Lecture 15: Aggression || PSY 203: Social Psychology

Summary

This social psychology lecture delves into the multifaceted nature of aggression, exploring its definitions, forms, and the harm it inflicts. It discusses the ABC model of aggression, distinguishing between instrumental and emotional aggression, and examines the biological, environmental, and social factors contributing to aggressive behavior. The lecture also touches on the impact of heat, the presence of weapons, and media influence on aggression. It highlights the importance of empathy in reducing aggression and dispels myths associated with rape culture, emphasizing the need for societal interventions to mitigate aggressive tendencies.

Takeaways

• 📚 The lecture discusses various forms of aggression, its definition, sources, and the harm it causes.
• 🔍 Aggression is broadly defined as any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm another person or living thing, including oneself.
• 🌟 The ABC model of aggression includes Anger, Behavior (violence), and Cognition (hostility).
• 🔑 There are two types of aggression: instrumental (inflicting harm to achieve a goal) and emotional (inflicting harm for its own sake).
• 🤕 The harm caused by aggression can range from physical harm to psychological trauma, including PTSD and anxiety.
• 🧬 Biological sources of aggression include genetic factors, such as the MAO-A gene, and hormonal influences like testosterone.
• 💡 The frustration-aggression hypothesis suggests that frustration can increase the likelihood of an aggressive response.
• ☀️ Seasonal factors, particularly heat, are associated with increased aggression, as are certain situational factors like the presence of weapons.
• 🏳️‍🌈 Social learning theory emphasizes the role of modeling in learning aggressive behaviors, as demonstrated by Bandura's Bobo doll experiments.
• 🚺 Gender differences in aggression show that males tend to engage in more physical aggression, while females are more likely to participate in relational aggression.
• 🌐 Cross-cultural research indicates that aggression levels can vary significantly between cultures and are influenced by both biological and social factors.
• 🔪 The concept of 'rape culture' is explored, highlighting the social and cultural factors that contribute to the perpetuation of sexual violence.

Q & A

What is the definition of aggression according to the lecture?

Aggression is defined as physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt another person or any other living thing, and can also include inanimate objects.

What are the two types of aggression mentioned in the lecture?

The two types of aggression are instrumental aggression, which is inflicting harm to obtain something of value, and emotional aggression, which is inflicting harm for its own sake.

What is the harm caused by aggression?

The harm caused by aggression can range from physical harm, such as immediate or lasting feelings of pain, suffering, injury, or death, to psychological trauma, including generalized anxiety, hypervigilance, sleeplessness, irritability, self-blame, post-traumatic stress disorder, and serious harm or death.

What is the role of the MAO-A gene in relation to aggression?

The MAO-A gene, particularly its short form, is linked to aggression in non-human species. In humans, the presence of the short form of the MAO-A gene, combined with a history of childhood abuse, is associated with a higher likelihood of being convicted of a violent crime.

How does testosterone relate to aggression?

Testosterone is associated with aggression as it is linked to increased impulse control and temper issues. However, the relationship is bi-directional, meaning that not only does testosterone increase aggression, but aggression also increases testosterone levels.

What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

The frustration-aggression hypothesis suggests that when an individual is thwarted from reaching a goal, it increases the probability of an aggressive response.

What is the weapons effect and how does it relate to aggression?

The weapons effect refers to the phenomenon where the mere presence, description, or visual representation of weapons increases the probability of aggressive behaviors.

What is the role of social learning theory in understanding aggression?

Social learning theory, as demonstrated by Bandura's Bobo doll experiments, suggests that children learn aggressive behaviors by observing and modeling the actions of others, especially when those actions are rewarded.

What are the gender differences in aggression mentioned in the lecture?

Men and boys are more likely to engage in physical aggression, while women and girls tend to participate in relational aggression, which involves harming someone through their relationships or social status.

What is the concept of a culture of honor and how does it relate to aggression?

A culture of honor is characterized by strong concerns about reputation and a sensitivity to insults, which can lead to a willingness to use violence to avenge perceived wrongs. This concept is particularly associated with the American South.

