is defined as any action that violates social norms, rules, or codes of conduct, including both spoken and unspoken expectations in society.
This can include:
- Aggression
- Deviance
- Organizational deviance
- Criminal behavior
- Environmental violations (e.g., littering)

Aggression: Any intentional behavior aimed at causing harm to another being, which can manifest as:
- Physical harm
- Psychological harm
Intent is a crucial part of this definition; unintentional harm does not qualify as aggression.

Proactive Aggression
- Methodical, planned aggression aimed at achieving a different goal (e.g., an assassin).
- Not necessarily driven by anger; can be considered a cold type of aggression.
Reactive Aggression
- Driven by emotional arousal and response to perceived threats or provocation (e.g., reacting to a partner cheating).
- Known as a hot type of reaction.

Direct Aggression: Aimed at a specific individual (e.g., punching, kicking).
Verbal Aggression: Can be:
- Aggressive communication (insults, threats)
- Aggressive delivery (raising voice, aggressive tone)
Indirect Aggression: Includes relational aggression (gossiping, damaging someone’s reputation) and object-related aggression (damaging personal property).
Passive Aggression: Withholding communication or giving silent treatment, leading to ostracism.

Most common form of aggression observed in society is passive aggression, followed by indirect aggression; direct aggression is the least common.

Evolutionary Psychology
- Aggression is part of human nature, suggested to be instinctive.
- Historical theories by Freud proposed aggression as an inherent instinct.
- Modern theories consider aggression as a potential behavioral response triggered by frustration.
Traits and Individual Differences
- Trait Aggressiveness: The individual tendency to engage in aggressive behavior; linked to hostile attributions and low agreeableness.
- Dark Triad of Personality: Features narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy associated with higher rates of antisocial behavior.
Cognitive Neo-Association Theory
- Negative stimuli, such as frustration or anger, can trigger aggressive responses.
- Responses can be fight (aggressive) or flight (fearful).
Deindividuation
- Loss of self-awareness in groups can lead to increased antisocial behavior.
- Behaviors depend on the norms of the group one is deindividuated into.
Social Learning Theory
- Aggression can be learned through observation and imitation (e.g., Bobo Doll Study).

Exposure to violent media has been shown to elicit aggressive thoughts and behaviors, including desensitization.
The catharsis hypothesis was tested; studies indicate that venting anger may not decrease aggression and could increase it instead.

Prosocial behaviors: Actions performed with the intention of helping others without expecting rewards.

Examples include helping others in need, volunteering, giving to charity, and supportive actions.

Instinct and Evolution
- Similar to aggression, prosocial behavior is considered an adaptive trait favored by natural selection.
- Norm of Reciprocity: Helping others can lead to future help in return.
- Kin Selection: Preference for helping relatives to ensure the survival of shared genes.
Social Exchange Theory
- Helping is a calculation of motives: if the benefits of helping outweigh the costs, one is more likely to assist.
Individual Differences in Helping
- Agreeableness: More agreeable individuals are likely to engage in prosocial behavior.
- Dispositional Empathy: Those with high empathy are more inclined to help, driven by empathy-related emotions such as concern and discomfort.

Defined as selfless helping behavior that incurs costs to the helper without expectation of reward. Altruism may be higher in individuals with strong empathetic responses.

Positive mood enhances likelihood of helping, while negative moods may reduce helping unless the action alleviates the bad mood (negative state relief).

Social norms that encourage helping in certain contexts can facilitate prosocial actions.

Prosocial media positively influences empathy and increases willingness to help, while the impact of violent media can undermine empathy.

The exploration of antisocial and prosocial behavior reveals complex interactions between instinctual responses, individual traits, and social influences. Understanding both types of behavior enhances our ability to encourage positive social interactions and mitigate harmful ones.