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”?

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?

General anxiety

Anxiety over social approval

Hostile Attributional Bias

Irritability

Emotional Susceptibility

External Locus of Control

Internal Locus of Control

Type A

Shame-prone

= No link to aggression

= Lower aggression

= Higher Aggression

= Higher Aggression

= Higher Aggression

= Lower Aggression

= Higher Aggression

= Higher Aggression

= Higher Aggression

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?