Aggression
Social Psychology
Chapter 11
October 22, 2004
Class #9
What is Aggression?
 Behavior
intended to injure
another
– It is behavior (not angry feelings)
– It is intended (not accidental harm)
– It is aimed at hurting (not
assertiveness or playfulness)
• Kayla Rowland, murdered
by another 6 year old
• Father of murderer said
his son spent his time
“watching violent movies
and TV”
Highly publicized examples…
The Violent Crime Clock
Based on Federal Bureau
of Investigations statistics
Type of
Aggression
Indirect
Aggression
Direct
Aggression
Emotional
Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
Definition
Example
Type of
Aggression
Definition
Indirect
Aggression
Direct
Aggression
Emotional
Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
Attempt to
hurt another
without
obvious faceto-face
conflict
Example
Spreading a
rumor that
your exromantic
partner has a
sexually
transmitted
disease
Type of
Aggression
Indirect
Aggression
Direct
Aggression
Emotional
Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
Definition
Behavior
intended to
hurt
someone
“to his or
her face”
Example
A hockey
player
punches
another
player
Type of
Aggression
Definition
Example
Indirect
Aggression
Direct
Aggression
Emotional
Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
Hurtful
behavior
that stems
from angry
feelings
A child
throws a
temper
tantrum after
mom refuses
to buy candy
Type of
Aggression
Definition
Example
Indirect
Aggression
Direct
Aggression
Emotional
Aggression
Instrumental
Aggression
Hurting
another to
accomplish
another
(nonaggressive)
goal
A mother
spanks a child
to discourage
him from
repeating a
tantrum
Gender Differences in Aggression

This may depend on your definition…
– There is no clear sex difference in reporting
feelings of anger
– Women are more prone to experience feelings
of jealousy in relationships
– Women are more likely to use physical
aggression against partners (e.g. slapping)
– Girls use more indirect aggression (e.g.,
spreading rumors)
Gender Differences in Aggression
But men’s aggression is more likely to do
physical harm
 Men commit the vast majority of
homicides -->

100
75
Percentage
of Total FBI
homicides
50
25
0
Men
Women
1961- 1966- 1971- 1976- 1981- 1986- 1991- 19961965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Throughout history, men have committed the vast
majority of homicides. This graph depicts data
from the United States over the last 3 decades
Aggressive Behavior: Early Views

Freud hypothesized a “death instinct” to explain
roots of aggression…
– Which he said was challenged by a “life
instinct”
Aggression and Adaptive Goals
 A drive
towards aggressiveness could
only evolve if it increased the chances of
survival or reproduction
 A drive toward “blind aggression” would
be maladaptive
 Aggression is thus unlikely to be a goal in
itself, but should instead be linked to
particular goals in particular situations
Is Aggression Innate?
Evolutionary Psychology

Emphasis placed on genetic survival
rather than survival of the individual
– Accounts for inhibition of aggression against
genetically related others

Daly and Wilson (1988, 2000)
– Birth parents much less likely to abuse
biological children than stepparents are to
harm their stepchildren
Is Aggression Innate?
Evolutionary Psychology

Why gender differences?
– Males aggress to achieve and maintain status
– Females aggress to protect offspring
Is Aggression Innate?
The Role of Testosterone

Are there specific biological factors that
influence aggression?
– Strong positive correlation between testosterone
levels and aggression
 Dabbs (1996)
– “Crude” fraternities > “Smart” fraternities
– But correlation is not causation!
The Role of Testosterone
 Testosterone
– Hormone linked to masculine body
development and behavior in a wide
range of species
– Hens given testosterone act like roosters,
and rise in dominance hierarchy
Sex and Testosterone

Social psychologist Jim Dabbs &
colleagues found high testosterone levels
in:
– Aggressive boys
– Violent criminals
– Men and women with criminal
records
– Military veterans who went AWOL or
got into trouble after their service
Sex and Testosterone