What is the definition of rape culture and how does it relate to aggression?

Rape culture refers to an environment characterized by pervasive or normalized sexual violence, which is largely perpetuated by men on women. It is not a biological drive but a conditioned response that maintains gender inequality.

What are some ways to reduce aggression as discussed in the lecture?

Ways to reduce aggression include societal interventions like improving quality of life to reduce frustration, controlling the availability of guns to mitigate the weapons effect, punishing aggression effectively using operant conditioning, and reframing media depictions of aggression.

Outlines

00:00

😠 Understanding Aggression and Its Forms

This paragraph introduces the lecture on aggression within the social psychology series. It defines aggression as any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm another person or object. The lecture will cover the various forms of aggression, its sources, and the harm it can cause. It also mentions the inclusion of a discussion on rape culture. The ABC model of aggression is introduced, which includes the components of affect (anger), behavior (violence), and cognition (hostility). The paragraph distinguishes between two types of aggression: instrumental (aggression as a means to an end) and emotional (aggression for its own sake).

05:02

🧬 Biological Sources of Aggression

The second paragraph delves into the biological roots of aggression, highlighting the role of genetics, specifically the MAO-A gene, which is associated with aggression when combined with environmental factors like childhood abuse. It also discusses the influence of testosterone on aggressive behavior, noting its correlation with both male and female aggression levels. The paragraph explains that testosterone can increase due to aggression and vice versa, creating a bi-directional relationship.

10:07

🔥 Frustration and Aggression: The Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

This paragraph explores the frustration-aggression hypothesis, which posits that frustration in achieving a goal can lead to aggressive behavior. It cites a study where children who were delayed from playing with toys exhibited more destructive behavior compared to a control group. However, the paragraph also introduces the Neo Associative Model, which suggests that frustration may lead to anger and subsequently to aggression, but this is not always the case, indicating a more complex relationship.

15:07

☀️ Environmental Factors Influencing Aggression

The fourth paragraph examines environmental factors that can trigger aggression, such as high temperatures, which are associated with increased incidents of violence. It also discusses the 'weapons effect,' where the presence of weapons can escalate aggressive behavior. The paragraph provides examples from baseball and an experiment involving handling a pellet gun versus a non-violent toy, illustrating how environmental cues can influence aggressive tendencies.

20:10

🤼‍♂️ Social Learning Theory and Imitation of Aggression

The fifth paragraph discusses Albert Bandura's social learning theory, which emphasizes the role of observation and imitation in learning aggressive behaviors. The famous Bobo doll experiment is highlighted, showing how children who observed an adult acting aggressively toward the doll were more likely to imitate these behaviors. The paragraph also touches on the impact of violent media consumption on aggression, noting that while there is a link, the relationship is not as straightforward as some might believe.

25:13

🚹 Gender Differences and Cultural Aspects of Aggression

This paragraph addresses gender differences in aggression, noting that males are more likely to engage in physical aggression, while females tend to participate in relational aggression. It also explores cultural factors, such as the concept of 'cultures of honor,' which can influence levels of aggression. The paragraph provides examples from different countries and discusses how cultural norms and values can shape aggressive behaviors.

30:13

🏛 The Impact of Culture and Rape Culture

The seventh paragraph discusses the cultural aspects of rape, highlighting that it is largely a crime perpetrated by men against women. It presents statistics on the prevalence of sexual violence globally and emphasizes that rape is not a biological imperative but a conditioned response. The paragraph also addresses the issue of rape culture and the myths and attitudes that perpetuate it, stressing the importance of recognizing and challenging these misconceptions.

35:14

🛡 Strategies for Reducing Aggression

The final paragraph of the script outlines potential strategies for reducing aggression. It suggests societal interventions, such as improving the quality of life to reduce frustration, controlling the availability of guns to mitigate the 'weapons effect,' and ensuring consistent and timely punishment for aggressive behavior. The paragraph also emphasizes the importance of reducing and reframing media depictions of aggression and calls for interpersonal interventions, such as improving parental care, strengthening social connections, and enhancing empathy.

