Chapter 18 Social Influence Aggression What is Aggression
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Chapter 18: Social Influence Aggression
What is Aggression? �An act that is intended to cause harm to another person. � Douglas Bernstein, Louis Penner, Alison Stewart, and Edward Roy. Psychology, 8 th Edition (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008).
Types of Aggression Hostility (Hostile Aggression) • results from frustration and is not necessarily intended to produce benefits. Instrumental Aggression • aggression used to gain some personal benefit.
Hostile or Instrumental? The warden of a prison executes a convicted criminal. A tennis player smashes his racket after missing a volley. A student kicks a garbage can on the way out of the classroom. A farmer beheads a chicken and prepares it for dinner.
Theories of Aggression Early Theories Freud Evolutionary Biological Instincts (building urge that must be released) Aggressive tendencies were passed on through successive generations Genetic/Biological Mechanisms Heredity: Study of inbred mice Limbic System Cerebral Cortex Hormones: Testosterone Alcohol & Drug Use
Theories of Aggression Learning & Cultural Mechanisms Individualist vs. Collectivist Cultures Effects of Rewards & Punishments Regional Differences (North & South) Observation & Modeling (Bobo Doll Experiment) Video Game-Aggression Connection? May have short term effects Causal relationship (and how long it lasts) is unknown May have a stronger effect than violent television
When Are People Aggressive? � Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis Pain Environmental Cues May be too simplistic � Generalized Arousal � Excitation Transfer (Physiological arousal to an independent situation). � Environmental Influences (Environmental Psychology) Stressful conditions increase aggression Temperature: Crimes occur most often in hot summer months in U. S. Noise Crowding
