PSY220H1 Lecture 8: Lecture 8 part 1
Lecture 8: Aggression
Durably reducing transphobia: A field experiment on door-to-door canvassing
Study where you go door to door and you ask people how they feel about a certain issue and you
have a personal conversation with them (mechanisms aren’t 100% clear for how it works) but
one key thing is empathy. On a scale of 0 to 100 this shifted people’s attitudes towards
transgender people 10 points up which persisted over time on average.
•Aggression: Behavior intended to harm another individual
•Emotional or hostile aggression: Inflicting harm for it’s own sake –The aggressive act itself is
the end point
•Instrumental aggression: Inflicting harm in order to obtain something of value –The aggressive
act is the means to some end
•Three styles of aggressive behaviour–Physical aggression–Direct verbal aggression (To the
face yelling at someone for instance)
–Indirect aggression (behind their back usually),
•Social aggression (like rolling your eyes or something at the person) •Relational aggression
(damage reputation/relationship with other people)
Men tend to on average engaged in physical aggression more often And women tend to on
average engage in indirect aggression
Men & Women do tend to have the same levels of aggression on average the difference is how
they manifest.
Retaliation almost always exceeds the original offence (e.g., is more extreme or painful because
we perceive the harm the person has inflicted on us as larger than it actually is. Like harm that
happens to us is worse than harm to other people.
•Evolutionary Perspectives:–Benefits of aggression: More resources (e.g., land, food), more
respect & acceptance (higher status), & more mates (which means more offspring!)•Gender
differences (in women maternal aggression likely to protect offspring, but less likely to be
physically aggressive in general)Problem with evolutionary perspective is that you could make
the same argument for cooperation.
–However, aggression is only one technique among many that humans use as they strive for
mastery & status (e.g., cooperation & forming alliances can also lead to the benefits listed above)
•Biological Factors:–Violence genes?–Testosterone: Studies have found positive correlations
between testosterone levels and aggression (Limitations? Causal direction & potential third
variables (e.g., stress could cause increases in both))
–Serotonin: Studies have found negative correlations between serotonin levels and aggression
•E.g., Menopausal woman & “air rage” incident. “Intermittent explosive disorder”
(low levels of serotonin correlate with increases in aggression, women often experience drop in
serotonin during menopause and act out more violently).
–Prefrontal cortex: Damage can impair executive function (ability to plan and inhibit actions)
•Alcohol also impairs executive functioning
•It is clear that aggressive behavior is strongly affected by learning – but how so?
–Reward & Punishment:•Positive reinforcement: When an aggressive behavior gets us the
outcome we want, it reinforces the aggressive act•Negative reinforcement: When an aggressive
behavior helps us avoid a negative outcome, it reinforces the aggressive act•Punishment: Can
Document Summary
Durably reducing transphobia: a field experiment on door-to-door canvassing. Indirect aggression (behind their back usually): social aggression (like rolling your eyes or something at the person) relational aggression (damage reputation/relationship with other people) Men tend to on average engaged in physical aggression more often and women tend to on average engage in indirect aggression. Men & women do tend to have the same levels of aggression on average the difference is how they manifest. Retaliation almost always exceeds the original offence (e. g. , is more extreme or painful because we perceive the harm the person has inflicted on us as larger than it actually is. Like harm that happens to us is worse than harm to other people: evolutionary perspectives: benefits of aggression: more resources (e. g. , land, food), more respect & acceptance (higher status), & more mates (which means more offspring!