Keywords

💡Aggression

Aggression is defined as any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm another person or living thing. It is the central theme of the video, which explores different forms of aggression, its sources, and its consequences. Examples from the script include accidentally injuring someone, hurling insults, and even extreme cases like murder for money, which all illustrate the breadth of aggressive acts discussed.

💡ABC Model of Aggression

The ABC model of aggression stands for Affect (emotions like anger), Behavior (violent actions), and Cognition (hostile thoughts). This model is used in the video to explain the psychological components involved in aggressive behavior. It helps viewers understand that aggression is not just physical but also involves emotional and cognitive elements.

💡Instrumental Aggression

Instrumental aggression refers to the act of inflicting harm to achieve a goal or obtain something of value. It is portrayed in the video as an aggressive act where the harm done is a means to an end. An example given is breaking someone's kneecaps to achieve a goal, illustrating the concept of using aggression as a tool.

💡Emotional Aggression

Emotional aggression, also known as hostile aggression, is the act of inflicting harm for its own sake, where the means and the end are the same. The video script uses the example of using words to be harmful, emphasizing that the intent is to cause harm without any secondary gain.

💡Harm

Harm in the context of the video is the negative outcome or damage caused by aggressive behavior. It can take multiple forms, including physical harm, psychological trauma, and even collateral damage affecting those nearby or related to the victim. The script discusses the wide-ranging effects of aggression, from immediate physical pain to long-term psychological issues like PTSD.

💡MAO-A Gene

The MAO-A gene is mentioned in the video as having a potential link to aggression. The gene is responsible for producing an enzyme that metabolizes neurotransmitters, and its short form is associated with aggressive behavior in non-human species and in humans, especially when combined with environmental factors like childhood abuse. The video uses the MAO-A gene to illustrate the gene-by-environment interaction in aggression.

💡Testosterone

Testosterone is a hormone that is discussed in the video as having a correlation with aggression. It is more prevalent in males and is associated with increased aggression. The script explains the bi-directional relationship between testosterone and aggression, where both high levels of the hormone and aggressive behavior can influence each other.

💡Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

The frustration-aggression hypothesis posits that frustration, or being prevented from reaching a goal, increases the likelihood of an aggressive response. The video references a study where children who were frustrated by a delay in playing with toys exhibited more destructive behavior, supporting the hypothesis.

💡Weapons Effect

The weapons effect is a psychological phenomenon where the presence of weapons increases the likelihood of aggressive behavior. In the video, it is demonstrated through a study where handling a pellet gun, as opposed to a non-violent toy, led to increased testosterone levels and more aggressive behavior in a hot sauce test.

💡Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory, as discussed in the video, suggests that people learn behaviors, including aggression, by observing and imitating others. The video cites Bandura's Bobo doll experiments, where children who observed an adult acting aggressively towards an inflatable doll were more likely to exhibit similar aggressive behavior.

💡Rape Culture

Rape culture is a societal issue discussed in the video where sexual violence is normalized or excused due to societal attitudes and practices. The script explains that rape culture perpetuates sexual violence and gender inequality, and it includes debunking common rape myths and emphasizing the importance of consent.

Highlights

Aggression is defined as physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt another person or living thing, including inanimate objects.

The ABC model of aggression includes Anger, Behavior (violence), and Cognition (hostility).

There are two types of aggression: instrumental (inflicting harm to obtain something of value) and emotional (inflicting harm for its own sake).

Aggression can cause physical harm, psychological trauma, and collateral damage to unintended targets.

The MAO-A gene, particularly its short form, is linked to aggression, especially when combined with a history of childhood abuse.

Testosterone is associated with aggression, with higher levels often found in prison populations and rowdy environments, and can be influenced by both nature and nurture.

The frustration-aggression hypothesis suggests that being thwarted from reaching a goal increases the likelihood of an aggressive response.

The presence of weapons, such as guns, can increase aggressive behavior due to the 'weapons effect'.

Social learning theory, demonstrated by Bandura's Bobo doll experiments, shows that children can model aggressive behavior after observing adults.

Violent media consumption does not necessarily lead to aggressive behavior, contrary to popular belief.

