social Psychology

1. Aggression
Presented by : Rabia Javed Iqbal

2. Aggression
 Behavior directed toward the goal of harming another living
being who is motivated to avoid such treatment.
 Here are some factors of aggression:
 Basic social factors
 Cultural factors
 Situational factors

3. The Role of Biological Factors: Are We
Programmed to Aggress?
 The oldest and probably most famous explanation for human
aggression attributed it to biological factors, our basic nature as
a species.
 The most famous supporter of this theory was Sigmund Freud,
who held that aggression stems mainly from a powerful death
wish (Thanatos) we all possess.
 According to Freud, this instinct is initially aimed at self-
destruction, but is soon redirected outward, toward others.

4.  Until recently, most social psychologists rejected such ideas.
Among the many reasons they did; were these:
1. Human beings aggress against others in many different
ways, everything from excluding them from social
groups to performing overt acts of violence against
them.
2. The frequency of aggressive actions varies tremendously
across human societies, so that is much more likely to
occur in some than in others

5.  With the growth of the evolutionary perspective in psychology,
however, the situation has changed.
 In the evolutionary past (and even at present to some extent),
males seeking desirable mates found it necessary to compete
with other males.
 One way of eliminating such competition is through successful
aggression, which drives such rivals away.
 Since males who were adept at such behavior may have been
more successful in securing mates and in transmitting their genes
to offspring, this may have led to the development of a
genetically influenced tendency for males to aggress against
other males.

6. Drive Theories (Of Aggression)
Theories suggesting that aggression stems from external
conditions that arouse the motive to harm or injure others.
The most famous of these is the Frustration-Aggression
Hypothesis.

7. Drive Theories: The Motive to Harm
Others
These theories propose that external conditions—especially
frustration— arouse a strong motive to harm others. This
aggressive drive, in turn, leads to overt acts of aggression. It can be
initiated by several factors discussed below (e.g., provocations
from others), or even by the presence of a weapon in the room

8. Modern Theories of Aggression:
The Social Learning Perspective and the General
Aggression Model
 Depending on their past experience and the cultures in which
they live, individuals learn:
1. Various ways of seeking to harm others,
2. Which people or groups are appropriate targets for aggression,
3. What actions by others justify retaliation or vengeance on their
part
4. What situations or contexts are ones in which aggression is
permitted or even approved.

9. General Aggression Model
(GAM)
A modern theory of aggression suggesting that aggression is
triggered by a wide range of input variables that influence
arousal, affective stages, and cognitions.

11. Basic Sources of Aggression: Frustration
and Provocation
 Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis
It is suggested that frustration is a very powerful determinant of
aggression.
 Provocation
Actions by others that tend to trigger aggression in the recipient,
often because they are perceived as stemming from malicious
intent.
 Teasing
Provoking statements that call attention to the target’s flaws and
imperfections.

12. Excitation Transfer Theory
A theory suggesting that arousal produced in one situation can
persist and intensify emotional reactions occurring in later
situations.

13. MEDIA VIOLENCE
Exposure to media violence may indeed be one factor contributing to
high levels of violence in countries where such materials are viewed
by large numbers of people
1. Research on exposure to violent television, movies, video games, and
music indicates that such materials significantly increase the
likelihood of aggressive behavior by people exposed to them.
2. Such effects are both short term and long term in nature.
3. The magnitude of these effects is large—at least as large as the
various medical effects considered to be important by physicians
(e.g., the effect of aspirin on heart attacks).

14. THE EFFECTS OF MEDIA VIOLENCE:
NEUROSCIENCE EVIDENCE FOR THE IMPACT OF
DESENSITIZATION
 One other factor that may also play an important role is
desensitization to violence.
 In other words, as a result of exposure to large amounts of
violent content in television programs, films, and video games,
individuals become less sensitive to violence and its
consequences.
 Research findings suggest that such effects do occur, and can
contribute to increased aggression by people exposed to media
violence

15.  Overall, it appears that exposure to violence in films, television, or
video games increases the tendency to aggress against others in
several ways.
1. First, as we just saw, it reduces individuals’ emotional reactions to
such events so that, in a sense, they perceive them as “nothing
out of the ordinary.”
2. Second, it strengthens beliefs, expectations, and other cognitive
processes related to aggression. In other words, as a result of
repeated exposure to violent movies, TV programs, or video
games, individuals develop strong knowledge structures relating to
aggression—structures reflecting, and combining, these beliefs,
expectations, schemas, and scripts.
When these knowledge structures are then activated by various
events, people feel, think, and act aggressively because this is what,
in a sense, they have learned to do.

16. Cultural Factors in Aggression
 Cultures of honor
 Cultures in which there are strong norms indicating that
aggression is an appropriate response to insults to one’s honor.
 Sexual jealousy
 Cheating, real or imagined, occurs in every society, even in ones
that greatly restrict informal contact between women and men.
But even if actual infidelity does not occur, sexual jealousy, the
suspicion or fear that it might—can be a powerful motivator of
aggressive behavior.
 In cultures of honor, such behavior by women is viewed as
especially threatening to male and can result in drastic
responses—severe punishment for both the women and men
involved in such contacts.