Dutch psychologist Stephanie VanGoozen
& colleagues (1995, 1997) studied people
undergoing sex change operations:
– Women changing to men got
testosterone injections – became more
aggressive and sexual
– Men changing to women got
testosterone suppressants – became
less aggressive and sexual
Blocked Pathways to Success

Dabbs and Morris (1990) searched records
of 4,462 U.S. military veterans, now in
their 30s and 40s:
– They divided men into those from:
relatively low socio-economic status
 middle and upper class backgrounds


And then compared the groups for
evidence of antisocial behavior before,
during, or after military service
Dabbs & Morris
(1990)
50
40
Percentage
with High
Levels of
Delinquency
30
20
1
0
0
Low SES
Normal
testosterone
High
testosterone
High testosterone
was associated with
delinquent
behaviors in men of
low socio-economic
status
High SES
But not in men of
higher socioeconomic status,
who presumably
had other paths to
attain status
Is Aggression Innate?
The Role of Serotonin

The neurotransmitter serotonin appears to
restrain impulsive acts of aggression
– Low levels of serotonin associated with high
levels of aggression
– Boosting serotonin can dampen
aggressiveness

But is the lack of serotonin an innate cause
of aggression?
Role of Learning and Culture in Aggression
Aggressive behavior is more common in
individualist than in collectivist cultures
 Many learn aggressive responses by
watching others
–e.g., Bandura’s “Bobo doll” experiments
 People become aggressive when rewarded
for aggressiveness and less aggressive
when punished for aggression

Social Learning Theory of Aggression

Theory that aggressive behavior is learned
through:
– Direct Reward
 Example: father buys son an ice cream after
he wins a fight
– Observing Others Being Rewarded for
Aggressiveness
 Example: a television character wins the
girl of his dreams as a result of killing
several people
Glamorizing Violence

Plagens, et al. (1991)
– Typical American child sees 200,000
acts of violence on TV by age 18
– Children who watch a lot of violent TV
are more violent towards peers
– Experimental studies, in which violence
is controlled, also find effects of
watching violence
Other studies have found…

By the end of elementary school, a typical
American child will have seen:
– 8,000 murders
– More than 100,000 other acts of violence
2003 study (Parents Television Council)
found 534 separate episodes of prime-time
violence during a 2 week period
 The most violent TV shows are targeted to
children (e.g., cartoons)

Space Blaster
Doomsday Version 2.5
In this video game, it appears you
win by beheading the guy???
Violent Video Games

Several studies have shown significant results
indicating that playing violent video games is
associated with a history of property destruction
and hitting other students…
– Anderson & Dill (2000)
 College students randomly assigned to play
a violent video game (Wulfenstein) later
had more aggressive thoughts and feelings
than those who played a nonviolent game
(Tetrix)
The Challenge of Video

Dilemma for parents about letting
children watch television and play
video games
– parents find video a good babysitter
– parents believe video can sometimes be
educational tool

Experts suggest parents turn off
the TV to avoid exposing children to
video violence
The Evidence on Content
Children, especially males, who watched
educational television became teens who
earned higher grades, read more
 Children, especially females, who
watched violent television had lower
grades

The Evidence on Content

Content of video games crucial reason
behind great concern of
developmental researchers
- research shows that violent TV and video
games push children to be more violent
than they normally would be

computer games probably worse, as children
are doing the virtual killing
How Strong is the Relationship Between
Media Violence and Real-World Aggression?
From Dorothy G. Singer and Jerome L. Singer (eds.), Handbook of Children and the Media.
Copyright © by Sage Publications, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications, Inc.
Immediate Effects of Media Violence

Aggressive models increase aggressive
behavior among children and adults
– Models can be live or on film
Violent imagery in the music industry
associated feelings of hostility and
aggressive thoughts
 Playing violent video games can increase
aggressive thoughts and behaviors

Long-Term Effects of Media
Violence

Exposure to TV violence at ages 6-9
positively correlated with aggression as
adults
– No gender difference

Cross-cultural study found relationship
between early viewing of TV violence and
later aggression
Black & Bevan (1992)

