ESB2153:PSYCHOSOCIOLOGY FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

TOPIC 10: AGGRESSION WHAT IS AGGRESSION? Aggression is defined as behavior aimed at causing harm or pain, psychological harm, or personal injury or physical distraction. An important aspect of aggressive behavior is the intention underlying the actor's behavior. Not all behaviors resulting in harm are considered aggression. For example, a doctor who makes an injection that harms people, but who did so with the intent of preventing the further spread of illness, is not considered to have committed an aggressive act. Aggression can be direct or indirect, active or passive, and physical or verbal. Using these categories, human aggression can be grouped into eight classes of behavior:

Punching the victim (direct, active, physical) Insulting the victim (direct, active, verbal) Performing a practical joke, setting a booby trap (direct, passive, physical) Spreading malicious gossip (direct, passive, verbal) Obstructing passage, participating in a sit-in (indirect, active, physical) Refusing to speak (indirect, active, verbal) Refusing to perform a necessary task (indirect, passive, physical)

Direct aggression, especially physically active aggression, is more common among animals. Actors who express indirect aggression usually feel less satisfaction, but they are also less concerned about retaliation. Passive and indirect aggression is the least noxious form. Subordinates rebelling against authority figures often use it. In the family relation it is often used by children against their parents. WHY DO PEOPLE TURN TO OTHERS? I) II) III) People are instincttively aggressive. People become aggressive in response to events that are frustrating. People aggress against others as a result of aversive emotion.

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ESB2153:PSYCHOSOCIOLOGY FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

IV)

People learn to use aggression as an efective means of obtaining what they want. Aggression as Instinct This theory claims that aggression is biological. According to Sigmund Freud, the death instinct (Thanatos) is a reservoir of aggressive tendencies that must be discharged periodically in order to remain mentally healthy. Under Freud's theory, however, there are safe outlets for aggressive impulses, for example, boxing with a sparring partner instead of punching out the boss. Researchers during the 1960s maintained that aggression is caused by an innate fighting instinct. The instinctive theory of aggression claims that aggression builds up whether or not there is any outside provocation until it is likely that aggressive behavior will result, with little or no outside provocation. Some researchers who support this theory base it on the study of the behavior of animals in their natural environments. According to the aggression as instinct theory, this instinct is shared by people and animals.

Frustration-Aggression The theory of aggression as drive claims that aggression is a result of the build-up of psychological frustration. It is a response to the frustration of some goal-directed behavior by an outside source. These goals include basic needs like food, water, sleep, sex, love, and recognition. In the 1930s, John Dollard and his colleagues claimed that aggression must always result from frustration and that frustration always leads to aggression. In the 1960s, Leonard Berkowitz modified this theory to say that frustration makes a person ready to be aggressive but does not always lead to aggression. Frustration must be accompanied by anger in order for the person to become aggressive. This anger can be caused by something other than the frustrating situation. This theory is generally considered to be not very useful in understanding and controlling aggression. Research shows that people learn aggressive behavior early in life. Even preschoolers can act violently. Whatever age the child is, violence must alwaysbe taken seriously. Many studies have identified factors which lead to an increased risk of aggressive behavior in children and adolescents:

A history of aggressive or violent behavior

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ESB2153:PSYCHOSOCIOLOGY FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Being the victim of physical orsexual abuse Exposure to violence at home or in the community Hereditary factors Use of drugs or alcohol Having a gun athome A stressful family life (poverty, severe deprivation, divorce, single parenting, unemployment, loss of support from the extended family) Brain damage from a head injury

Reducing these factors can decrease or even prevent aggressive behavior. Aversive Emotional Arousal Arousal Aggression Hypothesis: Factors-frustration, pain, attacks, threats, competition, and environmental stressors--prime people with a "negatively toned emotional arousal, which is often subjectively labeled anger. (Forsyth, 1995, p 505) Once a person is negatively aroused situational cues or personal factors trigger or provoke an aggressive response. In short: People get worked up and then situational cues mixed with personality traits direct the arousal toward aggressive acts. Social Learning and Aggression

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ESB2153:PSYCHOSOCIOLOGY FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

This theory claims that aggression is learned social behavior. Under this theory, social influences, such as role models and reinforcement, and situational factors, contribute to learning and expressing aggressive behavior. According to Albert Bandura, people learn about aggression by personally experiencing it and by observing it. For example, children learn aggressive behavior from their parents and peers. Children also learn about aggression from movies, television, and comic books. Although experiencing aggression has more effect than watching it, movies and television still have a major impact on aggressive behavior. Studies have shown that watching violence in the movies and on television can cause aggression in children and adolescents. Modeling of violence, whether in person or on a movie or television screen, shows children that aggression occurs and that it works. If they see that this type of behavior is rewarded, they are more likely to imitate it. If they see that aggressive behavior is punished, they are not likely to imitate it. Once people have learned aggressive behavior, they may act aggressively when they experience unpleasant events, are frustrated, or when they see other people act aggressively.

