VL12 - Aggression

is Aggression innate, learned, or optional? Aggression is intentional behavior aimed at doing

• harm or causing physical or psychological pain to another person. Hostile aggression is defined as having as one’s goal the harming of another; instrumental aggression inflicts harm as a means to some other end.

• the evolutionary view Evolutionary psychol- ogists argue that aggression is genetically programmed into men because it enables them to defend their group and perpetuate their genes; males also aggress out of sexual jealousy to protect their paternity. A hormone involved in male aggression is testosterone (which both sexes have in varying levels), but the aggression-testosterone link is modest, and each affects the other. There is substantial variation in the degree of aggressive- ness among human males and also among our two closest animal relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos. Even if aggressive behavior has survival value, nearly all animals have also evolved strong inhibitory mechanisms that enable them to suppress aggression when they need to.

• Culture and Aggression Most social psycholo- gists believe that human beings are born with the capacity for aggression, but whether or not it is expressed is influenced by situational and cultural factors and is therefore modifiable. There is a great variation in the levels of aggression across cultures; under some conditions, groups have had to become more aggressive, and under other conditions, they have become more peaceful. Cooperative, collec- tivist cultures have low levels of aggression, and in the past few centuries, war, murder, and torture have been steadily declining around the world. In cultures of honor, however, such as those in the American South and Southwest and in the Middle East, men are raised to respond aggressively to perceptions of threat and disrespect, a response that originated in economic conditions. In such cultures, the rate of physical abuse of women is often higher than elsewhere because such abuse is regarded as a male prerogative. Multiple factors shape whether or not a culture tends to nurture aggressive behavior, including the extent to which male aggression fulfills a central part of the male role and identity.

• gender and Aggression Men and boys are much more likely than women to commit physical aggression in provocative situations, to pick fights with strangers, and to commit crimes of violence. However, gender differences in physical aggres- sion are reduced when women are as provoked as men or when cultural norms foster female aggres- sion. Husbands are far more likely to murder their wives than vice versa, but community studies find no significant gender differences in rates of less extreme partner abuse, such as hitting. Girls and women are more likely to commit relational aggression, acts that harm another person through manipulation of the relationship (backbiting, spreading rumors, shunning).

• learning to behave Aggressively social-cognitive learning theory holds that people often learn social behavior, including aggression, through observational learning—observing and imitating others, especially people or institutions they respect. But their actual behavior also depends on their beliefs, perceptions, and interpretations of what they observe.

• some Physiological influences Alcohol can increase aggressive behavior because it serves as a disinhibitor, reducing a person’s inhibitions. Alcohol also disrupts the way people usually process information so that they may respond to the most obvious aspects of a social situation and fail to pick up its subtle elements. But thanks to the “think-drink” effect, when people expect alcohol to have certain effects, it often does. When people are in pain or in a very hot environment, they are more likely to act aggressively.

Social Situations and Aggression

• frustration and Aggression

  The frustration- aggression theory states that frustration can increase the probability of an aggressive response. Frustration is more likely to produce aggression if one is thwarted on the way to a goal in a manner that is either illegitimate or unexpected. Also, relative depri- vation—the feeling that you have less than what you deserve or less than people similar to you have— is more likely to cause frustration and aggressive behavior than absolute deprivation, as illustrated by protests and revolutions from the civil rights move- ment to Eastern Europe to the Middle East.

• Provocation and reciprocation

  Individuals frequently aggress to reciprocate the aggressive behavior of others. This response is reduced if there are mitigating circumstances or the recip- ient believes the other person’s behavior was unintentional.

• Weapons as Aggressive Cues

  The mere presence of a gun, an aggressive stimulus, in an otherwise neutral situation increases the degree of aggressive behavior, especially if a person is already feeling angry or frustrated. In a classic study, participants angered in the presence of a gun administered stronger electric shocks to their “victim” than those angered in the same setting in which a tennis racket was substituted for the gun.

• Putting the elements together: the Case of sexual Assault Most crimes of rape are committed by assailants known to the victim (acquaintance or date rape). Rape may occur as a result of physical force or through incapacitation, when the victim has been drugged or is drunk or unconscious. Sexually aggressive males who commit these acts are often unable to empathize with women, may feel hostility and contempt toward women, and feel entitled to have sexual relations with whatever woman they choose. Date rape may also occur because of misunderstand- ings and ambiguities in the sexual scripts that men and women follow regarding sexual norms. Because most couples communicate sexual interest and intentions—including a wish not to have sex—indirectly through hints, body language, eye contact, and other nonverbal behaviors, the possibility of misunderstanding one another is greatly increased. The topics in this chapter lend themselves to understanding the factors involved in sexual assault: the importance of social and cultural norms; the power of perceptions and beliefs; the role of observational learning from role models, peers, and the media; why “testosterone made me do it” is an excuse, not an explanation; and the disinhibiting effects of alcohol and the “think-drink” effect.

violence and the media

• studying the effects of media violence To try to determine what effect all the violence in media and video games might have on children and adults, researchers have conducted laboratory experiments and longitudinal studies. Watching violence is associated with an increase in aggres- sive behavior, especially in children, but not all studies find a relationship. Exposure to violent pornography, in contrast to nonviolent erotica, increases acceptance of sexual violence toward women; the effects are strongest on men who already have hostile attitudes toward women and are predisposed to behave aggressively with them. In the laboratory, playing violent video games does increase hostile feelings and aggres- sive behavior and also has a “numbing” effect, increasing people’s indifference to the needs of others, especially if the others are not “one of us.” Longitudinal studies show that the more televi- sion violence observed by children, the greater the amount of violence they exhibit as teenagers and young adults. Viewing violence also exaggerates people’s perceptions of danger in the outside world.

• the Problem of Determining Cause and effect The relationship between media violence and actual aggression, however, is a two-way street: Children who are already predisposed to aggres- sion are more likely to seek out aggressive shows and games to watch and play. The effects of violence in the media have the greatest effect on children already predisposed to violence because of a genetic predisposition, living in a violent family, or a personality trait. And many other factors have a far more powerful influence on aggression, including growing up with violent or otherwise abusive parents, living in a violent community, and being rejected socially.

• Does Punishing Aggression reduce Aggression?

  If punishment is itself aggressive, it actually models such behavior to children and may engender greater aggressiveness. Punishment may also enhance the attractiveness of the trans- gression to the child, get the attention that the child is hoping for, or backfire by making the child anxious and angry. Punishment often fails to reduce aggression because it does not commu- nicate what the target should do, only what he or she should not do. For punishment to serve as a deterrent to misbehavior or criminal acts, it must be both prompt and certain. For that reason, in the complex world of criminal justice, severe punish- ment is unlikely to deter violent crime.

• Catharsis and Aggression

  The theory of catharsis predicts that venting one’s anger or watching others behave aggressively would serve to “get it out of your system” and make people less likely to behave aggressively themselves. Research shows the contrary: Acting aggressively or observing aggressive events or sports increases the likeli- hood of aggressive behavior in players and fans. Ventilating anger directly toward someone who has insulted or otherwise angered you also increases blood pressure, feelings of anger, and acts of aggression. In turn, because of self-justification and the need to reduce dissonance, each act of “righ- teous aggression” a person commits increases the likelihood that it will be repeated.

• What Are We supposed to Do with our Anger?

  Venting anger usually causes more harm than good, but stifling serious feelings is often not useful either. It is more effective to become aware of the anger and then to deal with it in ways that are more constructive than yelling or hitting: cooling off; becoming more self-aware (perhaps through writing down your feelings privately); learning to communicate your feelings in a clear but nonjudg- mental or insulting way; taking responsibility for acts that anger others, through understanding and apology; learning how to solve the problem that has made you and the other person angry; and strengthening empathic skills.

• Disrupting the rejection-rage Cycle

  Social rejection is the most significant risk factor for teenage suicide, despair, and violence. Most of the teenagers who have committed horrifying murders in their schools felt angry and vengeful at having been bullied and rejected by their peers. Changing the structure and atmosphere of schools through awareness, empathy training, and bullying-reduction programs can reduce bullying and improve the lives of children and teenagers