FINAL Psych 102 Chapter 11

Behavior intended to harm another individual

-Anger is an emotional response to perceived injury; hostility is an antagonistic attitude

Reduction of motive to aggress that is said to result from any imagined, observed, or actual act of aggression

Process by which mass media (particularly television) construct a version of social reality for the public

-Tremedous amount of violence depicted in media, and much is targeted to children/adolescents
-Large number of studies, using variety of different methods, have shown significant positive relationship between exposure to media violence and real-world aggressive cognitions and behaviors
-Exposure to TV violence in childhood is related to aggression later in life
-In lab and field experiments, exposure to aggressive models increases aggressive behavior among adults and children
-Exposure to indirect aggression on TV can promote subsequent real-world indirect aggression
-Observing violence in media can trigger aggressive cognitions and hostility
-Because we habituate to familiar stimuli, repeated observation of violence desensitizes people to violence, reducing physiological arousal to new incidents. This desensitization can increase aggressive behavior and decrease helping behavior
-Habitual viewing of media violence can suggest that aggression is rewarded, encourage imitation, and promote aggressive scripts, which can guide subsequent behavior
-THrough cultivation of a social reality, the mass media can intensify fear of aggression and encourage aggressive behavior
-Prosocial song lyrics, TV programs, and video games can increase prosocial behavior

Transmission of domestic violence across generations

Reduction in emotion-related physiological reactivity in response to a stimulus

Aggressing against a substitute target because aggressive acts against the source of the frustration are inhibited by fear or lack of access

Inflicting harm for its own sake

Idea that (1) frustration always elicits the motive to aggress and (2) all aggression is caused by frustration

-In fact, frustration produces many motives, and aggression is caused by many factors
-According to hypothesis, displacement occurs if aggression against the source of frustration is inhibited
-Hypothesis hold that engaging in any aggressive action reduces the motive to engage in further aggression (catharsis)
-In long run, aggression now is likely to increase aggression later
-Frustration is only one of a number of unpleasant experiences that produce negative affect and increase aggression
-Some studies support idea of displacement of aggression; however, most research doesn't support idea of catharsis as an effective means to reduce aggression

REVISED: frustration is but one of many unpleasant experiences that can lead to aggression by creating negative, uncomfortable feelings. These negative feelings trigger aggressin (not frustration itself)

Tendency to perceive hostile intent in others

Inflicting harm in order to obtain something of value

Explicit sexual material

-In general, evidence pointing to causal link between viewing nonviolent pornography and aggressive behavior is weak, but effect is stronger among individuals who are already predisposed to sexual aggression
-Violent pornography increases aggression, particularly male-to-female aggression
-When female portrayed as enjoying violent sex, even unprovoked men become more aggressive and more accepting of violence against women
-Combo of interest in violent pornography and negative attitudes toward women is strong predictor of self-reported sexual aggression in the past and sexually aggressive intentions for the future

Theory that behavior is learned through the observation of others as well as through the direct experience of rewards and punishments

-Aggression is increased when rewarded
-Aggression is decreased by punishment only under specific conditions that are often not met in the real world
-Physical punishment of children is associated with increases in their subsequent aggressive behavior
-Social learning theory emphasizes influence of models on behavior of observers
-Models who obtain desired goals through the use of aggression and are not punished for their behavior are the most likely to be imitated. But even punished models may encourage aggression in observers
-Aggressive models teach not only specific behaviors but also more general attitudes and ideas about aggression and aggressive "scripts" that guide behavior
-Growing up in a household or community with a lot of aggression and violence increases the likelihood that one will become an aggressive person
-Peaceful models can decrease aggressive responses in observers

Tendency that the likelihood of aggression will increase by mere presence of weapons

Culture and Aggression
-The rates of violence and the forms violence takes vary dramatically from one society to another
-Some research suggests that indivualistic cultures tend to have higher rates of aggression than collectivistic cultures
-The forms that aggression may take and attitudes about whether various practices should be considered aggression vary across cultures
-Bullying is a persistent and widespread problem that affects a large number of young people in the world
-Within a society, different subcultures exhibit different norms concerning aggression
-Teenagers and young adults, African Americans, and people in the South are the groups most prone to violence in the US

Gender and Aggression
-Men are more violent than women in virtutally every culture and time period that has been studied
-Males tend to be more overtly, physically aggressive than females
-Females are somewhat more indirectly or relationally aggressive than males

Individual Differences
-There is some stability in aggression: aggression in childhood predicts aggression in adulthood
-People who tend to hold hostile cognitions, express anger, and exhibit irritability tend to behave more aggressively
-Some other personality traits are associated with aggression only after provocation. These include emotional susceptibility, narcissism, Type A personality, and impulsivity

-Evolutionary psychology views aggression as a universal, innate characteristic that has evolved from natural and sexual selection pressures
-Evolutionary accounts propose that gender differences in aggression can be traced to competition for status (and the most desirable mates) and sexual jealousy
-Some research suggest that individual differences in aggression are produced by genetic inheritance
-Sex hormone testosterone and the neurotransmitter seratonin appear to play roles in human aggression
-Impairments in several areas of the brain, especially to executive functioning, are associated with aggressiveness
-Biological factors interact with social factors in producing or regulating aggression