Characteristics of Targets that Affect Aggression Race and gender The relationship between aggression and gender depends on the type of aggressive behaviour. In cases of abuse within the family, men and women are about equally likely to be the targets. Boys and girls are equally likely to be abused by a parent. Wives abuse their husbands as aften as husbands abuse their wives. Attribution for Attack Research indicates that attributions for physical abuse by ones spouse play a key role in determining the victims response. In one study of 70 women those living with their violent partner sometimes blamed themselves for the abuse. They attribute it to their incompetence, unattractiveness or talking back to their partner. Others blame situational factors such as stress. On the other hand, women who had left their abusive partner blamed him for the abuse. Retaliatory Capacity When we experience less intense emotions or are motivated by the expectation of reward, we may assess the likely consequences of an aggressive act. A consequence of perticular importance is retaliation by the target. Situational Impacts on Aggression

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ESB2153:PSYCHOSOCIOLOGY FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

There are five characteristics of the situation in which the motive to aggress is aroused. Reinforcement Three rewards that promote aggression are direct material benefits, social approval and attention. Social approval is a second common reward for specific aggressive acts.

Modeling Aggressive behaviour is often learned by observing and then imitating a model. Norms There is a reciprocity an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Stress Stress increases the likelihood of aggressive behaviour. Social stressors such as unemployment, discremination are related to aggression becaose of their effects on frustration and anger.

Aggressive cues Whether the motivation to harm actually leads to aggressive acts depends in part on the presence of suitable aggressive cues in the environment. REDUCING AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR Reduce the frustration in the child's life. frustration is the fuel to the fire of aggressive behavior.Children are less likely to act out in an aggressive behavior if the adult keeps the rules to a minimum.Also setting a routine and sticking to it helps. Help your child feel more competent. Children who are confident they have power over themselves are less likely to act out with aggression.Try giving the child choices. Avoid perfection. Teach pro-social behavior. Teach kindness, helpfulness, and cooperation.When children have knowledge of these skills, the aggressive behavior diminishes. Help children understand the difference of intentional and accidental aggression. Often times the victim of the behavior of another child react as if the aggressor was intentional.

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ESB2153:PSYCHOSOCIOLOGY FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Punishment to suppress aggression. Punishments are effective deterrents to aggressive acts.

Help children re-direct themselves from potentially aggressive play. Play episodes that begin as friendly escalate very quickly into a play that the children do not expect. This may frustrate the children and in turn, aggression will be used by each child to try and retain control over the original play.This can even occur to a child playing alone. The toy may not work and the child may aggressively yell at or throw the toy, as if that behavior will change the situation.

Teach your children alternative games to gun play.I shouldn't need to explain this one but.Guns are extremely accessible to children. When a child plays to shoot the bad guy, being another child in the game, because the bad guy did something bad. The child is learning that if you shoot the bad guy everyone is happy the bad guy is gone.

AGGRESSION IN SOCIETY Aggression against outsiders The most apparent type of aggression is that seen in the interaction between a predator and its prey. An animal defending itself against a predator becomes aggressive in order to survive and to ensure the survival of its offspring. Because aggression against a much larger enemy or group of enemies would lead to the death of an animal, animals have developed a good sense of when they are outnumbered. This ability to gauge the strength of other animals gives animals a "fight or flight" response to predators; depending on how strong they gauge the predator to be, animals will either become aggressive or flee. Aggression within a species Aggression against nonspecific serves a number of purposes having to do with breeding. One of the most common of these purposes is the establishment of a dominance hierarchy. When certain types of animals are first placed in a common environment, the first thing they do is fight to assert their role in the dominance hierarchy. In general, the more
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ESB2153:PSYCHOSOCIOLOGY FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

dominant animals will be more aggressive than their subordinates.The majority of conspecific aggression ceases about 24 hours after the introduction of the animals being tested. Media Behaviors like aggression can be learned by watching and imitating the behavior of others. A considerable amount of evidence suggests that watching violence on television increases the likelihood of short-term aggression in children (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2005, though for a dissenting viewpoint, see Freedman, 2002). Individuals may differ in how they respond to violence. The greatest impact is on those who are already prone to violent behavior. Adults may be influenced by violence in media as well. A long-term study of over 700 families found "a significant association" between the amount of time spent watching violent television as a teenager and the likelihood of committing acts of aggression later in life. The results remained the same in spite of factors such as family income, parental education and neighborhood violence (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2005).Although exposure to violence in media is associated with likelihood of short-term increases in aggression, none of these studies provide evidence for a definitive causal mechanism. Instead, violence in media may be one of many factors, or it may play a maintenance role since violent media tend to be selected by people who are prone to violence. Situational factors Alcohol impairs judgment, making people much less cautious than they usually are (MacDonald et al. 1996). It also disrupts the way information is processed (Bushman 1993, 1997; Bushman & Cooper 1990). A drunk person is much more likely to view an accidental event as a purposeful one, and therefore act more aggressively and that. There is some evidence to suggest that the presence of violent objects such as a gun can trigger aggression. In a study done by Leonard Berkowitz and Anthony Le Page (1967), college students were made angry and then left in the presence of a gun or badminton racket. Gender

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ESB2153:PSYCHOSOCIOLOGY FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Gender is a factor that plays a role in both human and animal aggression. Males are historically believed to be generally more physically aggressive than females (Coie & Dodge 1997, Maccoby & Jacklin 1974), and men commit the vast majority of murders (Buss 2005). This is one of the most robust and reliable behavioral sex differences, and it has been found across many different age groups and cultures. There is evidence that males are quicker to aggression (Frey et al. 2003) and more likely than females to express their aggression physically (Bjorkqvist et al. 1994). When considering indirect forms of nonviolent aggression, such as relational aggression and social rejection, some scientists argue that females can be quite aggressive although female aggression is rarely expressed physically (Archer, 2004; Card, Stucky, Sawalani, & Little, 2008).

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