Gender differences in aggression show that males are more likely to engage in physical aggression, while females tend toward relational aggression.

Cross-cultural research indicates that aggression levels can vary significantly between countries and cultures.

The culture of honor, particularly in the American South, is linked to higher levels of aggression and sensitivity to insults.

Rape culture involves forced sex acts and is largely perpetuated by men on women, with significant global variation in prevalence.

Rape myths and victim-blaming attitudes are prevalent and contribute to a culture that tolerates sexual violence.

Reducing aggression requires societal interventions, including improving quality of life, controlling access to weapons, and enhancing empathy.

Transcripts

hey everybody and welcome to another

lecture in the social psych lecture

series this one is on aggression so

we're gonna be talking about different

forms of aggression

what aggression that really is where it

comes from that sort of thing and then

talk a little bit about rape culture to

end this discussion okay so what is

aggression what is the harm caused by it

what are the sources so we'll talk about

a few of the sources these are this is

not exhaustive okay we're going to talk

about reducing aggression okay at the

end

so what is aggression well

is it accidentally injuring someone is

it working

tenaciously to try to sell a product to

a customer is it biting someone on the

neck is it swinging a stick at someone

but missing is it swinging a stick at a

pinata and hitting a person instead

hurling insults at someone deliberately

falling - failing to prevent harm

murdering for money hiring someone to

breaking competitors kneecaps

hitting others while in rage in a rage

hitting a pillow while in a rage if you

answered yes to all of these then you're

right that's all aggression that's all

aggressive acts whether they were

physically harming someone or not

although some of those are pretty wild

like murdering for money or hiring

someone to break a committed and caps

you didn't actually do the kneecapping

break but that's still a very aggressive

move Tonya Harding okay so

physical or verbal behavior intended to

hurt another person or any other living

thing right or actually not even just

living things but inanimate objects as

well

in Yoda's for example who does not want

to be hurt hey hey look it's the ABC

bottle crash

a DC model of aggression so the effect

part a anger okay anga behavior is the

violence

and cognition is generally speaking

hostility hey these are this is the ABC

model

there are two types of aggression

instrumental aggression this is

inflicting harm to obtain something of

value so means to an end

some sort of job that you have to do you

know breaking somebody's kneecaps and

then there's emotional aggression or

hostile or um effective okay this is

inflicting harm for its own sake the

means and the end do not need or do need

to coincide the means and the ends are

the same thing I want to inflict harm

because I want to inflict harm so

instrumental aggression is using a

weapon emotional aggression is using

words

to be harmful okay

to to just rap somebody up and and into

a little ball and laughing about it okay

so what is the harm caused from

aggression well can take and multiple

forms it can be physical harm Hey into

immediate or lasting feelings of pain

suffering injury or death that lasts

non-lethal physical psychological trauma

over generalized anxiety hyper vigilance

sleeplessness irritability self blame

post-traumatic stress disorder and

serious harm or death so that's

non-lethal physical that's not gonna

kill you and it's mostly psychological

but you can also be collateral damage so

this is not you are not the intended

target of the harm and yet you suffer

from the harm because you are nearby or

you are related or something like that

lot of harm is collateral damage to be

to be sure

sources of aggression include biological

sources

include biological sources so so your

genes are interesting your genes are

interesting so the idea here that I

wanna do that I want to share is that

there is a particular identified gene

it's called the mao-a gene and there are

apparently two forms of it long form and

short form okay

what the mao-a gene is supposed to do is

produce an enzyme that helps metabolize

certain nap neurotransmitters and the

short form is what is linked to

aggression in non-human species so

chimpanzees gorillas Tigers etc in one

study researchers had a sample of men

and tested for this gene and 37% had

that short form they also categorized

men as either having been abused in

childhood or not then they measured

their violent crimes

so the mao-a short form of the gene did

not predict violence by itself however

boys who have the gene

and were abused were three times more

likely to have been convicted of a

violent crime by age 26

they were 12% of this particular sample

but they were responsible for 44 percent

of total crimes in that sample so they

were an eighth of the people in the

sample and yet that eight was nearly

half of the crimes so there is a gene by

environment interaction so is it nature

