Aggression

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Aggression
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What is Aggression?

• any behavior that is intended to harm another
  person
• intention and harm are necessary -- e.g.,
  accidental tripping

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Two Basic Types

• hostile
• goal is to inflict pain
• typically emotional -- anger
• an end in itself

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Two Basic Types

• instrumental
• goal is something other than causing pain
• e.g., football, Tonya Harding
• a means to an end

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Manifestations of Aggression

• verbal aggressions
• direct aggression
• indirect aggression

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Effects of Aggression

• on the victim
• lack of trust
• lack of feeling safe
• on the aggressor
• development of an aggressive personality
• lower intellectual achievement

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What are the Causes of Aggression?

• Freuds theory of aggression
• eros and thantos -- basic human instinct
• eros is in the interest of self-preservation, so
  thantos is redirected toward others
• if not released, we will experience a physic
  explosion

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What are the Causes of Aggression?

• biological instinct theories
• aggression works in terms of natural selection
• but, aggressive responses are modifiable
• differences between genders, across cultures, and
  within cultures across time (Archer Gartner,
  1984)

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What are the Causes of Aggression?

• sociobiological theories
• amygdala and hippocampus (limbic system)
• stimulation can elicit aggression
• e.g., Charles Whitman -- brain tumor

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What are the Causes of Aggression?

• testosterone
• males are more physically aggressive than females
  (Maccoby Jacklin, 1974)
• pregnant rhesus monkeys injected with
  testosterone -- aggressive female infants
• female inmates more likely to get in skirmishes
  right before menstruation (Dalton, 1964)

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What are the Causes of Aggression?

• genetic basis
• mice have been bred for aggression -- manifest
  aggression in 2nd or 3rd generation (Lagerspetz,
  1979)
• evidence of genetic component of nurturance,
  empathy, and aggression (Rushton et al., 1986)
• XYY genotype

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Social Causes of Aggression

• instrumental -- cost-benefit analysis
• personal abilities
• children who find it easy to do (Perry et al.,
  1986)
• gender differences
• men perceive it to be less costly than women
  (Eagly, 1987)
• modeling successful aggression (Bandura, 1973)

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Social Causes of Aggression

• media violence
• IV children watched violent police drama or
  exciting, non-violent sporting event
• DV subsequent behavior in a group of other
  children

(Liebert Baron, 1972)
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Social Causes of Aggression

• media violence
• TV violence and violent crime (longitudinal
  study)
• the more violence watched at age 8, the more
  likely to commit violent crime at age 30

(Huesmann, 1986)
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Social Causes of Aggression

• gender socialization
• males more aggressive than females regardless of
  age, culture, and other factors (Maccoby
  Jacklin, 1974)
• aggression differs by situation (Eagly Steffen,
  1986)
• gender differences more pronounced in lab studies
• little danger -- gender differences are small
• difference greater with pain or physical injury,
  but smaller with psychological or social harm

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Social Causes of Aggression

• gender socialization
• overt vs. covert aggression
• relational aggression ostracism, rumor
  spreading, threat of social rejection
• 500 children (3-5 grades) -- identify peers who
  manifest certain types of aggression (Crick
  Grotpeter, 1995)

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Social Causes of Aggression
who were identified
(Crick Grotpeter, 1995)
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Social Causes of Aggression

• gender socialization
• girls value their connections with others
• boys value their independence and nonsocial
  achievements
• I wont invite you to my birthday party.
• intentional
• intent to harm

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Situational Influences of Aggression

• frustration-aggression theory
• frustration elicits a motive to aggress
• all aggression is caused by frustration
• Barker et al. (1941)
• children expecting to play with toys, but were
  kept from doing so
• much more destructive than children who were not
  frustrated

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Situational Influences of Aggression

• temperature
• more violent crimes
• in summer than winter
• during hot years than in cool years
• in hot cities than in cooler cities
• political uprisings, riots, homicides, assaults,
  and rapes all increase in summer months
• more batters hit with pitches if gt 90 degrees
  (Reifman et al., 1988)

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Cultural Influences of Aggression

• Southern culture of honor

adapted from Nisbett (1993)
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Cultural Influences of Aggression

• Southern culture of honor
• higher rates related to arguments or conflicts
• South settled by herders
• Every man should be sheriff of his own hearth.
• Hodding Carter
• He aint guilty. He wouldnt have been much of a
  man if he hadnt shot them fellows.
• until 1970s, not illegal to kill wifes lover
  caught in flagrante dilecto

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Southern Culture of Honor
who agreed with the statement A man has the
right to kill
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Southern Culture of Honor

• Southern culture of honor
• 2 (Southern/Northern) X 2 (insult/no insult)
• chicken, cortisol, testosterone

(Cohen et al., 1996)
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Southern Culture of Honor
distance at which participants gave way to
confederate (inches)
Insult
No Insult
(Cohen et al., 1996)
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Southern Culture of Honor
change in cortisol level
Insult
No Insult
(Cohen et al., 1996)
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Southern Culture of Honor
change in testosterone level
Insult
No Insult
(Cohen et al., 1996)
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Southern Man

• Southern man better keep your head Don't forget
  what your good book said
• Southern change gonna come at last Now your
  crosses are burning fast
• Southern man
• I saw cotton and I saw black Tall white mansions
  and little shacks.
• Southern man when will you pay them back? I heard
  screamin' and bullwhips cracking How long? How
  long?
• Southern man better keep your head Don't forget
  what your good book said
• Southern change gonna come at last Now your
  crosses are burning fast
• Southern man
• Lily Belle, your hair is golden brown I've seen
  your black man comin' round
• Swear by God I'm gonna cut him down! I heard
  screamin' and bullwhips cracking How long? How
  long?

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Sweet Home Alabama

• Big wheels keep on turning Carry me home to see
  my kin
• Singing songs about the Southland I miss Alabamy
  once again And I think its a sin, yes
• Well I heard mister Young sing about her Well, I
  heard ole Neil put her down Well, I hope Neil
  Young will remember A Southern man don't need him
  around anyhow
• Sweet home Alabama Where the skies are so blue
  Sweet Home Alabama Lord, I'm coming home to you

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How Can We Reduce Aggression?

• exposure to non-aggressive models
• promote empathy and identification with those we
  might aggress against
• minimize aggression cues and opportunities