aggression

AGGRESSION: Overview

• Presenter: Karel K. Himawan, Ph.D.

• Focus on the psychology of aggression.

WHAT IS AGGRESSION?

• Definition: Physical or verbal behavior intended to cause harm.

• Types of Aggression:

  • Hostile Aggression (Affective): Driven by anger, performed as an end itself.

  • Instrumental Aggression: Means to an end, not necessarily involving anger.

  • In Animals:

    • Social Aggression: To maintain social class and authority.

    • Silent Aggression: Towards prey.

• Examples of aggression include terrorism, murder, and war.

THEORIES OF AGGRESSION

• Types of aggression theories:

  1. Aggression as a Biological Phenomenon

  2. Aggression as a Response to Frustration

  3. Aggression as Learned Social Behavior

THEORIES OF AGGRESSION: BIOLOGICAL PHENOMENON

• Instinct Theory & Evolutionary Psychology:

  • Freud's ‘Thanatos’ Theory: Aggression as a death instinct.

  • Instinctive behavior is innate and unlearned.

  • Controversy: Instinct theory is criticized as pseudoscience.

• Function of Aggression:

  • Adaptive, for gaining resources, defending oneself, eliminating rivals.

NEURAL & GENETIC INFLUENCES

• Neural Influences:

  • Prefrontal cortex regulates aggression.

  • Findings show lower activity in murderers’ and antisocial individuals’ prefrontal cortex.

• Genetic Influences:

  • Aggression linked to genetic predispositions + childhood maltreatment.

• Biochemical Influences:

  • Key factors: Alcohol, testosterone, low serotonin.

THEORIES OF AGGRESSION: FRUSTRATION RESPONSES

• Frustration-Aggression Theory:

  • Frustration blocks goal achievement leads to aggression readiness.

  • Types of aggression in response:

    • Direct Aggression: Outward aggression towards source.

    • Displaced Aggression: Redirecting aggression to a safer target.

Revised Frustration-Aggression Theory

• Frustration doesn’t always lead to aggression; it can lead to irritation.

• Relative deprivation can also cause frustration.

THEORIES OF AGGRESSION: LEARNED SOCIAL BEHAVIOR

• Rewards of Aggression: Higher status, authority.

• Media exploitation of aggression.

• Observational Learning: Learning by observing and imitating role models, as proposed by Albert Bandura.

INFLUENCES OF AGGRESSION

• Factors influencing aggression:

  1. Aversive incidents (pain, heat)

  2. Arousal

  3. Aggression cues

  4. Media influences (pornography, TV, video games)

  5. Group influences

AVERSIVE INCIDENTS

• Pain: Example of Mike Tyson’s aggressive reaction post-fight injury.

• Heat: Higher aggression rates in hot weather.

• Attacks: Increased aggression during direct attacks.

AROUSAL

• State of bodily arousal can lead to different emotions based on interpretation.

AGGRESSION CUES

• Children exposed to toy guns are more likely to engage in aggressive play.

• Presence of guns increases risk of murder and suicide; guns act as cues of aggression.

MEDIA INFLUENCES ON AGGRESSION

• Exposure to sexual violence reinforces misconceptions of sexual assault.

• Correlation between television presence and murder rates.

• Effects of Television:

  • Desensitization

  • Social scripts

  • Altered perceptions

  • Cognitive priming

VIDEO GAMES AND AGGRESSION

• Vicious cycles of violence through media.

• Research findings on the effects of violent video games, including military training simulations.

• Important to monitor children's media consumption and provide educational media.

GROUP INFLUENCES ON AGGRESSION

• Groups can amplify aggression through:

  • Diffusion of responsibility.

  • Social contagion among peers.

  • Formation of group identity can lead to collective violence.

HOW TO REDUCE AGGRESSION?

• Catharsis: The idea of emotional release through aggression is flawed; may increase aggression.

• Social Learning Approach: Encourage non-aggressive behavior through positive reinforcement and modeling.

QUESTIONS?

• "Aggression only moves in one direction - it creates more aggression" - Margaret J. Wheatley