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