Chapter 9

Aggression
Our behavior toward each other is the strangest, most
unpredictable, and most unaccountable of all the phenomena
with which we are obliged to live. In all of nature, there is
nothing so threatening to humanity as humanity itself.
- Lewis Thomas, 1981
 Introduction
Armenian genocide, 1M, 1915-1923, by the Ottoman Empire
The Rape of Nanking, 250K, 1937, by the Japanese Imperial Army
Bangladeshi genocide, 3M, 1971, by the Pakistani Army
1 out of 10 children is being bullied at school1
Why would a college student broadcast his gay roommates sexual encounter,
driving him to suicide, as happened at Rutgers University in 2010?

Why do all of this happen?

1Craig & Harel, 2004

What is Aggression?
To a social psychologist, aggression is physical or verbal behavior intended to
cause harm.
- This definition excludes unintentional harm, such as auto accidents or sidewalk
collisions;
- it also excludes actions that may involve pain as an unavoidable side effect of helping
someone, such as dental treatments orin the extremeassisted suicide
- It includes kicks and slaps, threats and insults, even gossip or snide digs (as in online
bullying)
- It includes other behavior whose goal is to hurt.
What is Aggression?
The definition covers two distinct types of
aggression. Animals display social
aggression, characterized by displays of
rage, and silent aggression, as when a
predator stalks its prey. Social and silent
aggression involve separate brain regions.

In humans, psychologists label the two

types hostile and instrumental
aggression.
 What is Aggression?
Instrumental aggression is the type of aggression that aims to injure, but only
as a means to some other end.
- ex. terrorism acts (for specific secular and strategic goals and political statements),
2003 Iraq war (an act of liberation and of self-defense against presumed weapons of
mass destruction), bullying (to demonstrate their dominance and high status)1

Hostile aggression the type of aggression that springs from anger; its goal is to
injure.
- ex. murders, sexual coercion. Such murders are impulsive, emotional outbursts, which
helps explain why data from 110 nations show that a death penalty has not resulted in
fewer homicides2.
- murders can also be instrumental in nature3.
1Pape, 2003; Kruglanski et al., 2009; Zakaria, 2008; Salmivalli, 2009; 2Ash, 1999; Costanzo, 1998; Wilkes, 1987; 3Felson, 2000
 What are Some Theories of Aggression?
As a Biological Phenomenon
Early theories suggest that aggression is a form of instinctive behavior, an
innate, unlearned behavior pattern exhibited by all members of a species. Other
theories also thinks it developed as a result of adapting to our environment,
giving it an evolutionary factor1.

Other studies link aggression to several neural structures in our brain, and that
genetic influences play a role in them2.

Other research offer biochemical explanations such as the effects of alcohol,

testosterone and poor diet3.

1Hornstein, 1976; Archer, 2006; McAndrew, 2009; Griskevicius et al., 2009; 2Davidson et al., 2000; Lewis, 1998; Pincus, 2001; Asher, 1987; Bettencourt et
al., 2006; Denson et al., 2006; Olweus, 1979; 3 Bartholow & Heinz, 2006; Giancola & Corman, 2007; Ito et al., 1996; Dabbs, 2000; Gesch et al., 2002
 What are Some Theories of Aggression?
As a Response to Frustration
Frustration-aggression theory is one of the first to attempt a psychosocial
explanation of aggression. It says that frustration triggers a readiness to
aggress1.
- The aggressive energy need not explode directly against its source.
- Most people learn to inhibit direct retaliation, especially when others might disapprove
or punish; instead, we displace, or redirect, our hostilities to safer targets.
- Displacement is the redirection of aggression to a target other than the source of the
frustration.
- In experiments and in real life, displaced aggression is most likely when the target
shares some similarity to the instigator and does some minor irritating act that
unleashes the displaced aggression2
- Outgroup targets are especially vulnerable to displaced aggression3

1Dollard, 1939; 2 Marcus-Newhall et al., 2000; Miller et al., 2003; Pedersen et al., 2000, 2008; 3Pedersen et al, 2008.
 What are Some Theories of Aggression?
As a Response to Frustration
Aggression occurs because of frustration, the blocking of goal-directed
behavior.
- It grows when our motivation to achieve a goal is very strong, when we expected
gratification, and when the blocking is complete.
- frustration also arises from the gap between expectations and attainments. The most
economically frustrated people may not be the impoverished residents of poverty
stricken communities, who might know no other way of life, but middle-class families
who aspire to be richor at least upper-middle class1.
- Frustration is often compounded when we compare ourselves with others. We call this
as relative deprivation, the perception that one is less well off than others with whom
one compares oneself.2

1Solberg et al., 2002; 2 Hagerty, 2000; Kawachi et al., 1999; Baron et al., 1992
 What are Some Theories of Aggression?
As a Response to Frustration
Leonard Berkowitz (1978, 1989) realized that the original theory overstated the
frustration-aggression connection, so he revised it. Berkowitz theorized that
frustration produces anger, an emotional readiness to aggress. Anger arises
when someone who frustrates us could have chosen to act otherwise1.

