Soc 319: Sociological Approaches to Social

Psychology

Altruism (cont’d) & AggressionApril 23, 2009

Evolutionary Perspectives

Puzzle: If an organism acts altruistically, it may decrease its own reproductive fitness.

Importance of kin selection: behaviors that help a genetic relative are favored by natural selection.

Impact of reciprocity, or expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future. Simon (1990): The best learners of societal

norms (esp. altruism) have a competitive advantage.

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High(parents, siblings, children)

High(parents, siblings, children)

Cunningham et al., (1995)

Cunningham et al., (1995)

4040

Degree of RelatednessDegree of Relatedness

Mod. (grand-parents)

Mod. (grand-parents)

Low (first cousins)

Low (first cousins)

None (attractive strangers)

None (attractive strangers)

Would you lend this person your car? Proportion saying “yes” are plotted values.

Why didn’t anyone come to the rescue of Kitty Genovese? [Reprinted with permission from the March 27, 1964 New York

Times. Copyright © 1964 by the New York Times Co.]

37 Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police

Apathy at Stabbing of Queens Woman Shocks Inspector

By MARTIN GANSBERG

For more than half an hour thirty-eight respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks in Kew Gardens. Twice the sound of their voices and the sudden glow of their bedroom lights interrupted him and frightened him off. Each time he returned, sought her out and stabbed her again. Not one person telephoned the police during the assault; one witness called after the woman was dead.

Influences on Prosocial Behavior: Social Context Number of bystanders (Latane & Darley)

Diffusion of responsibility Urban v. rural

urban overload hypothesis (Milgram): persons living in cities keep to themselves to avoid being overloaded by all the stimulation they receive.

Cultural context Collectivist cultures more likely to help in-group

members and less likely to help out-group members than in individualist cultures. (In general, in-group favored)

Darley & Latane: Number of bystanders & helping behavior # in Group: One Two Five

Percent

Helping

85 62 31

Lag Time

(second)

52 93 166

Diffusion of responsibility

A decrease in the individual sense of responsibility for taking action in an emergency because of the presence of other bystanders. The greater the number of bystanders, the less likely each person is to act.

Bystander effect: As number of bystanders increases, likelihood of helping decreases and more time passes before help occurs.

Darley/Latane Model of Helping

Bystander must perceive an emergency. The unaware cannot act.

Bystander must interpret situation as an emergency. Pluralistic ignorance: misinterpretation/inaction by

many may stifle action. Bystander assumes responsibility to act.

Must know what to do, show expertise. Bystander must decide (and know how) to help.

Must assess costs and efficacy of routes. Bystander actually does help.

Does not ensure effectiveness.

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Alone Alone

Percentage Reporting Smoke

Percentage Reporting Smoke

4040

With 2 other real subjects

With 2 other real subjects

With 2 calm confederates With 2 calm confederates

Darley & Latane: Smoked filled room where “subjects” were completing questionnaires.

Influences on Prosocial Behavior: Characteristics of Help Recipient “Deservingness”: Responsibility is assigned

to victims in varying degrees. Piliavin et al. “subway” studies Weiner et al. Reason why patient as AIDS

(e.g., sex v. blood transfusion) Attractiveness/likeability Similarity to help-giver

Personal style Political views Race/ethnicity

Source: Levine (2003)

Defining Aggression?

Behavior that results in personal injury or destruction of property (Bandura, 1973).

Behavior intended to harm another of the same species (Scherer et al, 1975).

Behavior directed towards the goal of harming or injuring another living being who is motivated to avoid such treatment (Baron, 1977).

The intentional infliction of some form of harm on others (Baron & Byrne, 2000)

Types of Aggression

Instrumental: Actions that are intended to hurt others, but for a specific outcome (e.g., punishment, sports, warfare)

Emotional/Hostile: Driven by feelings, reactive, impulsive. Intent is to harm or injure target. Tends to be focus of most aggression research.

Biological Perspectives

Violent, aggressive behavior is innate. Lorenz (1966): “fighting instinct” is necessary

for survival. Freud (1930): Humans have a powerful

“death instinct” (thanatos). Destructive energy must be expelled (catharsis) to avoid personal psychological harm.

Evolutionary Perspectives

Individuals must maximize their resources and competitiveness relative to others, and thus enhance their own chances of reproductive success.

Men and women face different evolutionary challenges, and respond accordingly.

Buss and Dedden (1990) examined the pattern of intra-sexual aggression and found that:

Women were more likely than men to verbally derogate the physical appearance and promiscuity of their same sex rivals.

Men were more likely than women to physically aggress against male rivals.

If aggression were biological or evolutionary in its roots, however, we might expect to see roughly similar levels of aggression across time and place…

Cognitive Perspectives

Aggressive behavior is shaped by cognitive factors (e.g., scripts, appraisals, attributions) and current affective state.

Scripts for appropriate behavior based on socialization.

Appraisals of situation include attributions about other actors’ intent and motivation

Mood shapes appraisal of other and of appropriate response.

Socialization/Social Learning Perspectives Violent behavior, like all behavior, is learned. Behaviors that are rewarded persist. Behavior is learned via:

Direct experience, where individual is rewarded for own behavior

Indirect experience, where individual learns vicariously. Models other’s behavior, and persists in behaviors that are rewarded in others.

