Aggression

Aggression

Types of aggression
1. Aggression
  1. Intentional behaviour aimed at causing physical or psychological pain
2. Physical aggression
  1. Aggression inflicting physical pain
3. Verbal/relational aggression
  1. Saying or doing psychologically hurtful things
4. Hostile aggression
  1. Aggressive behaviour that stems from feelings of anger and has the goal of inflicting pain
5. Instrumental aggression
  1. Aggressive behaviour that inflicts pain
  2. Pain is a middle step to another goal
Evolutionary psychology theories of aggression
1. Genetic predisposition
  1. Amygdala
    1. Stimulating the amygdala can lead to aggression
  2. Prefrontal cortex
    1. Regulates aggressive impulses
    2. Involved in planning and behavioural regulation
    3. Murderers have less activity here
  3. Testosterone
  4. Serotonin
    1. May inhibit aggressive impulses
      1. Violent criminals have less of this
Chemical influence
1. Alcohol
  1. Results in reduced self consciousness and attention to consequences of behaviour
  2. In 65% of homicides and 55% of domestic violence, alcohol was involved
  3. People are angrier
Frustration aggression theory
1. Aggression stems from frustration
  1. Not all frustration leads to aggression
2. Environmental factors
  1. Pain - rats attack each other after being shocked
  2. Heat above 32 deg invokes aggression
Negative affect
1. Mood-dispositional dimension where negative emotions are prominent
  1. People with negative affect are less aggressive
Relative deprivation
1. Feelings of discontent aroused by the belief that one fares poorly compared to others
Neo associationism
1. Aversive events cause anger
2. Aggressive stimuli triggers aggressive behaviour
  1. The Gun study
Social learning theory
1. Vicarious learning
  1. Learning through observation of other's behaviour
2. Social modelling
  1. We learn aggression from observing others and imitating them
    1. The Bobo doll experiment
      1. Physically aggressive children are more likely to have physically punitive parents
    2. Television and aggression
      1. By 7th grade, the average child has seen 8000 murders and 100 000 acts of violence on TV
      2. Primes anger
      3. Increases fear of victimization by making the world seem dangerous
      4. Apparent reality
        Cartoons influence aggression less than film
      5. Apparent consequences
        Modelling more likely if pain caused by violence is not shown
Desensitization
1. Reduction in emotion related physiological reactivity
Cultivation
1. Process by which the media constructs a version of social reality for the public
Intimate violence
1. Aggression between intimates
2. Date rape, domestic violence
Reducing violence
1. Multisystemic therapy addressing problems at different levels
2. Better economy, healthier living conditions and social support

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	Created by andreaarose almost 11 years ago