UGRC 130: HUMAN BEHAVIOUR AND THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

1. UGRC 130: HUMAN BEHAVIOUR AND THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

3. AGGRESSION • Definition • Types of Aggression • Theoretical Explanations of Aggression • Determinants of Aggression Social, Personal and Situational • Reducing & Controlling Aggression

4. Definition • The term aggression comes from the Latin word “aggressio”, meaning attack. • Any form of behaviour that is intended to harm another person that the target wants to avoid (Michner et al, 2004). • Human aggression: is any behavior directed toward another individual that is carried out with the Proximate (immediate) intent to cause harm. In addition, the perpetrator must believe that the behaviour will harm the target, and that the target is motivated to avoid the behavior (Bushman & Anderson, 2001; Baron &Richardson, 1994; Berkowitz, 1993; Geen, 2001). • The harm could be physical, social or psychological • Also important is the intention behind the act

5. Purposes of Aggression To express anger or hostility To assert dominance To intimidate or threaten To achieve a goal A reaction to pain To compete with others

6. TYPES/FORMS OF AGGRESSION INSTRUMENTAL • Instrumental aggression is conceived as a premeditated means of obtaining some goal other than harming the victim, and being proactive rather than reactive (Berkowitz,1993; Geen, 2001). • It is rational and deliberate. It is a means to an end not an end in itself. • Examples: aggression by military and police (legitimate), hitting a thief to retrieve your stolen item. HOSTILE • Hostile aggression has historically been conceived as being impulsive, thoughtless (i.e., unplanned) and driven by anger • It has an ultimate motive of harming the target, and occurs as a reaction to some perceived provocation. • It is sometimes called affective, impulsive, or reactive aggression.

7. THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONS OF AGGRESSION BIOLOGICAL THEORIES • Instinct theory: the theory holds that human beings are programmed to aggress by their basic nature i.e humans are born aggressive or have the innate tendency to aggress. According to Hobes, (1651) it is societal laws and restraints that curb our aggression. • According to Freud (1930), Death Instinct (Thanatos):the drive to destroy and kill is as basic as the need to breathe, thus, we are condemned to random violence. Even though the instinct is directed towards the self, it is soon directed to others. • Evolutionary theory: aggression springs from an inherited fighting instinct. aggressive behaviours evolve over time because it is needed for survival (Lorenz, 1974). Instincts evolve because it contributes to an animals survival. • Genetic theory: an individual’s genetic make-up disposes him or her to become aggressive. Aggression is an inherited trait or behaviour.

8. Drive theories • The theories suggest that, aggression stems from external conditions that arouse the motive to harm or injure others (Baron & Byrne, 2003). • Frustration-Aggression hypothesis (Dollard et al, 1939): frustration leads to arousal of a drive whose primary goal is to harm. • Every frustration leads to some form of aggression and every aggressive act is due to some prior frustration. • The relationship between frustration and aggression is however influenced by the strength of the frustration or closeness to the goal and whether the frustration is expected or not

9. Social Learning Theories Learning through, observation imitation and modeling another person or a model(Bandura, 1961). • social learning by watching and imitating the behavior of others. A considerable amount of evidence suggests that watching violence on television increases the likelihood of short-term aggression in children (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2005). A long-term study of over 700 families found a significant association between the amount of time spent watching violent television as a teenager and the likelihood of committing acts of aggression later in life. The results did not change even after accounting for factors such as family income, parental education, and neighborhood violence (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2005). • A classical study by Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961): The Bobo Doll experiment has also established a positive correlation between screen violence and aggression.

10. Determinants of Aggression Social Determinants • Frustration: anything that blocks the attainment of a goal • Direct provocation: actions by others that tend to trigger aggression in the recipient (Baron & Byrne, 2003). • Displaced aggression: aggression against someone other than the source of provocation. • Heightened aggression- Excitation Transfer theory: arousal produced in one situation can persist and intensify emotional reactions occurring in later situations. • Excitation transfer theory (Zillmann, 1983) notes that physiological arousal dissipates slowly. If two arousing events are separated by a short amount of time, arousal from the first event may be misattributed to the second event. If the second event is related to anger, then the additional arousal should make the person even angrier.

11. Weapon effect: exposure to weapons and some other inanimate objects encourage instances of aggression. According to Berkowitz “Guns do not only permit violence, they can stimulate it as well”. Aggression as a sub-culture (cultures of honor and jealousy): aggression is a valued trait in some cultures. In some cultures, beliefs, norms and expectations exist that suggests aggression is appropriate and permitted; to conquer and protect (one’s honor).

12. Personal Determinants Type A & Type B Personality • Type A: competitive, always anxious, ambitious, highly irritable etc. • Type B: relaxed, not irritable etc: • Type A’s are found to be more aggressive and mostly engage in hostile aggression while the type B’s are most likely to engage in instrumental aggression (Strube et al, 1984). Hostile Attributional Bias • This is a personality characteristic which refers to the tendency to perceive hostile intentions or motives in other’s actions when these actions are ambiguous(Dodge et al, 1986).

13. GENDER DIFFERENCES IN AGRRESSION • Males are historically believed to be generally more physically aggressive than females (Coie & Dodge 1997, Maccoby & Jacklin 1974), and men commit the vast majority of murders in the United States(Buss 2005). • The ratio of male to female murderers in the United States is about 10:1 (FBI 1951–1999). • When considering indirect forms of non-physical aggression, such as relational aggression and social rejection, some researchers argue that females can be quite aggressive, although female aggression is less often expressed physically (Archer, 2004; Card, Stucky, Sawalani, & Little, 2008).

14. Narcissism Holding an over-inflated view of one’s own virtues and accomplishments. People who overly love themselves and will not take any criticisms from others.

15. Situational Determinants of Aggression Alcohol and Aggression • There is a link between alcohol and aggressive behaviour; rape, homicide, domestic violence etc. • According to McDonald, (1996) alcohol serves as a disinhibitor. • It weakens peoples restraints against aggression.

16. Temperature and Aggression • There seemed to be a correlation between temperature and aggression. • According to the Heat Hypothesis, as temperature rises, aggression also rises (Anderson et al., 2000). Pain and Aggression According to Berkowitz (1988): when faced with pain we often lash out at the nearest available target.

17. Crowding and Aggression • Crowding refers to the subjective feeling of not having enough space. Crowding diminishes a persons control and make him irritated at the slightest provocation. Experiments with rats who were allowed to overpopulate in a confined environment triggered aggression (Myers, 2000). Media Violence and Aggression • There is a relationship between watching aggression on TV and becoming aggressive. • The effects are both short term and long term in nature

18. REDUCING AND CONTROLLING AGGRESSION • Use of punishment: for reasons of retribution (making amends for the harm done) and deterrence (prevent others from engaging in such behaviour) • Catharsis: performingaggressive acts in harmless ways to release built-up tension and energy to reduce the likelihood of further aggression. • Social skills training: teaching people how to interact and communicate with others without creating offense. • Anger management • The Social Learning approach. The theory holds that aggression is learned and so it can be equally unlearned. This can be achieved through the use of non aggressive models. Not rewarding aggressive behaviours. • Strict Gun Legislation.