or is it nurture it's the interaction of

both the other thing about biology is

testosterone so

all humans make testosterone but male

humans tend to have quite a bit more

than female humans and other and other

sexes

and so yeah you see a lot of aggression

associated with testosterone okay

prison populations tend to have higher

levels of tea overall Rowdy frats tend

to have more tea on average than known

rowdy frats when trans men are

transitioning in addition to body hair

dropping body fat and lowering the voice

testosterone also creates the issue of

them having to deal with more impulse

control and temper issues

however we also know things that inspire

anger also increased testosterone levels

so this is a bi-directional relationship

right so it's not just that testosterone

increases aggression aggression also

increases testosterone so it's back and

forth right so insults

insults can increase somebody's

testosterone level and so there's an

association with testosterone not a

causal relationship so just because you

have a lot of testosterone doesn't mean

you're an aggressive person

and this same goes for women who also

have lower levels of testosterone but

also may have higher levels than the

average woman okay they won't be

necessarily more aggressive than any

other woman okay so this is a

correlation and then the mao-a gene is a

gene by environment interaction so the

gene by itself doesn't make somebody

more or less aggressive but if they have

issues in the environment that that

changes the way the mao-a gene works

then you have the then you have that

issue so the frustration-aggression

hypothesis

frustration-aggression hypothesis

hypothesis so imagine you are

frustrated by something okay

now have you ever thought to yourself is

the definition of frustration I always

say I'm frustrated but what does that

mean well frustration is imported on the

way to a goal

so being prevented from reaching a goal

and so the frustration-aggression

hypothesis suggests that being thwarted

on the way to a goal increases the

probability of an aggressive response in

one study children were either delayed

from playing with toys so frustrating or

allowed to directly play with them which

was the control group

those children who are frustrated were

more destructive with the toys than the

control group children

so does frustration always lead to

aggression

this is a great question

the Neos Oceania stick count of

aggression

doesn't necessarily agree and this is

the newest associate istic account right

so you have an aversive event things

like frustration but also paying heat so

frustration would be blocked goals but

things like heat and pain are also

aversive events in this model okay those

things will lead to anger which is the

emotion associated with frustration

right so you get perceived injustice and

then anger increases arousal levels just

think of anger from inside out when he

gets super angry fire comes from his

head that's representing the sympathetic

nervous system kicking itself into high

gear right that anger then leads to the

behavior of aggression okay so

physically attacking someone or

something or harming someone emotionally

you know some sort of relational thing

like spreading rumors or something okay

so that's another way to suggest

frustration leading to aggression Neo

Association neo associate istic account

it's hard to say

includes this anger level right

so sometimes frustration won't lead to

anger

therefore won't lead to aggression so

that's the difference between the two

Romeo and Juliet I pray thee God

Mercutio let's retire the day is hot the

Capulets abroad and if we meet we shall

not scape a brawl for now these hot days

is the mad blood stirring so even

Shakespeare knew

that aggressive acts increase during the

summer months and then just fall away

in the winter months

so you have more uprisings more domestic

disturbances more rapes more assaults

these are of course

correlations

but he really does make people really

agitated makes people really agitated

okay so let me let me tell let me let me

give you one of the reasons I think why

so this is a personal opinion but it

seems right to me so when you're cold

generally speaking we have the means to

increase our warmth we put things on we

can put as many layers of clothing on to

prevent our skin from feeling cold air

temperatures right we bundle up but when

it's really really hot you can get naked

and still be really really hot

you can't take off your skin and so

there's a limit to how much relief you

can get

from disrobing

if it's really really hot there's only

so much relief you can get in winter you

can pile on them clothes and be like I

am nice and toasty I'm under this

blanket you can't do that when it's hot

outside and so what does your body do

well it starts getting agitated and when

it gets agitated your body temperature

increases and so the more agitated you

get the more hot you get and it's still

hot outside and so you're sweating and

then you're trying to get and then so

the rage just builds and you're like ahh

and then you turn green and start

smashing

another situational source of aggression

is oh no this is still hot this is