17.  PRECARIOUS MANHOOD: THE MALE GENDER ROLE AND OVERT
AGGRESSION
 Different cultures define “manhood” in contrasting ways, but
around the world, it seems to involve more than simple
maturation—attaining full growth and sexual maturity.
 Rather, the transition to manhood is often marked by special
ceremonies, and involves a boost in status.
 Unfortunately, this status can be readily challenged or even
lost. For instance, when asked how a person might lose his
“manhood,” many people list a large number of factors, such as
“being unable to support his family,” “letting others down,” or
“losing face in front of his wife or friends.” In contrast, people
find it more difficult to come up with ways in which a woman
could lose her womanhood, and these were much more drastic
in scope

18. Personality, Gender, and Aggression
 TASS model
 The traits as situational sensitivities model. A view suggesting
that many personality traits function in a threshold-like manner,
influencing behavior only when situations evoke them.
 Type A behavior pattern
 A pattern consisting primarily of high levels of competitiveness,
time urgency, and hostility.
 Hostile aggression
 Aggression in which the prime objective is imposing some kind of
harm on the victim.

19.  Type B behavior pattern
 A pattern consisting of the absence of characteristics
associated with the type A behavior pattern.
 Instrumental aggression
 Aggression in which the primary goal is not to harm the victim
but rather attainment of some other goal—for example, access
to valued resources.

20. NARCISSISM, EGO-THREAT, AND AGGRESSION: ON
THE DANGERS OF WANTING
TO BE SUPERIOR
 Research findings indicate that this trait may be linked to aggression
in important ways.
 Specifically, research findings indicate that people high in narcissism
react with exceptionally high levels of aggression when their egos
are threatened, when other people say or do something that puts
their inflated self-image in danger.
 For instance, narcissistic people may react strongly to even mild
provocations because they believe that they are so much better
than other people, and as a result, perceive even very mild critical
comments from others as strong slurs on their inflated self-image.

21. GENDER DIFFERENCES IN AGGRESSION:
DO THEY EXIST?
 research findings suggest that in this case, informal observation
is correct: when asked whether they have ever engaged in any
of a wide range of aggressive actions, males report a higher
incidence of many aggressive behaviors than do females
 On close examination, however, the picture regarding gender
differences in the tendency to aggress becomes more complex.
 On the one hand, males are generally more likely than females
both to perform aggressive actions and to serve as the target
for such behavior

22. Situational Determinants of Aggression
 IN THE HEAT OF ANGER: TEMPERATURE AND AGGRESSION
 High temperature reduced aggression for both provoked and
unprovoked people. The initial explanation of these findings was that
the high temperatures were so uncomfortable that participants focused
on getting away from them—and this caused them to reduce their
aggression. After all, aggression might lead to unfriendly encounters
with the victim and this would prolong their own misery.
 This seemed reasonable—when they are very hot, people do seem to
become lethargic and concentrate on reducing their discomfort rather
than on “evening the score” with others.

23.  ALCOHOL AND AGGRESSION: TRULY A DANGEROUS MIX
 It is widely assumed that people become more aggressive when
they consume alcohol.
 This idea is supported by the fact that bars and nightclubs are often
the scene of violence.
 However, while alcohol is certainly consumed in these settings,
other factors might be responsible for the fights—or worse—that
often erupt: competition for desirable partners, crowding, and
even cigarette smoke (where it is legal), which irritates many
people
 In several experiments, participants who consumed substantial
amounts of alcohol—enough to make them legally drunk—have been
found to behave more aggressively, and to respond to provocations
more strongly than those who did not consume alcohol

25. Bullying
 A pattern of behavior in which one individual is chosen as
the target of repeated aggression by one or more others;
the target person (the victim) generally has less power
than those who engage in aggression (the bullies).

26. The Characteristics of Bullies and Victims
Are bullies always bullies and victims
always victims?
 Findings of careful research on bullying point to the following
factors.
 First, bullies tend to believe that others act the way they do
intentionally or because of lasting characteristics. In contrast,
victims tend to perceive others as acting as they do at least in
part because they are responding to external events of
conditions, including how others have treated them.

27.  Another difference is that bullies (and also bully-victims) tend to
be lower in self-esteem than other people. As a result, they
aggress against others to build up their self-image. In addition,
bullies tend to adopt a ruthless, manipulative approach to life and
to dealing with other. They believe that others are not to be
trusted, so they feel it is totally justified to break their word and
take unfair advantage of others (e.g., to attack them when their
guard is down).
 Finally, bullies and bully-victims believe that the best way to
respond to bullying is with aggression. They believe, more than
other people, that being highly aggressive will bring them high
levels of respect.

28. Reducing the Occurrence of Bullying:
Some Positive Steps
 First, bullying must be seen to be a serious problem by all parties
involved—teachers, parents, students, prisoners, guards, fellow
employees, and supervisors (if bullying occurs in work settings).
 If bullying occurs, people in authority (teachers, prison guards,
supervisors) must draw attention to it and take an unequivocal stand
against it.
 Potential victims must be provided with direct means for dealing
with bullying—they must be told precisely what to do and who to see
when bullying occurs.
 Outside help is often useful in identifying the cause of bullying and in
devising programs to reduce it.

29. Cyberbullying
 Bullying (repeated assaults against specific target persons)
occurring chat-rooms and other Internet locations.

30. The Prevention and Control of Aggression:
Some Useful Techniques
 Punishment
 Procedures in which aversive consequences are delivered to
individuals when they engage in specific actions.
 Catharsis hypothesis
 The view that 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.

31.  Self-affirmation
 Refers to the tendency to respond to a threat to one’s self-
concept by affirming one’s competence in another area
(different from the threat).