Movie-goers filled out an aggression
questionnaire as they entered, or left: a violent
movie, or a nonviolent movie…
 DV:
aggression
 IV: type of movie
Procedures
Subjects were randomly picked as they
went to view violent movie or romantic
film
 In both cases, they were asked to fill out
pretest questionnaire on aggression
 After viewing the movie, they were again
asked to fill out another questionnaire on
aggression (posttest)

Results and Implication



Those watching the violent movie were more
aggressive to begin with
They became even more aggressive after
watching the violent movie
Implication:
– Watching Violence Magnifies Violent
Inclinations
Culture of Honor

A set of societal norms whose central idea is that
people (particularly men) should be ready to
defend their honor with violent retaliation if
necessary…
– Southern U.S. has more honor-related
homicides (Nisbett et al., 1995)
– Southern students respond more aggressively
to an insult in a lab setting (Cohen, et al.,
1996)
Competition for Mates
 Palmer
(1993) observed two teams of
amateur hockey players in Canada…
– One team was made up of older, married
players
– Another was composed of younger, mostly
unmarried men
Palmer (1993)
100
75
Percentage
of Hockey
Games
50
25
0
Humorous
Cool
Overaggression
Angry
Type of Aggressive Behavior
Older
players
Younger
players
Aggressive behavior by
older, married players
was more likely to be
humorous
But younger players
hostility was more likely
to be cold and
instrumental or angry
Competition for Mates

Palmer(1993) suggested that the pattern of
aggression in hockey players is similar to
the pattern found in homicides…
– Older men who have attracted mates are in a
position to laugh off threats to their relative
status
– For younger men who have not yet established
themselves the competition for status is more
serious
Self-protective aggression can increase
danger

Center for Disease Control (1991)
– This study found 1 in 5 H.S. students
reported carrying a gun to school in
preceding month
Self-protective aggression can increase
danger

Kellerman et al. (1993)
– Adults also often purchase guns for selfdefense
– But guns are most often turned against
friends, acquaintances, or self
– Owning a gun triples chance of being
killed
Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis
 Original
– The theory that aggression is an
automatic response to any blocking of
goal-directed behavior
 Revised
– The theory that any unpleasant
stimulation will lead to emotional
aggression to the extent that it generates
unpleasant feelings
Lets take a closer look at what
makes us angry/aggressive?

Anderson and
Anderson
(1984, 1998)
– Found that
uncomfortably
hot weather
heightened
aggressive
reactions
Source: Anderson, C. A. & Anderson, K. P. (1998)
Anderson (1987)
(Anderson, Bushman, & Groom (1996)

Time period studies show that violent crimes are
more likely to occur during warm-weather
months than on cold weather months, and also
that violent crimes tend to be more common in
hot years than in cooler years and that the usual
summer increase in violent crime is magnified
during hotter years
Unpleasant Situations:
Sweltering heat

Increases in
temperature are
associated with:
– More aggressive
horn-honking
– Increases in
assaults
– Increases in
murders
– Increases in urban
riots
– Major league
pitchers throwing
more balls at
batters
 Reifman,
Larrick, &
Fein,
1991(see next
slide –>)
Players Hit Per Game
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
below 70
70-79
80-89
90 +
Feelings of Arousal and Irritability

Excitation Transfer Theory
– Theory that anger is physiologically similar to other
emotional states
– And any form of emotional arousal can enhance
aggressive responses
 Example: Students were more aggressive after
watching nonviolent erotic films or riding an
exercise bike (Cantor et al., 1978)
Cognitive Neoassociation Analysis

Theory that feelings and thoughts interact
– Unpleasant experiences create negative affect
– Negative affect stimulates associations connected
with anger and fear

How one responds to these automatic thoughts
and emotions is influenced by higher level
cognitive processing
Unpleasant Experiences (pain, heat, etc.)
Negative Feelings
OR
Angry
Angry thoughts
thoughts
and
and associations
associations
Fearful
thoughts and
associations
Fight
Fight
Flight
Unpleasant Experiences (pain, heat, etc.)
Negative Feelings
OR
Objects or
Events
Priming
Aggression
Angry
Angry thoughts
thoughts
and
and associations
associations
Fearful
thoughts and
associations
Fight
Fight
Flight
Frustrations, Perception, and Personal
Choices
 Weapons
effect
– The tendency for weapons, such as guns,
to enhance aggressive thoughts, feelings,
and actions
Berkowitz & LePage (1967)