baseball because I enjoy baseball here's

Albert here's Albert pools getting

plunked when he was a cardinal he's

getting hit and you can see that when

the temperature is 90 degrees and above

more batters are hit

more batters or hit okay

more more often okay and this is

especially true on the unwritten rules

of baseball and if a batter is hit by

the opposing team

then you can bet that they'll hit a

batter later in the game because you

know turnabout is fair play

and in baseball you hit me I hit you and

then everyone gets warned and then you

know it's becomes no fun or benches

clear or brawls happen uh loser

I miss baseball okay so that's another

piece of evidence for heat hot heat okay

now this one is an interesting one okay

this is an additional situational

variable and it has to do with the

presence of guns has to do with the

presence of guns right so the task was

write instructions on how to use the

object okay and the independent variable

was either a non violent toy

or a pellet gun so they had to sew so

people had to write instructions how to

use either one okay

nonviolent toy or pallet gun

and they measure testosterone through

saliva samples before and after handling

the toy or the gun

and then they had to do a hot sauce test

okay so

increases in testosterone

were significant for the gun and they

didn't increase for the toy though

grams of hot sauce though is really

interesting so people who had to handle

the gun and write instructions for how

to use the gun ingested more hot sauce

than those who utilized the toy and so

the gun it increased

um aggressive behaviors doing more harm

to my mouth with hot sauce and this was

increasing my tea so this is called the

weapons effect the weapons effect the

mere presence of weapons the description

of weapons and the visual representation

of weapons increases probability of

aggressive behaviors

I'm gonna put more hot sauce

or the next person

they're gonna love it here you go enjoy

your mouth burning

now what are other sources of aggression

well social social sources social

learning theory from bandura in ninth in

the 1970s

now this one's pretty famous because

this is the Bobo doll set of experiments

and the idea behind Bobo was that

bandura didn't believe the behaviors

perspective at the time he said you know

what

I don't think behaviorists understand

that aggressive behavior is modeled just

because we watch somebody perform an

aggressive act like boxing we don't get

that cathartic we don't get that

cathartic release that was suggested by

behaviorists he said no kids learn from

that because if it's rewarded then the

kid will learn that that's reinforcing

okay that that's reinforcing and so they

will also act in that way so here's a

poor drawing of Bobo it's an inflatable

clown is what it is it's inflatable

clown I have a video for you you can

actually see the Bobo doll so it's an

inflatable clown and there is a wait at

the bottom of it so the center of mass

is toward the bottom of it and so you

can you know if you hit Bobo he will

come right back up okay

so essentially coming back for more okay

so there were 72 boys and girls that

watched

adults play in a playroom and they

watched them play with Bobo

Hey and they men measure the kids

playing with those

toys and how they acted toward Bobo

named just measured physical aggression

and verbal aggression so here is a video

of that

[Music]

my initial research and observations

below

centered on the social modeling of

aggression in our experiment preschool

children observed an adult model beat up

an inflatable doll in novel ways she

pummeled it with a mallet flung it in

the air kicked it repeatedly and threw

it down and beat it and these novel acts

were embellished with hostile remarks

the children were then left in the

playroom that had a variety of toys now

the children who had observed the

aggressive modeling adopted much of it

they even invented new ways for

attacking the doll children who had not

observed the adult model were less

aggressive and never hit the Bobo doll

in the novel ways that were bottled the

children who had been exposed to the

aggressive modeling showed an increased

attraction to guns even though the adult

model never used them at the time we did

this research it was widely believed at

seeing others venting aggression would

drain away the viewers aggressive drive

as you can see exposure to modeled

aggression is hardly cathartic hardly

televised violence has four major

effects it teaches aggressive styles the

behavior weakens restraints over

aggression desensitizes and habituates

viewers to human cruelty and shapes

viewers images of reality

yeah yeah that's a lot right so the idea

here is that

consuming violent media will increase

the aggressive response of the of the

viewer now the research is still out on

that and no violent videogames do not

make you a potential school shooter or

any other kind of shooter so that there

is no strong link to those things

behavior brothers have a song called

bang bang and it's about how they think

that all of this consumption of violent

media is leading to people to take up

arms in that way and go on shooting

sprees and that is one of the ills of

[Music]

