AGGRESSION

Definition

• Aggression: Behavior intended to harm someone physically or psychologically.

Types of Aggression

• Instrumental Aggression: Inflicting harm to gain something valuable.

  • Examples: Mugging, war, terrorism, aggression in sports.

• Hostile Aggression: Impulsive and anger-induced behavior aimed at injuring someone.

  • Examples: Domestic violence, mob rioting, shouting.

• Indirect Aggression: Inflicting harm without direct contact.

  • Examples: Gossiping, ordering an attack.

• Direct Aggression: Behavior aimed directly at a person.

  • Physical: Hitting, pushing, kicking.

  • Verbal: Insulting, cursing, threatening.

Examples of Aggression

• Direct Hostile: An angry driver yells at a tailgater.

• Indirect Hostile: A tenant disparaging their landlord to others.

• Instrumental: A bank robber shooting a guard.

• Indirect Instrumental: Spreading rumors to break up a relationship.

FRUSTRATION AS A CAUSE OF AGGRESSION

Frustration-Aggression Theory

• Frustration: The perception of being blocked from achieving a goal increases the probability of aggressive responses.

  • Example: Children prevented from playing with toys showed increased aggression.

Exacerbating Factors

• Close to achieving a goal and then prevented from doing so increases aggression (Harris, 1974).

• Unexpected frustrations heighten aggressive behavior (Kulik & Brown, 1979).

• Frustration attributed to controllable factors leads to more hostility.

Controllability

• An experiment showed that interruptions resulting from controllable reasons led to more hostile reactions than uncontrollable interruptions (Burnstein & Worchel, 1962).

Displacement

• Frustration may be inhibited in the moment due to appropriateness; aggression is directed toward a different target instead.

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

Overview

• Social Learning Theory: We learn aggression by observing and imitating others and by receiving rewards or punishments (Bandura, 1961).

• Bobo Doll Study: Children exposed to adults behaving violently towards a doll exhibited similar aggressive behaviors.

Factors Influencing Imitation

• Confusing, ambiguous, or unfamiliar situations increase imitation likelihood.

• Imitation is more likely from individuals who are nurturing, authoritative, similar to the observer, admired, or hold a higher social status.

• Presence of rewards for aggressive behavior (for the model or observer).

Media Violence and Behavior

• Research indicates a small, reliable effect of exposure to violent media (APA, 2020).

• Violent video game exposure is causally linked to aggressive outcomes in various studies.

EFFECTS OF MEDIA VIOLENCE

Research Findings

• Experimental Study: Participants who played violent video games (e.g., Wolfenstein 3D) gave longer noise blasts as punishment compared to those who played non-violent games (Anderson & Dill, 2001).

Mechanisms

• Media violence weakens inhibitions against violent behavior.

• Desensitizes individuals to real-life violence.

• Illustrates how to perform violent acts and alters perceptions of social behavior.

CATHARSIS & AGGRESSION

• Catharsis Concept: Engaging in or witnessing aggression is thought to relieve pent-up aggressive urges.

• Evidence suggests that catharsis does not work and can backfire, often increasing hostility instead (Bushman, 2002).

REDUCING AGGRESSION

• Instead of using catharsis, it is advised to express feelings healthily using "I" statements or find distractions.

• Social Learning Approach: Encourage cooperative behavior, teach conflict resolution, and promote prosocial media consumption to reduce aggression.