Bandura’s classic “Bobo doll” study.

Young children witnessed an adult attack a bobo doll: Live Videotape Cartoon Control

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDtBz_1dkuk

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5

10

15

20

25

Live Video Cartoon Control

Acts

of

aggre

ssio

n

Results of Bandura study

Implications for Children’s Behavior?

Effect of TV violence on child behavior (Liebert & Baron, 1972)

Critiques of Social Learning Theory?

Understanding the meaning of experimental manipulation, esp. among children.

Individual-level differences (e.g., gender differences in reactions to violent images)

Catharsis rather than perpetuation of violence?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S410Pcij-8

Is media violence cathartic??

Contextual Influences on Aggression

Frustration “Culture” of violence? Physical environment (e.g., heat, crowding,

etc.)

Think about the extent to which this conditions of pervasive in U.S. versus other national/cultural contexts…

Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis (Dollard 1939) Frustration Aggression (e.g., Barker et

al. 1941) Evidence?

Alternative responses to frustration Not all aggression results from frustration Frustration is one of several indicators of

negative affect that may lead to aggression (Berkowitz, 1989)

Culture of Violence?

Weapons effect (Berkowitz & colleagues): Aggressiveness occurs when “readiness to respond aggressively” is induced by arousal and aggressive cues trigger aggressive acts. Presence of weapons heightens violent

tendencies. To what extent does culture of gun availability

and violence in media prime individuals to view violence as an appropriate course of action?

Culture of Violence?

“Culture of Honor” violence (Nisbett et al.) Higher levels of aggression from southerners Culture emphasizes retaliation, aggression as

appropriate course of action for transgressions Culture is transmitted via

Social learning theory (observation/reinforcement)

Conformity Interpretation of others’ behaviors

REGIONAL MURDER RATES, 2001-2004

MURDER RATES PER 100,000 PEOPLE (FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 2004)

REGION2004 2003

2002 2001EXECUTIONS SINCE 1976 (As of 10/1/05)

South6.6 6.9

6.8 6.7806

West5.7 5.7

5.7 5.5 62

Midwest4.7 4.9

5.1 5.3 113

Northeast4.2 4.2

4.1 4.2 4

Country Year PopulationTotal

HomicideFirearm

HomicideNon-Gun Homicide

% Household

s With Guns

South Africa

199541,465,00

075.30 26.60 48.70 n/a 

Colombia 199637,500,00

064.60 50.60 14.00 n/a 

Estonia 1994 1,499,257 28.21 8.07 20.14 n/a 

Brazil 1993160,737,0

0019.04 10.58 8.46 n/a 

Mexico 199490,011,25

917.58 9.88 7.70 n/a 

Philippines 199672,000,00

016.20 3.50 12.70 n/a 

Taiwan1 199621,979,44

48.12 0.97 7.15 n/a 

N. Ireland 1994 1,641,711 6.09 5.24 0.85 8.4

United States2 1999

272,691,000

5.70 3.72 1.98 39.0

Argentina 199434,179,00

04.51 2.11 2.40 n/a 

Hungary 199410,245,67

73.53 0.23 3.30 n/a

Situational Influences: Heat/Season

Anderson

(1989):

15

20

25

30

35

40

Per

cent

age

of y

earl

y to

tal

Uprisings

Assaults

FamilydisturbancesRape

Kenrick & MacFarlane (1986): drivers in air-conditioned cars less likely to honk their horns.

Individual-Level Influences

Biological factors (e.g., testosterone) Family background Personality Gender

Biological Influences

Does testosterone increase violent tendencies? Men more aggressive than women. Violent criminals have abnormally high

testosterone levels (Dabbs et al., 1987) Prenatal exposure to testosterone increases

childhood aggression (Reinisch, 1991). Alternative explanations?

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2

4

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8

10

Males Females

Agg

ress

ion

Sco

res

ExposedNot exposed

Reinisch et al., (1991): Pre-natal testosterone exposure & child aggression

Family Background

Very powerful evidence of intergenerational transmission of violence.

Consistent with social learning theory, social norms, frustration-aggression hypotheses.

Data spanning >50 years supports transmission Sears (1957): 5-year olds of aggressive

parents more aggressive. Patterson (1982): “Coercive cycle”

“Coercive Cycle” of Family Violence (Patterson, 1982)

Child behaves

aggressively

e.g. disobeys request

Parent responds aggressively

e.g. shouts at child

Child responds with more aggression

e.g. shouts back more loudly

Parent responds with more aggression

e.g. hits child

Personality Traits that Foster Aggression? Narcissism: over-inflated view of self “Type A” (drive to achieve, time urgency,

competitiveness) Higher aggression in competitive tasks More likely to engage in child abuse More workplace conflict

Hostile attributional bias: tendency to attribute hostile intentions to others (Graham et al., 1992)

Gender (Eagly et al., Harris, 1994)

Men engage in more frequent physical aggression.

Women engage in “verbal” or “indirect” aggression.

Socialization, appraisal of outcome, assessment of “appropriateness” shape gendered tendencies and responses to aggression.