Chapter 11
Aggression: Its Nature, Causes,
and Control
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Aggression
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Theoretical Perspectives
Causes of Human Aggression
Aggression in Long-Term Relationships
Prevention and Control of Aggression
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Aggression
• Aggression—behavior directed toward the
goal of harming another living being who
is motivated to avoid such treatment
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Theoretical Perspectives
• The Role of Biological Factors
– Aggression is inherited and instinctual.
• Freud’s “death instinct” (thanatos)
– Instinct is aimed at self-destruction, but is redirected toward
others
• Lorenz proposed the existence of an inherited fighting
instinct that ensures that the strongest survive.
– Social psychologists disagreed with the idea that
aggression was unlearned.
• Human aggression takes many forms
• Frequency of violence varies across cultures
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Theoretical Perspectives
• The evolutionary perspective in psychology has
resulted in some changes in this belief.
– Although most social psychologists still reject the
notion that human aggression is caused by innate
factors, many now acknowledge the possibility that
human aggression can be affected by biological or
genetic factors.
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Theoretical Perspectives
• Drive Theories
– Drive Theories (of aggression)—suggest that
aggression stems from external conditions that arouse
the motive to harm or injure others
• A famous drive theory is the frustration-aggression
hypothesis—the suggestion that frustration is a very powerful
determinant of aggression.
– This theory is not well-supported, but remains popular.
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Theoretical Perspectives
• Modern Theories of Aggression
– Social learning perspective
• People learn the nuances of aggression through direct
experience or by observing others, which includes:
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Ways to harm others
Which groups are appropriate targets
What actions justify retaliation
What situations permit or approve of aggression
• The display of aggressive behavior depends on past
experience, current rewards, and attitudes and values.
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Theoretical Perspectives
• Modern Theories of Aggression
– General Aggression Model—suggests that
aggression is triggered by a wide range of input
variables which influence arousal, affective stages,
and cognitions
• Input variables include situational factors and personal
factors
– Repeated exposure to aggression can facilitate the influence of
these variables and can prime people for aggression.
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Theoretical Perspectives
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Theoretical Perspectives
• What are your thoughts?
– What does each theoretical perspective offer in
terms of better understanding the roots of
violence?
– Which theories seem to explain violence
against strangers?
– Which theories appear to explain violence
toward friends and loved ones?
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Causes of Human Aggression
• Social Causes of Aggression
– Frustration
• Does not always lead to some form of aggression
– It may lead to sadness, depression.
• Aggression does not always result from frustration.
– People may aggress for other reasons (boxers, soldiers).
• However, it can elicit aggression when the cause of the
frustration is viewed as illegitimate or unjustified.
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Causes of Human Aggression
• Social Causes of Aggression
– Provocation
• Physical or verbal provocation is one of the main
causes of aggression.
– People tend to reciprocate with the same or slightly higher
level of aggression that they receive from others.
– Condescension, the expression of arrogance or disdain, is a
strong predictor of aggression.
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Causes of Human Aggression
• Social Causes of Aggression
– Heightened arousal
• Arousal in one situation can increase aggression in
response to provocation, frustration, etc. in another,
unrelated situation
– Excitation Transfer Theory—suggests that arousal
produced in one situation can persist and intensify
emotional reactions occurring in later situations
» More likely to happen when people are not aware that
they are experiencing residual arousal
» Or, when people are aware of their arousal but attribute
it to the present situation, rather than its original source
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Causes of Human Aggression
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Causes of Human Aggression
• Exposure to Media Violence
• May be a factor that contributes to high levels
of violence in countries where it is viewed by
many people
– This is supported by short-term laboratory
experiments and longitudinal studies.
• Can prime aggressive thoughts and lead to a
hostile expectation bias that others will behave
aggressively, which causes individuals to act
more aggressively
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Causes of Human Aggression
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Causes of Human Aggression
• Violent Pornography
• Can increase the likelihood that men will
aggress against women
• Can desensitize people to victims of sexual
violence
• Fosters belief in rape myths
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Causes of Human Aggression
• Cultural Factors in Aggression
– Cultures of Honor—cultures in which there are
strong norms indicating that aggression is an
appropriate response to insults to one’s honor
• May have developed due to how wealth was acquired in
some regions (in assets that could be stolen easily)
– Individuals demonstrated that thefts would not be tolerated by
engaging in violence.
» Norms condoning violence in response to threats to one’s
honor then developed.
• Two regions of the United States still follow this culture:
the West and the South.
– These areas of the country have higher rates of murders resulting
from brawls and arguments.
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Causes of Human Aggression
• Cultural Factors in Aggression
– Sexual Jealousy
• Is more likely to be avenged by acts of violence in
cultures of honor than in other cultures
– “Crimes of passion” are condoned, at least somewhat, in
cultures of honor since infidelity is viewed as a large insult to
a man’s honor.
» Within these cultures, women who accept aggression as a
response to sexual jealousy are viewed more positively
than those who do not.
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Causes of Human Aggression
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Causes of Human Aggression
• Personal Causes of Aggression
– Type A behavior pattern—consists of high levels
of competitiveness, time urgency, and hostility
• More likely than the Type B behavior pattern to engage
in hostile aggression, in which the main goal is to
inflict harm on the victim (e.g., child or spousal abuse)
• Equally likely as Type B’s to engage in instrumental
aggression, in which the main goal is to attain valued
resources
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Causes of Human Aggression
• Personal Causes of Aggression
– Hostile Attributional Bias—tendency to perceive
hostile intentions or motives in others’ ambiguous
acts
– Narcissism (over-inflated view of oneself)
• Narcissists react with high levels of aggression when
feedback from others threatens their inflated self-image.
