Chapter 10 Aggression and Antisocial Behavior
Proactive aggression (instrumental aggression)
"cold," premeditated, calculated harmful behavior that is a means to some practical or material end e.g., hit man killing for $
Reactive aggression (hostile aggression)
"hot," impulsive, angry behavior motivated by a desire to harm someone
Tend and befriend syndrome
A response to stress that involves nurturing others and making friends More likely in females
Deindividuation
A sense of anonymity and loss of individuality, as in a large group, making people especially likely to engage in antisocial behaviors such as theft
Culture of honor
A society that places high value on individual respect, strength, and virtue, and accepts and justifies violent action in response to threats to one's honor more of these in South
Running amok
According to Malaysian culture, refers to behavior of a young man who becomes "uncontrollably" violent after receiving a blow to his ego Going berserk
Violence
Aggression that has as its goal extreme physical harm, such as injury or death E.g., Intentionally hitting, kicking, shooting, stabbing; NOT pushing
Instinct
An innate (inborn, bio programmed) tendency to seek a particular goal, such as food, water, or sex
Aggression
Any behavior intended to harm another person who is motivated to avoid the harm Armin Meiwes killing and eating Brandes not aggressive behavior
Displaced aggression
Any behavior that intentionally harms a substitute target rather than the provocateur Ex. chain of screaming
Indirect aggression
Any behavior that intentionally harms another person who is physically absent e.g., spreading rumors Females more likely to use
Direct aggression
Any behavior that intentionally harms another person who is physically present Males more likely to engage in thise
Antisocial behavior
Behavior that either damages interpersonal relationships or is culturally undesirable E.g., littering, cheating, lying, stealing, swearing
Relational aggression (social aggression)
Behavior that involves intentionally harming another person's social relationships, feelings of acceptance, or inclusion within a group Females much more likely than males to engage in this E.g., talking shit, exclusion, "silent treatment"
Frustration
Blockage of or interference w/ a personal goal Yale psychologists
Eros
In Freudian theory, the constructive, life-giving instinct Drive for sensory and sexual gratification
Thanatos
In Freudian theory, the destructive, death instinct
Weapons effect
Increase in aggression that occurs as a result of the mere presence of a weapon Berkowiz and LePage
Honor killing
Killing another individual who has brought "dishonor" to the family (e.g., a woman who has committed adultery (even if raped))
Testosterone
Male sex hormone, high levels of which have been linked to aggression and violence in both animals and humans
Injunctive norms
Norms that specify what most others approve or disapprove of Most effective at reducing litter E.g., "Don't mess with Texas"
Descriptive norms
Norms that specify/describe what most people do
Bullying
Persistent aggression by a perpetrator against a victim for the purpose of establishing a power relationship over the victim
Frustration-aggression hypothesis
Proposal that "the occurrence of aggressive behavior always presupposes the existence of frustration," and "the existence of frustration always leads to some form of aggression" (note "always!") Frustration --> aggression Psychologists from Yale
Broken Windows Theory
Proposal that signs of disorder such as broken windows, litter, and graffiti induce other antisocial behaviors Ppl more likely to litter if they see graffiti
Norms
Social standards that prescribe what people ought to do
Taboo words
Social unacceptable words such as profanity or swear words; speech that constitutes sexual harassment or discrimination, hate speech and verbally abusive words
Humiliation
State of disgrace or loss of self-respect (or of respect from others) Primary cause of violence and aggression in cultures of honor
Hostile expectation bias
Tendency to assume that people will react to potential conflicts with aggression
Hostile attribution bias
Tendency to perceive ambiguous actions by others as aggressive E.g., a person bumps into you, you think they intended to harm you Pertains specifically to whether someone is attacking you
Hostile perception bias
Tendency to perceive social interactions in general as being aggressive Might involve seeing two people having a conversation and assuming they're arguing
Serotonin
The "feel good" neurotransmitter, low levels of which have been linked to aggression and violence in both animals and humans Low levels make people feel bad and increase aggression
Density
The number of people in a given area
Crowding
The subjective and unpleasant feeling that there are too many people in a given area Think HA concert
Psychological reactance
The unpleasant emotional response people experience when someone is trying to restrict their freedom to engage in a desired behavior Not effective at reducing littering, messages that appeal to social norms more effective
Identity theft
Using someone's personal information (e.g., Social Security number) in order to obtain money or credit from their bank accounts
Domestic violence (family violence, intimate-partner violence)
Violence that occurs within the home or family, b/w people who have a close relationship with each other Ex. a child witnessing parents fighting
Fight or flight syndrome
a response to stress that involves aggressing against others or running away More likely in males
Modeling
observing and copying or imitating the behavior of others Bandura and Bobo doll experiment