Aggression

What is the common intention

of these actions?
Kicks, slaps
Threats, insults
Gossip, lying
Destroying property
Online bullying
What Is Aggression?

An intentional behavior aimed at causing either

physical or psychological harm

Kicks, slaps
Threats, insults
Gossip, lying
Destroying property
Online bullying
Types of Aggression

•Hostile aggression is an act of aggression

stemming from feelings of anger and aimed
at inflicting harm. (impulsive, emotional
outbursts)

i.e. Murders – arguments, love triangle,

brawls
Types of Aggression

•Instrumental aggression is aggression that

serves as a means to some goal other than
causing harm/injury

•i.e suicide bombings, acts of terrorism

Is Aggression Inborn, or Is it Learned?

Scientists do not agree on whether aggression is

innate or learned. The debate has been raging for
centuries.
Hobbes (1651): Human beings are brutes – with
natural instinct toward aggression.

Rousseau (1762): Human beings are gentle creatures

and it is a restrictive society that forces persons to
become hostile and aggressive.
 THEORETICAL
PERSPECTIVES
Biological Perspective
Neural and Chemical Influences on
Aggression
Neural Mechanisms
The amygdala is an area in the core of the brain
associated with aggressive behaviour in humans and
lower animals.

When the area is stimulated, docile organisms become

violent, and when the neural activity is blocked, violent
organisms become docile.
Neural and Chemical Influences on
Aggression
Testosterone

Certain chemicals have been shown to influence

aggression in animals and in humans, testosterone
for example.
Testosterone is a male sex hormone associated with
aggression.
-eg,the injection of testosterone will increase
aggression in animals.
Neural and Chemical Influences on
Aggression
Testosterone
Research shows that:
1. naturally occurring testosterone levels are higher
among prisoners convicted of violent crimes than
among those convicted of nonviolent crimes,
2. incarcerated prisoners with higher testosterone
levels violate more prison rules
3. juvenile delinquents have higher testosterone
levels than do university students
Neural and Chemical Influences on
Aggression
Alcohol

Alcohol intoxication has been

associated with violent crimes, family
violence, relationship violence, and air
rage.
Experimental studies suggest strongly
that alcohol ingestion causes
aggression.
Neural and Chemical Influences on
Aggression

Alcohol
1. reduces our inhibitions so that we are
more likely to perform behaviors that
we would normally keep in check
2. lowers our threshold for aggressive
behavior
3. interferes with our ability to consider
the consequences or our actions
 FRUSTRATION Aggression Theory

Frustration is a major cause of aggression.

Frustration occurs when a person is thwarted on the
way to an expected goal or gratification

Frustration-aggression theory says that frustration

will increase the probability of an aggressive
response
This is not to say that frustration always leads to
aggression, but it frequently does.
 FRUSTRATION Aggression Theory

Frustration does not always produce

aggression.

Rather, it produces anger, annoyance

and readiness to aggress if the
situation is conducive to aggression.
FRUSTRATION Aggression
Theory

Frustration does not always cause

aggression, e.g., if an opponent (person
responsible for the frustration) is
superior in size and strength.
FRUSTRATION Aggression
Theory
Direct Provocation and Reciprocation

People usually feel the need to

reciprocate after they are deliberately
provoked by aggressive behavior from
another person.
 Social Learning Theory
Imitation and Aggression

A major factor in aggression is social learning.

Social learning theory is the theory that we learn
social behavior (e.g., aggression) by observing
others and imitating them (Bandura and colleagues,
Bobo doll study).
Children learn to solve conflicts aggressively by
imitating adults and peers. This is especially
powerful when the aggression is rewarded.
 Social Learning Theory
Imitation and Aggression

Studies show that a large percentage of physically

abusive people were themselves abused by their
parents when they were kids.
When children experience aggressive treatment at
the hands of their parents, they learn that violence
is the way to respond to conflict or anger.
 Social Learning Theory
The Effects of Watching Violence in the
Media
If learning through observation is so powerful, then
does watching violence on TV make people more
violent? The answer is yes.

Being exposed to violence on TV increases

aggressive behaviour in children (Liebert & Baron,
1972 study).
Social Learning Theory

The Effects of Watching Violence in the

Media
A number of long-term studies indicate
that the more violence people watch
on TV as children, the more violence
they exhibit years later as teens and
adults (Eron and colleagues, 1982,
1987).
 Situational Causes of Aggression
Why Does Media Violence Affect Viewers
Aggression?
There are four reasons why exposure to violence
might increase aggression:
1. If they can do it, so can I (weakened inhibitions)
2. Oh, so that’s how it’s done (imitation of
behaviour)
3. I think it must be aggressive feelings that I’m
experiencing (priming of anger and aggression)
4. Ho-hum, another brutal beating (reduction of
sense of horror and sympathy for the victim)
Reducing Aggression
How To Reduce Aggression
Catharsis

It is generally believed that one way to reduce

feelings of aggression is to do something aggressive,
to “blow off steam” and “get it out of your system.”

Catharsis is the notion that “blowing off steam”—by

performing an aggressive act, watching others
engage in aggressive behaviors, or engaging in a
fantasy of aggression—relieves built-up aggressive
energies and hence reduces the likelihood of further
aggressive behavior.
How To Reduce Aggression
Catharsis and Aggression

Does catharsis work?

No, it has the opposite effect, i.e., watching or
participating in aggressive activities increases, not
decreases, subsequent aggression and hostility
(Bushman et al, 1999 study).

This is true of those persons watching aggressive

football and hockey games, or wrestling matches.
 How To Reduce Aggression

Anger: Venting vs. Self-Awareness

It is possible to express anger in nonviolent ways—

e.g., by making a clear statement indicating that you
are feeling angry and why.

Expressing anger nonviolently is an assertive

response that allows us to avoid the dangers of
either violent expression, or of repression of the
feelings.
 How To Reduce Aggression

Anger: Venting vs. Self-Awareness

One can also derive some relief from sharing anger

with a third party (Pennebaker, 1990 study).

Pennebaker suggests that the beneficial effects of

‘opening up’ are due not simply to venting of feeling,
but primarily to the insights and self-awareness that
usually accompany such self-disclosure.
How To Reduce Aggression

Defusing Anger through Apology

One way to reduce aggression in another person is

for the person who caused the frustration to take
responsibility, apologize, and indicate it won’t
happen again (Ohbuchi et al, 1989 study).
 How To Reduce Aggression

The Modeling of Nonaggressive Behaviour

Exposing people to nonaggressive models reduces

aggressive behaviour.

Children exposed to models who behave

nonaggressively when provoked show a much
lower frequency of aggression than children who
were not exposed (Vidyasagar & Mishra, 1993).
 Social Learning Approach
• Aggressive behavior is learned and
therefore can be unlearned

• Preventing aggression before it

happens
 Social Learning Approach
• Controlling aggression by counteracting the
factors that provoke it

- i.e. Reducing aversive stimulation (TV

violence)