– Sensation seeking
• People high in sensation seeking (seek new, risky
experiences) show higher levels of both physical and
verbal aggression compared to others.
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Causes of Human Aggression
• Personal Causes of Aggression
– Gender differences
• Overall males report engaging in more aggressive
behavior than do females.
• The extent of gender differences depends on the
situation and the type of aggression.
– Gender differences tend to become nonexistent in situations in
which provocation is present.
– Males are more likely than females are to use direct forms of
aggression (physical assaults, shouting).
– Females are more likely than males are to use indirect forms of
aggression (gossiping, spreading rumors).
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Causes of Human Aggression
• Situational Determinants of Aggression
– High temperatures and aggression
• There appears to be a curvilinear relationship.
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Causes of Human Aggression
• Situational Determinants of Aggression
– Alcohol consumption
• Participants in experiments who consume alcohol (enough to be legally
drunk) behave more aggressively and respond to provocations more
strongly than do participants who do not drink alcohol.
• The effects of alcohol on aggressive behavior may be due to reduced
cognitive functioning and the negative effects it has on accurate social
perception.
– Alcohol makes it harder for people to evaluate the intentions of
others and to consider the consequences of acting aggressively.
– Alcohol appears to alter the type of inconsistencies to which
people pay attention.
– And, it may release the inhibitions of people who typically are not
very aggressive.
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Causes of Human Aggression
• What are your thoughts?
– Which causes of human aggression seem
easiest to reduce and control?
• Why?
– Which causes of human aggression seem
difficult to reduce and control?
• Why?
• How can social psychologists help?
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Aggression in Long-Term Relationships
• Bullying—pattern of behavior in which one
individual is chosen as the target of repeated
aggression by one or more others
– Motives of bullies
• To hold power over others
• To be part of a group that is considered powerful
• To counter the negative feelings associated with depression
– Characteristics of bullies and victims
• Some people are pure bullies; some are pure victims; and
some are bully-victims.
• Bullies’ perception of others often is guided by the hostile
attributional bias.
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Aggression in Long-Term Relationships
• Bullies and bully-victims tend to have lower self-esteem
compared to their peers.
• Bullies believe that others cannot be trusted.
• Bullies and bully-victims believe that aggression is the best
response to bullying.
– How can bullying be reduced?
• It must be viewed as a problem by all involved parties.
• Persons in authority must take notice of it and take an
unequivocal stand against it.
• Potential victims must be informed about how to deal with a
bully.
• Outside assistance in identifying causes of it and in devising
programs to reduce it should be utilized.
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Aggression in Long-Term Relationships
• Workplace Aggression—any form of
behavior through which individuals seek to
harm others in their workplace
– Tends to be covert rather than overt
– Major Types
• Expressions of hostility (e.g., talking behind people’s
backs)
• Obstructionism (e.g., interfering with important
activities)
• Overt Aggression (e.g., physical assault, theft)
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Aggression in Long-Term Relationships
• Abusive supervision (e.g., public and private ridicule,
rude behavior, taking credit for a subordinate’s work)
– Causes
• Perceived unfairness
• Norms that are accepting of interpersonal violence
• Workplace changes—downsizing, layoffs, increased
use of part-time employees
– The frequency of such changes has increased recently, which
may explain why workplace aggression is increasing.
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Aggression in Long-Term Relationships
• What are your thoughts?
– Is bullying a serious problem?
• Why or why not?
– What forms of workplace aggression have you
experienced?
• What caused the aggression to occur?
• Was the situation resolved?
– If so, how?
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Prevention and Control of Aggression
• Some Useful Techniques
– Punishment
• Delivery of aversive consequences
• Two beliefs regarding its implementation
– Aggressive behavior deserves to be punished.
– Punishment of aggressive behavior deters future aggression.
• However, to be effective it must be prompt, certain,
strong, and justified or deserved.
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Prevention and Control of Aggression
• Some Useful Techniques
– Catharsis Hypothesis—opportunity to express
aggressive impulses in “safe” ways will reduce
tendencies to engage in more harmful forms of
aggression
• Activities to vent anger are more likely to increase
aggression and offer only temporary relief.
– Anger and aggression may be increased when people think
about wrongs they have suffered and imagine vengeful acts.
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Prevention and Control of Aggression
• Some Useful Techniques
– Cognitive Interventions
• Apologies and good excuses can reduce anger and
aggression.
• Perform acts that overcome cognitive deficits associated
with anger
• Engage in activities that distract attention away from causes
of anger and allow anger to lessen
– Forgiveness—giving up desire to punish someone who
has caused harm, and seeking, instead, to act in kind,
helpful ways toward them
• Involves empathy, external attributions, avoiding rumination
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Prevention and Control of Aggression
• What are your thoughts?
– What are problems associated with implementing
punishment so that its effectiveness would be
increased?
– Why isn’t the catharsis hypothesis accurate?
– What are examples of cognitive interventions that
may reduce anger and aggression and make
forgiveness more likely to occur?
• What are the benefits of forgiving someone who has
angered you?
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