Procedures:
– Subjects made angry by an insulting confederate
gave more electric shock
DV:
– Aggression
 Determined by # of shocks administered
IV1:
– Type of visible object
IV2:
– Actions of confederate
6
5
Number of
Shocks
Delivered
to Other
Subject
4
3
2
1
Other Subject
Rewarding
Weapons
Present
No Weapons
Present
Weapons did not
increase aggression
when participants
were not annoyed
Other Subject
Annoying
But annoyed
participants
delivered more
shocks when guns
were present
Higher Order Cognition:
Cognitive Control
Deliberate, thoughtful consideration of the
situation can influence aggression
 Aggression can be reduced because of
mitigating information

– Information the person should not be held
fully responsible for aggressive actions.

Some people exhibit a hostile attribution
bias
Alcohol and Aggression
Alcohol, like high arousal, can impair the
cognitive control of aggression
 How does alcohol increase aggression?

– Alcohol reduces anxiety, which lowers
inhibitions against aggression
– Intoxication causes alcohol myopia, a
disruption in the way we process information
Pornography and Aggression
Positive correlation for men between exposure
to pornography and reported sexually
aggressive behaviors and attitudes
 But what is pornography?

– Often a matter of personal opinion
– Pornography refers to explicit sexual material,
regardless of its moral or aesthetic qualities
Nonviolent Pornography
Arousal-affect model revisited
 Nonviolent pornography can increase
men’s aggression against women

– But only when restraints that ordinarily inhibit
male-to-female aggression are reduced

Little support for direct causal link
between pornography use and sexual
aggression
Violent Pornography

Adding violence to pornography increases
possibility of harmful effects
– Brings together high arousal, negative emotional
reactions, and aggressive thoughts

Male-to-female aggression is markedly
increased after exposure to violent
pornography
When Provocation Isn’t Necessary
Intimate Violence

Sexual Aggression Among
College Students:
– Of the 3,187 females surveyed on 32 college
campuses:
 Over 25% reported having experienced either
an attempted or completed rape since age 14
 Over 50% of these assaults occurred during a
date
Factors Associated with Sexual
Aggression Among College Students

Gender
– Men are more likely to engage in coercive behavior
in order to obtain sex
Alcohol consumption
 Attitudes toward rape and toward women

Marx et al. (1999)
Marx et al., 1999.
Physical Aggression Between Partners
Partner abuse is a worldwide phenomenon.
 Higher levels of wife-to-husband violence
reported than husband-to-wife abuse

– Consequences of aggression between partners
tend to be much more damaging to women

Violence between partners caused by
multiple factors
Child Abuse


Estimated over a million children are physically
abused and over 150,000 are sexually abused
Most severe abuse is often inflicted by parents
and caretakers
– Boys suffer more physical abuse than girls do
– Mothers are more likely to physically abuse their
children
– Girls suffer more sexual abuse than do boys
– Fathers are more likely to sexually abuse their
children
Reducing Aggression: Situational and
Sociocultural Factors
Reduce stressors such as frustration,
discomfort, and provocation
 Teach and model nonviolent responses to
frustrations and social problems
 Emphasize cooperation over
competitiveness
 Change cost-reward payoffs associated
with aggression

Reducing Aggression: Media Effects
Censorship?
 Education may be most effective approach

– Increase critical viewing skills
Reducing Aggression: Intimate Violence

Sex education programs that:
– Emphasize desirability of being respectful and
considerate towards one’s partner
– Debunk rape myths
– Increase sensitivity

Provide family members with educational
and employment opportunities to reduce
family violence

Note: Several slides in this presentation prepared by:
http://www.public.asu.edu/~jmacker/350/350_chap10