AP Psychology: Social Psychology
AGGRESSION
Notes
Aggression: any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy
Biology influences our threshold for aggressive behaviors at 3 levels:
1. Genetic (inherited traits)
a. Used twin studies to research genetic predisposition towards aggression
b. Identical twins: aggressive traits were primarily the same
c. Fraternal twins: much less likely to have the same aggressive traits
2. Neural (activity in key brain areas)
a. Brain areas of focus: amygdala (controls emotion/temper) and frontal lobes
(controls impulsive behavior and inhibition of appropriate behavior)
3. Biochemical
a. excess testosterone in the bloodstream
b. alcohol influences aggressive responses to frustration
Aggression is a complex behavior resulting from the interaction of biology and experience.
Frustration (frustration-aggression principle), previous reinforcement for aggressive behavior,
and observing an aggressive role model can all contribute to aggression.
Social Scripts: culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.
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Media portrayals of violence provide social scripts that children learn to follow.
Viewing sexual violence contributes to greater aggression toward women.
Playing violent video games increases aggressive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
Aggression Review Questions
1. A friend fails to meet an achievement goal. As a result, he gets angry and behaves
aggressively. Which of the following terms best identifies this chain of events?
a)
Aggression
b)
Fundamental attribution error
c)
Frustration-aggression principle
d)
Social scripts
e)
Biopsychosocial hypothesis
2.
What do we call culturally modeled guides for how to act in various situations?
a)
Aggressive behavior
b)
Cultures of honor
c)
Reinforcement modeling
d)
Social scripts
e)
Social-cultural influences
3.
Which of the following is an example of a social-cultural influence on aggressive
behavior?
a)
Exposure to violent media
b)
Frustration
c)
Testosterone
d)
Believing you’ve drunk alcohol
e)
Genetics
Briefly answer this question:
Define social scripts and the frustration-aggression principle in your own words. Then, provide
an example of each.