Chapter 10 Aggression

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Chapter 10 - Aggression

• Part 1 April 4, 2006

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Aggression

• Physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt.
• Differs from assertiveness
• Distinguish between
• hostile aggression
• instrumental aggression

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Aggression Theories Biology

• Biological foundations of aggression is it
  human nature?
• Freud and others needed to redirect our energy
• How does this theory hold up?

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Gender and Aggression

• Testosterone (male sex hormone) also has
  influence
• Boys/girls express aggression differently
• What are the gender differences in reactions?

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Aggression and Frustration

• Oldest theory frustration (having a goal
  blocked) leads to some form of aggression.
• Aggression gets displaced to other sources
• Mixed lab results what are they?
• Berkowitz revision of theory to what?

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Aggression and Social Learning

• Is it a learned social behavior? Bandura
• Learn aggression through observing others.
• Bobo doll experiment example
• What was the method?
• What were the results?
• How do they imply social learning?

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Aggression Culture of Honor

• In U.S., regional diffs in aggressive behaviors
  and events that trigger them.
• Nisbett Southerners more likely to endorse
  violence for protection in response to insults
• Southern students at U Mich bumped by confederate
  and insulted
• What were the results?
• Nisbetts field experiment letters to Northern
  Southern businesses admitting an honor-related
  crime
• Responses from different regions?

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Aggression Triggers

• What triggers aggressive behavior?
• Pain
• Heat evidence from MLB pitchers
• Crowding
• Media
• Erons research correlated preference for
  watching violent TV at age 8 with criminal
  behavior by age 30
• Controlled for aggression at age 8
• Findings?

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Importance of Cues

• Arousal important issue
• what is arousal attributed to? (drug w/side
  effects)
• Schacters experiment
• Guns cues for aggressive behavior, prime
  hostile thoughts
• Implications of violence on TV, in games?

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Violent Video Games

• Link with aggression?
• Anderson Bushmans research (2001)
• Compared undergrads w/average amount of video
  game experience
• 1st played either Mortal Kombat or PGA Tournament
  Golf games
• Next played competitive games w/confederate and
  punished with white noise after losing
• Results?

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TV and Violence

• George Gerbners 30 year study of violence in
  movies/TV.
• In U.S., TV is on an average of 7 hrs/day
• 6-8 violent acts/hr in primetime, 20-30/hr on Sat
  morning kids shows
• How does it affect our behavior? Beliefs?