the United States

and while it's a catchy song and I do

enjoy it the message misses the point

because access to guns

is really where the struggle is not in

using those guns and access to guns so

another bangbang shoot-'em-up movie

why not it's not going to increase your

levels of aggression to go shoot up the

bad guy having access to guns though

and the weapons effect does

all right gender differences

physical versus relational aggression

okay so men and boys are more likely to

engage in what is called physical

aggression okay that is actually harming

each other like these two high school

boys right here man they're gonna Oh

somebody's gonna get punched in the face

although he's winding up his punch and

and his elbow is up this this this dude

could totally like block it he'll punch

the end up punching the

locker know hurt hurt real bad

men are more arrests are arrests

arrested more often for violent crimes

than women are girls and women tend to

participate in what is called relational

aggression

harming somebody through their

relationships or social status okay so

are they biological or social

so we need cross-cultural research to

help us with this and cross-cultural

research finds that young male writes

stories with more violent solutions than

women do in each culture males are

consistently higher than females within

a context

although sorry although males are

consistently higher than females within

a culture females from some countries

had higher levels of aggression than

males from different countries so

Australia vs. Korea okay so the females

in Australia had higher levels of

aggression than males in Korea okay so

cross culturally these are these are

issues right so is this nature or

nurture well it's probably both probably

both do not buy into the trope of boys

will be boys boys should not be harming

each other like this rough-and-tumble

play while innocuous can lead to more

violence

cultural other cultural issues include

cultures of Honor so let's talk about

the American South and their insistence

on maintaining the honor of the

Confederacy

the idea of the culture of honor in the

American South is that its members

strong concerns about their own and

others reputations so there is a

sensitivity to slights and insults and a

willingness to use violence to avenge

those perceived wrongs or insults okay

so this is found all over the place

we're hurting animals is where many

people make a living because hurting

animals is tough right herders are

susceptible to losing all of their

wealth in an instant if animals are

stolen

so here's a quote for you from an early

age small boys were taught to think much

of their own honor and be active in its

defense honor is in this society meant a

pride of manhood in masculine courage

physical strength and warrior virtue

male children were trained to defend

their honor without a moment's

hesitation lashing out against their

challengers with savage violence

yeah

so northern United States was saddled by

farmers from England Germany Netherlands

farmers agrarian hey while the South

were settled by Scottish and Irish

settlers that had hurting systems okay

and so you end up with this difference

of opinion about what aggression even in

the verbal sense can lead to Hey

felony related murders in non-south and

Thomas these are

murders right so felony related murders

so felony related murders are murders

committed in the commission of another

felony okay

not not a big difference there but

argument related murders

argument related murders white a bit

more we're talking almost three for

100,000 more and this is among white

males no other no other demographic is

is represented here okay in a classic

set of studies and I want to share with

you a classic set of studies students at

the University of Michigan were brought

to the lab they had walked down a narrow

hall past someone working at a filing

cabinet filing cabinets in hallways when

they passed the Confederate who was the

person working at a filing cabinet the

Confederate bumped into the participant

and muttered [ __ ]