1Averill, 1983; Weiner, 1981

 What are Some Theories of Aggression?
Aggression as a Learned Social Behavior
Theories of aggression based on instinct and frustration assume that hostile
urges erupt from inner emotions, which naturally push aggression from
within. Social psychologists also contend that learning pulls aggression out of
us.
- aggression can occur if the person learns that it can be rewarded (ex. aggressive
sportsmen, successful intimidation)1
- terrorism acts are also forms of aggression that can reward, since it can enable
powerless people to garner widespread attention2. Depriving them of such publicity
would lead to its demise.

1Ginsburg & Allee, 1942; Kahn, 1951; Scott & Marston, 1953; McCarthy & Kelly, 1978a, 1978b; Ennis & Zanna, 1991; 2Marsden and Attia, 2005.
 What are Some Theories of Aggression?
Aggression as a Learned Social Behavior
Albert Banduras social learning theory can also explain how people can be
aggressive. The theory states that we learn social behavior by observing and
imitating and by being rewarded and punished.
- he best exemplified it through his Bobo doll experiment. Children who were not
exposed to the aggressive adult model rarely displayed any aggressive play or talk.
Although frustrated, they nevertheless played calmly. Those who had observed the
aggressive adult were many times more likely to pick up the mallet and lash out at the
doll. Watching the adults aggressive behavior lowered their inhibitions1.

1
Bandura et al., 1961.
 What are Some Theories of Aggression?
Aggression as a Learned Social Behavior
Bandura believes that everyday life exposes
us to aggressive models in the family, in
ones subculture, and, as we will see, in the
mass media.
- Physically aggressive children tend to have
had physically punitive parents, who
disciplined them by modeling aggression with
screaming, slapping, and beating1
- In communities where macho images are
admired, aggression is readily transmitted to
new generations. The violent subculture of
teenage gangs, for instance, provides its junior
members with aggressive models2.

1Patterson et al., 1982; Bandura & Walters, 1959; Straus & Gelles, 1980; 2Cartwright, 1975; Short, 1969; Bingenheimer et al., 2005
 What are Some Theories of Aggression?
Aggression as a Learned Social Behavior
Bandura contended that aggressive acts are motivated by a variety of aversive
experiences frustration, pain, insults. Such experiences arouse us
emotionally. But whether we act aggressively depends on the consequences
we anticipate. Aggression is most likely when we are aroused and it seems safe
and rewarding to aggress.

1Ginsburg & Allee, 1942; Kahn, 1951; Scott & Marston, 1953; McCarthy & Kelly, 1978a, 1978b; Ennis & Zanna, 1991; 2Marsden and Attia, 2005.
 What are Some Influences of Aggression?
Aversive Incidents
Recipes for aggression often include some
type of aversive experience. These include
pain, uncomfortable heat, an attack, or
overcrowding.
- pain can heighten aggressiveness in humans1
- Climate variations on heat may affect
behavior. But correlations between
temperature and aggression dont prove it.
People certainly could be more irritable in
hot, sticky weather but that is not always the
case2.
- Being attacked or insulted by another is
especially conducive to aggression3.
1Berkowitz, 1983, 1989, 1998; 2Griffitt & Veitch, 1971; Anderson et al., 1999; Bell, 2005; Bushman et al., 2005a, 2005b; Cohn & Rotton, 2005; 3Kambara;
1985
 What are Some Influences of Aggression?
Arousal
Arousal from almost any source, even physical exercise or sexual stimulation,
can be transformed into other emotions, such as anger.
- when aroused, a persons physiological make-up can feed one emotion or another1

1Reisenzein, 1983; Zillmann, 1989; Wilson & Scarpa, 2011; Schacter &Singer, 1962.
 What are Some Influences of Aggression?
Aggression Cues
Research suggests that the sight of weapons can be aggressive cues that releases pent-up
anger.
- violence is more likely to occur when an
individual experiences this1
- some items, like guns and knives, may not be
considered as a cue if it is perceived as a
recreational item (ex. hunters, chefs)2
- Guns not only serve as aggression cues but
also put psychological distance between
aggressor and victim. As Milgrams obedience
studies taught us, remoteness from the
victim facilitates cruelty. A knife can kill
someone, but a knife attack requires a great
deal more personal contact than pullig a
trigger from a distance3
Weapons Used To Commit Murder in the United States in 2010
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports.
1Berkowitz, 1968, 1981, 1995; 2Bartholow & others, 2004.
 What are Some Influences of Aggression?
Media Influences: Pornography and Sexual Violence
Social psychologists report that viewing such fictional scenes of a man
overpowering and arousing a woman can (a) distort ones perceptions of how
women actually respond to sexual coercion and (b) increase mens aggression
against women.

