What is the general aggression model about?
Studying how three kinds of forces – situational, construal, and cultural/evolutionary help us understand the causes of aggression.
Behavi or that is motivated by feelings of anger and hositility, where the primary aim is to harm another person, either physically or psychologically, is called what kind of aggression?
Hostile aggression
How do you define instrumental aggression?
Behavior that is intended to harm another person in the service of motives other than pure hostility. e.g., to gain status, to acquire wealth, to advance political casuse
What is the relationship between hot weather and aggression?
Higher-than-normal temperatures play a causal role in the increase of violent crime
Hot months of summer make people more aggressive, and the climate is changing globally these years
explanation: people’s attributions for their discomfort. e.g., attribute the arousal caused by heat to partner’s critical comment, and therefore lead to aggression
What is the relationship between media violence and people’s aggression?
- exposure to media violence makes people more aggressive
- the studies have limitations though: 1. short-term exposure to violent media does not equal to enduring effects 2. no ecological validity, lab is not the real world
What is the relationship between violent video games and aggression?
Playing violent video games does shift our thoughts and emotions in ways that might increase the likelihood of less extreme forms of aggression.
(1) increase aggressive behavior, such as giving more intense punishment to confederates in a study; (2) reduce prosocial behavior; (3) increase aggressive thoughts, such as that the world is a hostile place or that some people are deserving of aggression; (4) increase aggressive emotions, especially anger; and (5) increase blood pressure and heart rate, two physiological responses associated with aggression.
What is the relationship between social rejection and aggression?
Social rejection activates a “threat defense system” that involves cardiovascular arousal, the stress hormone cortisol, feelings of distress, and associated fight-or-flight tendencies
people who feel rejected report higher levels of chronic physical pain, increased blood pressure or higher levels of cortisol (dorsal anterior cingulate cortex)
What’s the relationship between income inequality and aggression?
Homicides are more likely to occur in countries where there is greater income inequality between the rich and the poor.
The average citizen is much more likely to be murdered, assaulted, or raped in countries characterized by high economic inequality
Possible explanation:
1. the powerful feelings of social rejection that those at the bottom experience in unequal societies can trigger violence
2. inequality undermines feelings of trust and goodwill among people, which can give rise to frustration, anger, and ultimately aggression
Can green spaces and access to nature improve aggression?
- a walk in the woods (as opposed to a walk through a town) enables adults to perform better on a measure of concentrated attention
- experiences in nature are the best predictor, compared with other recreational activities, of calming people down from the stress of work
- immersion in nature benefits happiness and almost every health condition, from cardiovascular problems to diabetes and depression
- the likelihood of violent crime was lower near apartments surrounded by green spaces.
What is the role of construal in the relationship between anger and aggression?
The presence of weapons will lead to aggression only when combined with experiences of anger.
Hunters don’t become more aggressive when presented with images of guns, probably because they construe guns as objects for recreation and fun rather than for violence
What is the attribution of nonhuman characteristics and the denial of human qualities to other people called?
Dehumanization
it’s easier to harm people when they seem less human and less like ourselves
loyalty to valued social groups may increase the dehumanization of outgroup members. Feeling socially connected brings people closer to their groups, which creates greater distance from those who are seen as different from the group. This can make dehumanization more likely.
How can we distance ourselves from the causes of aggression?
- think of the frustrating event as just one moment in time, as a single episode within a much longer relationship, or even as if it were part of a movie or novel.
- when asking people why they are upset, referring to them in the third person rather than the second person evokes less negative emotion.
- looking at conflicts from a more distant perspective by imagining what the situation will be like a year from now can lead people to blame others less and are more forgiving
What is a culture of honor?
Prevalent in the U.S. South, where men tend to be especially concerned with their reputation for toughness, machismo, and willingness and ability to avenge a wrong or insult
Arugument-related murders are much more common in the US South and Southwest
What does the term “rape-prone cultures” mean?
