social science

• Aggression


  Nature, Causes and Control
• Perspectives on Aggression


  • Biological Factors
  • Drive Theories: The Motive to Harm Others
  • The Social Learning Perspective and the General Aggression Model
  • Causes of Human Aggression: Social, Cultural, Personal, and Situational
  • Social Determinants of Aggression
  • Prevention and Control of Aggression
• Freud's view on aggression

  Aggression stems from a powerful death wish we all possess, a self-destruction instinct that is redirected outwards to others
• Konrad Lorenz's view on aggression

  Aggression rises mainly from an inherited fighting instinct which ensures that this can be passed on genetically to another generation
• Contrasting views to Freud & Lorenz is that humans aggress against each other in many different ways
• Ways humans aggress against each other

  • Exclusion from social groups
  • Performing overt acts of violence
  • The frequency of aggressive acts vary across human societies
• Psychologists still argue about the accuracy of both genetic factors and their influence on behaviour
• The fact that a given form of behaviour is influenced by genetic factors does not mean that such behaviour must occur or is an essential part of "human nature"
• It means that a potential for engaging in such behaviour exists, and is generated in part by biological factors
• Frustration-aggression hypothesis


  Frustration is the strongest cause of aggression
• Drive theories of aggression

  Aggressive behaviour is pushed from within by drives to harm or injure others
• Drive theories of aggression

  1. External conditions (e.g. frustration, unpleasant environmental conditions)

  2. Drive to harm or injure others

  3. Overt aggression
• Social learning perspective


  Human beings acquire aggressive responses through direct experience or by observing the behavior of others (tv, video games, movies, sport etc.)
• General aggression model


  1. Factors relating to the current situation

  2. Factors relating to the people involved

  3. Arousal: increase in physiological arousal or excitement

  4. Affective states: arouse hostile feelings and outward signs

  5. Cognitions: what can induce individuals to think hostile thoughts or can bring beliefs and attitudes about aggression to mind

  6. Thoughtful action or impulsive action, leading to aggressive actions
• Causes of Human Aggression

  • Frustration and Provocation
  • Social Exclusion and Exposure to Media Violence
  • "Cultures of Honour", Sexual Jealousy and the Male Gender Role
• Provocation


  Actions by others that tend to trigger aggression in the recipient, often because they are perceived as stemming from malicious intent
• Physical or verbal provocation from others is one of the strongest causes of human aggression
• Frustration occurs when we do not get what we want and this often leads to aggression
• The frustration-aggression hypothesis is not always accurate because different people respond differently to frustration
• Social exclusion


  Rejection and exclusion reflects negatively on our self-image, often a powerful trigger for aggression
• Rejection by others initiates a hostile cognitive mind-set, it activates cognitive structures in our minds that lead us to perceive ambiguous or neutral actions by others as hostile in nature
• Being excluded from a group was a serious and threatening matter in the past, so it would be interpreted as a very hostile action
• Exposure to media violence

  May increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior, both short term and long term, and makes individuals less sensitive to violence and its consequences
• "Cultures of Honour"


  • Aggression is an appropriate response to insults to one's honour
  • Old Western movies and Asian themed movies
• Sexual jealousy


  A powerful motivator of aggressive behavior, including mate-retention behaviours like keeping a partner under close surveillance, threats of punishment, showing affect and care, public signals of possession
• Male gender role


  Different cultures define manhood in contrasting ways, more that about maturity. Inability to support families, letting others down, losing face infront of family and friends are contributing factors to the issue of men losing their manhood
• What happens when a man's manhood is challenged?
• Heat and aggression


  There is a link between heat and aggression, but after prolonged exposure to high temperatures, people become so uncomfortable that they are lethargic and focus on reducing their discomfort and not attacking others
• Alcohol and aggression


  People that have consumed substantial amounts of alcohol have been found to behave more aggressively, and respond to provocations more strongly than those who did not consume alcohol. This may stem from reduced cognitive functioning and impaired ability to evaluate others' intentions and their own behaviour
• Prevention and Control of Aggression

  • Punishment
  • Self-regulation
  • Catharsis: Blowing off steam
  • Bolstering self-esteem
• Punishment


  Procedures in which aversive consequences are delivered to individuals when they engage in specific actions
• There is a widespread belief that individuals who engage in acts of aggression viewed as inappropriate in their societies deserve to be punished
• Self-regulation


  Restraint requires a lot of cognitive effort, and is not always possible due to aggression depletion. When individuals have positive implicit attitudes towards regulating their own emotions, they may be able to restrain aggression almost effortlessly
• Catharsis hypothesis


  Providing angry people with an opportunity to express their aggressive impulses in relatively safe ways will reduce their tendencies to engage in more harmful forms of aggression. However, this may not always be true as it may increase aggression due to what had caused it in the first place, and the effect is only short-term
• Self-affirmation


  The tendency to respond to a threat to one's self-concept by affirming one's competence in another area (different from the threat)
• Aggression is not inevitable even among people who are likely to engage in such behaviour, and can be prevented with effective interventions, with benefits both for aggressors and their potential victims