36. Antisocial Relations

Lee tends to be easily provoked to behave aggressively. What might be a plausible explanation for his aggressiveness?

He has low MAOA gene expression.

Tate was pretty aggressive when he was in his early twenties. Tate is now 60 years old and is much calmer than he was back then. What happened?

His testosterone level has decreased.

Scapegoating

Blaming an innocent person or a group for one's own troubles

_____ circulates in the bloodstream to influence the neural systems that control aggression.

Testosterone

MAOA gene

The gene responsible for the activity of the enzyme monoamine oxidase in the brain. The low-activity variant of the gene is closely associated with aggressive behaviour.

When a police officer pulls over an expensive car because the driver is an African-American male, the police officer has committed:

a microaggression.

Scapegoat

a person or group that bears the blame for another

Mr. Rogers thinks that all teenagers are reckless, promiscuous, irresponsible delinquents. His belief illustrates:

a stereotype.

Any act intended to harm someone physically or emotionally is the definition of:

aggression

Low MAOA gene expression has been identified with _____

aggressive behaviour.

This has been known to increase aggressive responses to frustration.

alcohol

Prejudice is a mixture of three components, which are beliefs, _____, and predispositions to action.

emotions

ingroup bias

favoring one's own group

frustration-aggression principle

frustration creates anger, which can spark aggression

Shortly after learning she did not make it onto her high school's cheerleading squad, Brayden vandalized their locker room and destroyed several of the cheerleaders' uniforms. Her behavior is BEST explained in terms of the _____ principle.

frustration-aggression

Shortly after learning he did not make it onto his high school football team, Alex vandalized the team's locker room and broke several of the school's windows. His behavior is BEST explained in terms of:

frustration-aggression principle.

Janie is amazed how Jim can recognize and identify people who are of different Asian ethnic groups, because she really struggles with this type of identification. One can assume from this example that Jim:

has more experience interacting with Asian people.

Researchers have found that people who were quicker to associate good things with White names or faces also were the quickest to perceive anger and apparent threat in Black faces. Their findings demonstrate:

implicit prejudice

People with whom we share a common identity form a(n) _____.

ingroup

In the United States in the late 1980s, most Democrats believed inflation had risen under Republican president Ronald Reagan when in fact it had declined. This was likely a result of:

ingroup bias.

The social group to which a person belongs is called the _____, and the social group to which a person does NOT belong is called the _____.

ingroup; outgroup

Marian was upset because her boss promised her a raise a few weeks ago but gave the raise to Marian's rival instead. Marian told her husband that she believed "what comes around goes around" and that both will "get theirs." Marian's belief illustrates the _____ phenomenon.

just-world

Research shows that after extensive exposure to pornographic films, men are subsequently _____ accepting of the use of coercion in sexual relations and _____ likely to perceive sexual aggression as serious.

more; less

blame the victim phenomenon

occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially responsible for the harm that befell them

Cynthia tells her friend that she thinks all African-American men look alike. This demonstrates how:

people often stereotype when categorizing people into groups.

implicit prejudice

prejudice attitudes that you hold unconsciously

explicit prejudice

prejudice attitudes that you know you consciously

Marla just told her father that she is a lesbian. Her father asks her to leave his house and never return. Marla has experienced:

sexual orientation prejudice.

Andrew enjoys watching violent action movies and television shows, as well as listening to music with violent lyrics. According to social psychologists, these viewing preferences are providing Andrew with_____; that is, they are teaching him how to act in new situations.

social scripts

Marty enjoys watching violent action movies and television shows on most evenings, as well as listening to music with violent lyrics. According to social psychologists, these viewing preferences are providing Marty with_____; that is, they are teaching him how to act in new situations.

social scripts

Thomas enjoys watching violent pornography. When he goes out with a woman, he expects her to be submissive to his sexual demands; when he is turned down, he becomes violent. Research suggests that his beliefs about using coercion in sexual relations were formed by:

social scripts

Recently Tanya has been caught in heavy traffic when traveling to and from work. When she comes home, she slams the front door and tends to yell more at her children and husband over things that are rather insignificant. This behavior can BEST be explained by:

the frustration-aggression principle.

Slave owners perceived slaves as innately lazy, ignorant, and irresponsible—traits that justified their enslavement. The slave owners' views illustrate:

the just-world phenomenon.

Roger believes that he lost his job as a result of the increase in Mexican immigrants in the United States. He is demonstrating:

the scapegoat theory.

just-world phenomenon

the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

other-race effect

the tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races

scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame

Discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

What might account for adolescent males driving aggressively and exhibiting reduced perceived risk of such driving habits?

watching movies that depict aggressive driving

outgroup

"them" - those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup

ingroup

"us" - a group of people who share a sense of belonging, a feeling of common identity

stereotype

A generalized belief about a group of people

stereotypes

A generalized belief about a group of people

prejudice

A negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority.

Zechariah is biracial. His mother is Caucasian and his father is African-American. Other people will likely categorize him as:

African-American.

aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy

Fredo says that the majority of criminals who commit armed robbery are African-Americans who reside in low-income housing neighborhoods. Fredo believes that African-Americans are naturally violent people who deserve to be incarcerated at higher rates than White Americans. This is an example of:

blame-the-victim.

Seven-year-old Peter's parents use harsh physical punishment and verbal intimidation to control his behavior. Based on research cited in the text, if his parents continue this type of discipline, Peter is more likely to:

demonstrate delinquent behavior in the future.

An unjustifiable behavior toward a group and its members is called _____.

discrimination

Microaggression

common, everyday verbal or behavioral indignities and slights that communicate hostile, derogatory, and negative messages about someone's race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion

social script

culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

social scripts

culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations