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Individual Determinants of Aggression. Overview. Before midterm… situational/external factors After midterm… biological/individual factors. Revised – Anderson’s Model. Revised – Anderson’s Model. What do we mean by “Person”?.
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Overview • Before midterm… situational/external factors • After midterm… biological/individual factors
What do we mean by “Person”? • Stable person factors that are relatively consistent across time, across situations or both… • … and thus may influence behavior in a wide range of different contexts • Most people believe aggression is caused by person factors rather than situational factors
Personality Traits, quiz? = No link to aggression = Lower aggression = Higher Aggression = Higher Aggression = Higher Aggression = Lower Aggression = Higher Aggression = Higher Aggression = Higher Aggression • General anxiety • Anxiety over social approval • Hostile Attributional Bias • Irritability • Emotional Susceptibility • External Locus of Control • Internal Locus of Control • Type A • Shame-prone
Attributions • Hostile Attributional Bias • Perceiving ambiguous actions as malicious • High self-efficacy beliefs • believe they can successfully carry out aggressive acts • Outcome efficacy beliefs • believe the acts will produce the desired outcomes • Perspective Taking • person’s ability to take the perspective of another • Rumination • remaining cognitively preoccupied with the experience
Self-esteem • People with low self-esteem are aggressive? • What about “High self-esteem” individuals? • React poorly to criticism • Respond to failure by irrationally raising their predictions of future performance • Strong impulse to erase the threat • Collective violence related to superiority of group • Threatened Egotism • Favorable self-appraisal combined with unfavorable evaluation • Who has excessively favorable views of the self? Narcissism, Psychopathy, • When are you more sensitive to feedback? Uncertainty about self, Unstable self-esteem, Alcohol
Self-Control Given all the causes of aggression, why are people not more aggressive? • Undercontrolled – high impulsivity, low inhibition • Overcontrolled – low impulsivity, high inhibition • Why does self-control fail? • Extends to non-violence • Criminals more likely to smoke cigarettes, unplanned pregnancies, unstable romantic relationships, game, etc. • Is this related to impulsivity?
Gender • Previously we found that • males are more aggressive than women • women receive less severe aggression • But now, why? • Genetic – next chapter • Hormonal – next chapter • Social Role – this chapter • Aggressive behavior acquired as part of cultural norms • Women report more guilt and shame about being violent • Macho personality pattern • Evolutionary – this chapter • Adaptive value of male aggression in securing access to reproductive females • Is this why young men are most aggressive? • Is aggression a display of status, power?