 Intentional action aimed at doing harm or causing pain
 May be either verbal or physical
 An act is aggressive even if it does not succeed in its goal

 Hostile aggression – aggression stemming from a feeling of anger and intended to cause pain
 Instrumental aggression – aggression that intends to hurt someone, but as a means to a goal other than causing pain



Howard Zinn would say no – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=subwDAZtEN
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What are the factors that make this argument?
 Hormonal
 Evolutionary
 Role of culture – pg. 259 and the Southern Carolina
Congressman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_Brooks

 Latest thinking is that aggression has survival value
 However, nearly all organisms have inhibitory mechanisms
 Most organisms use aggression only when it’s in their best interest

 Definition – the release of energy
 Does this release lead to a reduction in aggression?
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9Z3MYo2M0

(continued)
 Catharsis seems correct
 However, aggressive impulses are governed by feelings and by thinking
 Cognitive dissonance theory
 I behave aggressively
 I experience dissonance because


My behavior doesn’t fit my self-concept
My behavior is disproportionate to the other person’s bx
 I become more aggressive (bx or attitude) to justify my initial aggression, thus reducing dissonance.

Causes of Aggression: always mitigated by the social situation
 Testosterone: The physical expression of aggression is linked to testosterone levels
 Injecting animals with testosterone increases aggression
 Behaving aggressively increases levels of testosterone in the blood


“Activities aimed at hurting others by sabotaging their relationships
 While boys are more physically aggressive, relational aggression is more prevalent in girls

 Lowers inhibitions, including those against aggression
 Alcohol disrupts information processing
 Misinterpretation of social interactions
 Missed social cues

 If an organism experiences pain and cannot flee, attack is next option
(mitigated by the social situation)
 Correlation between hot weather and riots and violent crime

 If a goal is thwarted – aggression more likely. Mitigated by:
 The closer to the goal, the more frustration is experienced if progress is interrupted
 Frustration increases even more if the interruption is unexpected or perceived to be unjustified
So… Goal is within reach, expectations are high, goal is blocked unjustifiably = more frustration, more likely to lead to aggression


“Simple” deprivation doesn’t necessarily lead to frustration

Frustration results from “relative” deprivation – realizing you are deprived relative to others
 Hope that is unsatisfied is more frustrating than hopelessness

 Using previously discussed causes of aggression, why would these lead to aggression?

 Learn how to behave
 Learn to consider the intentions of others
 Aggressive stimulus serves as a cue (eg – primes for aggression)
 Sense of responsibility for our actions inhibits aggression

 Deindividuation is a state of lessened selfawareness
 Research has shown that anonymity increases aggressive responses

 Lots of research in this area
 High correlation between amount of violence watched on TV and viewer’s aggressiveness
 Accumulates over time - strength of correlation increases with age

 Priming – feeling of anger more available and aggression more likely
 Numbing effect
 Weakens inhibitions

 Examples of the causes/concepts from chapter 6?

“Bullying in schools…”
 Interesting points?

Examples of “causes of aggression?”
 Preventing/reducing aggression –
 Small groups – you’re assigned a strategy; are there examples of it in the article? How could it be used to reduce/prevent aggression?

 Pure Reason
 Punishment


Temporary, if increases frustration then…
External justification doesn’t lead to change
 Punishing aggressive role models
 Rewarding alternative behavior
 Non-aggressive role models
 Building empathy

Taking another’s perspective keeps us from dehumanizing them