and so they measured things like

testosterone anger in the face how hard

they shook the experimenters hands like

these is all anger related behaviors how

close they got to the big burly guy

before they deflected like this is this

is a lot and you can see here that

people were characterized by their

southern Nisour their northern Ness

right and on the y-axis here is distance

at which subject gives way to

Confederate after the muttering of the

[ __ ] so how close are they how close

are they you can see here there's a

break in the scale so from 0 to 40 and

then every 10 from there and so in the

control the southern subjects identified

by the U of M gave them quite a few

inches of leeway this is as much space

as they possibly could inside this

hallway northern subjects kind of just

did whatever but when you look at so a

good good 5 to 6 feet

of space but in the insult condition you

see a massive decrease this is about 30

inches it's about three feet so they

moved from 110 feet 8 feet inches to

close to 30 they moved in they were like

I ain't giving you any room because you

called me and [ __ ] no sir

and you have comments like these from

even women from the south it's true us

country girls are Devils when it comes

to revenge so the culture of Honor I

want to say is not just for men in the

south

it also includes women do not slight

women because they will come after you

according to this idea

now I do want to talk about rape culture

like I said and rape culture is a rape

is a is forced sex acts okay so sex

without consent but it is also a

physical assault

name

both men and women according to Peggy

San days anthropological archival

research of 156 cultures both men and

women are the victim of rape but it's

largely perpetuated by men on women

and so globally

20 percent of women experience sexual

violence in a relationship at some point

during their lives

it's huge range 3 percent in a place

like Cambodia 59 percent in a place like

Ethiopia ok

there are according to Peggy sand a

there are 17 on the ambiguous rape prone

Society 70% but then on the other side

of the coin a large number of societies

are rape free 47 percent

and then in the middle 36 percent rape

present in remaining of them so

unambiguous rape free in the middle rape

present the United States is one of the

36 percent where rape is still present

it's also used as a ritual part of a

marriage ceremony or rite of passage

into adulthood for males sometimes it's

part of a gang initiation in the United

States

it's a threat to maintain gender

inequality

so the point here

it is not coming from a biological drive

but rather a conditioned response

sexual violence is no more inherent to

masculinity than football I want that to

sign want that quote to sit with you

sexual violence is no more inherent to

masculinity than football

you

and here are the rape myths everything

you hear about race rape blaming the

victim is a myth okay the she asked for

it it wasn't really rape he didn't mean

to she wanted it she lied rape is a

trivial event rape is a deviant event

and you have the statements from these

where they say where she asked for it

when women going around wearing low-cut

tops for short skirts they're just

asking for trouble that's a statement

and you asked do you agree one to five

if a woman doesn't physically resist sex

even when protesting verbally it can't

be considered rape

so scale of one-to-five agree/disagree

men don't usually intend to for sex on

women on a woman but sometimes they get

to sexually carried away

she wanted it although most women would

it wouldn't admit it

they generally find being physically

forced into sex a real turn-on again

these are statements on a scale from one

to five do you agree or disagree and you

can find out whether or not somebody has

explicit attitudes

explicit attitudes

about rape okay so these are all myths

names these are all victim-blaming myths

nobody should ever be no one should ever

be raped but no one should ever be

blamed for their own rape okay

I think it's it's pretty crucial

distinction don't you tell you

last thing how do we reduce aggression

well again this is kind of like reducing

prejudice a little bit it's very

difficult but societal interventions

have to be part of it so improving

quality of life will reduce frustration

controlling guns weapons effect this is

this is where David Brothers missed the

point this is where and Durres work is

really important but also sort of misses

the point

punishing aggression

so using operant conditioning

but in multi-systemic therapy to be

effective punishment must be severe

without modeling aggression delivered

promptly before aggressors benefit from

a change in their behavior

perceived as justified and administered

consistency

the American legal system rarely meets

criteria two and criteria for

which means that it's not delivered

promptly I don't know if you know this

but it takes a while for somebody to be

tried for murder takes a long long long

long time so it's not delivered promptly

and for administered consistence

consistently well I can go on and on and

on and on and on about how this isn't

consistent across things like race and

SES mandatory minimums and all of that

stuff while they seem great mandatory

minimums everyone gets the same sentence

for the same crime does not get levied

the same way so - and for the American

legal system does not do and reducing or

reframing media depictions of aggression

so how is the regression consume

regression aggression

portrayed and then consumed but then we

also have to have interpersonal and

interventions right improving parental

care is one of those things

strengthening social connections is

another one and enhancing empathy I

think that's number one and if you can

cultivate empathy in another human being

I think you won I think you have one

life okay takes a lot of work though to

enhance empathy and teach empathy to

someone takes a lot of work

that's gonna be it for this episode of

the lecture series please leave your

comments suggestions and feedback down

below if you have any and until the next

episode

mie