Men used rape as an act of war against enemy women; as a ritual act, such as part of a wedding ceremony or an adolescent male’s rite of passage to adulthood; or as a threat against women to keep them subservient to men.
These cultures are defined by two qualities:
1. rape-prone cultures were more likely to have high levels of violence, a history of frequent warfare, and an emphasis on machismo and male toughness.
2. stereotypes and biases relegated women to a lower status in society (extreme gender inequality)
What is inclusive fitness?
An individual’s reproductive success, which ensures the transmission of an individual’s genes to future generations (evolutionary perspective)
Stepparents don’t usually share genes with their stepchildren, so their inclusive fitness (reproductive success of the individual, plus that of their children and other offspring) is not enhanced by taking care of stepchildren.
What is the relationship between gender and aggression?
- Men evolved to be more physically aggressive than woman because those who could outcompete other men for mates were able to pass on their genes to more offspring. Because women can have far fewer children in their lifetime, they did not have the same motivation for competition for mates.
- Although men commit most acts of physical aggression, women are more likely to engage in relational or emotional aggression.
e.g., gossip, form alliances, and practice exclusion and social rejection to hurt others
Nature or nurture debate on aggression
The combination of the short form of the MAOA gene and a family environment of physical abuse led boys to be 3 times more likely to have been convicted of a violent crime by age 26 than the boys who had the defective gene but had not been mistreated.
Higher levels of testosterones are associated with higher levels of aggression. 1. more dominant and assertive behaviors to help them achieve higher status 2. men who care a lot about power and status show increased testosterones after winning competitions
What is the idea that a man’s gender identity, which significantly involves strength and toughness, may be lost under various conditions and that such a loss can trigger aggressive behavior?
The precarious manhood hypothesis
Competition, status contests, being the target of male violence, worsening economic conditions, the loss of a job—can render a man’s gender identity relatively uncertain and more vulnerable.
Threats to the sense of manhood can trigger aggression in men.
What are the two problematic outcomes of misconstruing one’s opponents?
- They lead people to believe that conflicts are polarized and causes people to overlook the common ground they so often share.
- Lead to a bias called the reactive devaluation, which is the tendency to attach less value to an offer in a negotiation once the opposing group makes it.
e.g.,: “You’re my enemy, so if you made this proposal, it must not be in my interests or morally sound.”
Misconstruals lead people to think of their own group as moral and the other side as evil and assume that their opponents’ interests are the exact opposite of their own.
What is the implication of simplistic reasoning and rhetoric?
Simplistic reasoning translates into simplistic rhetoric as well, which in turn can escalate conflicts.
(1) the level of differentiation, or the number of ideas in the position, and (2) the level of integration, or the connections drawn among the different ideas
Simplistic rhetoric involves fewer ideas used to support a position and fewer connections drawn among its different ideas. Politicians use more simplistic rhetoric when wooing potential voters on the campaign trail.
In international crises, leaders who speak in ways that are more complex, taking into consideration the other side’s views, are more likely to avoid escalating conflicts.
How can communication and reconciliation contribute to peacemaking?
Communication helps reduce opponents’ misperceptions and paves the way for peacemaking and cooperation.
Things to notice:
1. Allow people on both sides of a conflict to give their perspectives
2. Ask people on both sides of an issue to actively imagine other people’s perspectives
What is an alternative program in the criminal justice system that allows perpetrators of harm to take responsibility and apologize to those they’ve harmed and for those individuals to express their grievances?
Restorative justice
What is consensual aggression?
Aggression that is mutually consensual, and typically follows a particular cultural script, such as instances in sports and acting
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Chapter 5 Emotion and Well-being30
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Chapter 9 Relationships and Attraction20
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Chapter 8 Social Influence15
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Chapter 6 Attitudes, Behavior, and Rationalization20
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Chapter 10 Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination29
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Chapter 12 Groups32
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Chapter 13 Aggression23
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Chapter 14 Morality, Altruism, and Cooperation27