- exposure to pornography increases

acceptance of the rape myth (women enjoy
being coerced into sex)1
- Evidence also suggests that pornography
contributes to mens actual aggression
toward women2

1Oddone-Paolucci et al., 2000; Mullin & Linz, 1995; 2Kingston et al., 2009; Ybarra et al., 2011.
 What are Some Influences of Aggression?
Media Influences: Pornography and Sexual Violence
Social psychologists report that viewing such fictional scenes of a man
overpowering and arousing a woman can (a) distort ones perceptions of how
women actually respond to sexual coercion and (b) increase mens aggression
against women.
- Men who sexually coerce women often
combine a history of impersonal sex with
hostile masculinity1
- By sensitizing people to the portrayal of
women that predominates in pornography
and to issues of sexual harassment and
violence, it should be possible to debunk the
myth that women enjoy being coerced2.

1Malamuth, 1996, 2003; Jacques-Tiura et al., 2007; 2CDC, 2012; Donnerstein et al., 1987.
 What are Some Influences of Aggression?
Media Influences: Pornography and Sexual Violence
Exposure to violent pornography increases punitive behavior toward women.
- according to research, violent men tend to like violent pornography1

Repeated exposure to erotic films featuring quick, uncommitted sex also tends
to2:
- decrease attraction for ones partner
- increase acceptance of extramarital sex and of womens sexual submission to men
- increase mens perceiving women in sexual terms

1Oddone-Paolucci et al., 2000; Mullin & Linz, 1995; 2Myers, 2000a.

 What are Some Influences of Aggression?
Media Influences: Television and the Internet
Studies of television viewing and aggression aim to identify effects more subtle
and pervasive than the occasional copycat murders that capture public
attention. They ask: How does television affect viewers behavior and viewers
thinking?
- viewing violence amplifies aggression. Compared with those who watched little
violence, those who watched a great deal (especially realistic rather than cartoon
violence) admitted to 50 percent more violent acts1.
- In many ways, the Internet allows an even greater variety of options for viewing
violence than television does, including violent videos, violent pictures, and hate-group
websites2
- The opposite is also true: TV modeling of prosocial behavior should be socially
beneficial. These are positive, constructive, helpful social behavior; the opposite of
antisocial behavior.
1 Belson, 1978; Muson, 1978; 2Donnerstein, 2011; Livingstone & Haddon, 2009; Ybarra & others, 2008
 What are Some Influences of Aggression?
Media Influences: Television and the Internet
Viewing violence can also have cognitive effects
- individuals become desensitized to violence and sexual behavior on TV1
- Media content that may alter social scripts - culturally provided mental instructions for
how to act in various situations such as those in violent and sexually explicit shows,
maybe played by individuals when they face real life conflicts and situations2.
- One of the most potent effects of TV is to mold our conceptions of the real world.
Some would exaggerate the frequency of violence in the world around them and to
fear being personally assaulted3.
- New evidence also reveals that watching violent television primes aggressive-related
ideas (ex. more hostile explanations for others behavior)4.

1Bushman & Anderson, 2009; Kaiser, 2005; 2Escobar-Chaves & Anderson, 2008; Fischer & Greitemeyer, 2006; Kunkel, 2001; 3Gerbner et al., 1979, 1994;
Reid & Finchilescu, 1995; 4Bushman, 1998
 What are Some Influences of Aggression?
Media Influences: Video Games*
Video game content, whether for teaching or entertainment, has been shown
by research to influence behavior
- Increases in aggressive behaviors
- Increases in aggressive thoughts
- Increases in aggressive feelings, including hostility, anger, or revenge.
- Decreases in helping others and in empathy for others

Academic researchers are not unanimous in the view that violent video games
have meaningful effects on real-world behavior. Moreover, game-playing is
focused fun that helps satisfy basic needs for a sense of competence, control,
and social connection. In three studies with children and adults in Singapore,
Japan, and the United States, those who played prosocial video games helped
others, shared, and cooperated more in real-life situations.
*Read more on the effects of video games on your assigned e-book.
 What are Some Influences of Aggression?
Group Influences
Much aggression is committed by groups. Circumstances that provoke
individuals may also provoke groups. By diffusing responsibility and polarizing
actions, group situations amplify aggressive reactions (social contagion).

When 17 juvenile, orphaned male bull elephants were

relocated during the mid-1990s to a South African
park, they became an out-of-control adolescent gang
and killed 40 white rhinoceros. In 1998, concerned
park officials relocated 6 older, stronger bull elephants
into their midst. The result: The rampaging soon
quieted down1. One of these dominant bulls, at left,
faces down several of the juveniles.

1Slotow et al., 2000.

How Can Aggression Be Reduced?
Contrary to the catharsis hypothesis, expressing aggression by catharsis tends
to breed further aggression, not reduce it.

The social learning approach suggests controlling aggression by counteracting

the factors that provoke it: by reducing aversive stimulation, by rewarding and
modeling nonaggression, and by eliciting reactions incompatible with
aggression.