Social And Personality Development 6th Edition By David R. Shaffer – Test Bank

Social And Personality Development 6th Edition By David R. Shaffer – Test Bank

CHAPTER 9

AGGRESSION AND ANTISOCIAL CONDUCT

Chapter Outline

• WHAT IS AGGRESSION?

Aggression as an Instinct

Behavioral and Intentional Definitions of Aggression

Aggression as a Social Judgment

• THEORIES OF AGGRESSION

Instinct Theories

Freud’s psychoanalytic theory

Lorenz’s ethological theory of aggression

A critique of instinct theories

Learning Theories

Berkowitz’s revised frustration/aggression hypothesis

Bandura’s social-learning theory

How is aggression maintained?

Internal arousal and aggressive behavior

Evaluating Bandura’s theory

Dodge’s Social Information-Processing Theory

Evaluating Dodge’s Theory

• DEVELOPMENTAL TRENDS IN AGGRESSION

Early Conflict and the Origins of Aggression

Age-Related Changes in the Nature of Aggression

Aggression during the preschool period

Aggression during the grade-school years

Perpetrators and victims of childhood aggression

Aggression and antisocial conduct in adolescence

Is Aggression a Stable Attribute?

• SEX DIFFERENCES IN AGGRESSION

The biological viewpoint

The social-learning viewpoint

The interactive (or biosocial) viewpoint

• BIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON AGGRESSION

Genotype and Aggression

Temperament

• CULTURAL AND SUBCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON AGGRESION

Subcultural Variations

• FAMILY INFLUENCES ON AGGRESSION

Parental Child-Rearing Practices and Children’s Aggression

Might the child be influencing the parent?

Family Climate and Children’s Aggression

Parental conflict and children’s aggression

Coercive home environments as “breeding grounds” for aggression

Individual differences in response to coercive parenting

Gender differences?

Coercive home environments as contributors to chronic delinquency

• METHODS OF CONTROLLING AGGRESSION AND ANTISOCIAL CONDUCT

Catharsis: A Dubious Strategy

Creating Nonaggressive Environments

Eliminating the Payoffs for Aggression

Social-Cognitive Interventions

Applications: Preventing Aggression and Violence at School

• SUMMARY

Annotated Web Links

Konrad Lorenz Institute

http://www.kli.ac.at

The official Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Web site

Bullying Behavior in Children

http://safechild.org/bullies.htm

Information on bullying behavior and prevention techniques

Bullying

http://apa.org/releases/bullying.html

APA News release with information on bullying

-Test Bank-

Multiple Choice Questions

9-1, p. 285-286

Sigmund Freud believed that aggression was best described as

1. an acquired drive

*b. an instinct or class of instincts

1. a set of habits that have instrumental value
2. a class of behavior designed to promote the survival of the individual and the species

9-2, p. 286

You are entering a store when a Salvation Army solicitor hits you hard on the head with his bell as he solicits donations. A strict behaviorist such as Arnold Buss (1961) would say that

*a. an aggressive act has been committed

1. no aggressive act has been committed because the solicitor did not intend to hurt you
2. the act is aggressive only if the solicitor knew that you are an atheist
3. it is impossible to tell if this is an act of aggression

9-3, p. 286

Josh slugs Ismail, hoping to make him cry. _____ would classify this act as a clear example of aggression.

1. The “behavioral” perspective on aggression
2. The “intentional” perspective on aggression

*c. both of these

1. none of these

9-4, p. 286

Hostile aggression

1. refers to harm done as a means to a nonaggressive end

*b. refers to aggressive acts in which the perpetrator’s primary objective is to harm or injure the victim

1. is rarely seen among children older than 5 or 6
2. refers to harm done as a means to a nonaggressive end and is rarely seen among children older than 5 or 6
3. refers to aggressive acts in which the perpetrator’s primary objective is to harm or injure the victim and is rarely seen among children older than 5 or 6

9-5, p.286 WWW

Aggressive acts that serve no purpose other than to harm another individual are classified as

1. instrumental aggression
2. retaliatory aggression

*c. hostile aggression

1. cathartic aggression

9-6, p. 286

A mugger who attacks a victim in order to obtain the victim’s money is engaging in

1. subliminal aggression
2. hostile aggression

*c. instrumental aggression

1. vicarious hostility

9-7, p. 286

Aggressive acts that are performed for purposes of achieving some objective other than harmdoing are likely to be classified as

*a. instrumental aggression

1. hostile aggression
2. displaced aggression
3. reactive aggression

9-8, p. 287

The “social judgment” perspective on aggression

1. would classify all harmful acts as aggressive
2. is completely incompatible with an “intentional” perspective on aggression

*c. expects people to differ in their classification of harmful acts as aggressive or nonaggressive

1. is completely incompatible with an “intentional” perspective on aggression and expects people to differ in their classification of harmful acts as aggressive or nonaggressive
2. all of these

9-9, p. 287, 288

Scuffles between a pair of children are more likely to be viewed as “aggressive” acts if the youngsters are females rather than males. The _____ definition of aggression best accounts for this finding.

1. instinctual
2. behavioral
3. intentional

*d. social judgment

9-10, p. 288

In contrast to Freud’s view that all humans are born with _____ that underlie(s) all aggressive acts, contemporary psychoanalysts believe that aggression _____ .

1. a death instinct; is best described as an acquired drive

*b. a death instinct; is instinctual, but promotes life rather than self-destruction

1. aggressive reflexes; is learned
2. none of these

9-11, p. 288

Ethologists can agree with _____ that aggression stems from instinctual impulses and often qualifies as _____ .

1. Freud; an adaptive response
2. contemporary psychoanalysts; a self-destructive response
3. Freud; a self-destructive response

*d. contemporary psychoanalysts; an adaptive response

9-12, p.289

Ethologists such as Lorenz would agree with Freud that _____ .

1. human beings are characterized by a death instinct

*b. humans lack instinctual controls over their aggressive instinct and must learn to channel aggressive urges into socially acceptable pursuits

1. both of these
2. none of these

9-13, p. 289

One valid criticism of both Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and Lorenz’s ethological theory of aggression is that

1. there is no evidence that the human body accumulates aggressive energy
2. there are cultures in which people display little if any intraspecies aggression

*c. both of these

1. none of these

9-14, p.290

Many developmentalists are critical of ethologists’ presumption that humans lack biologically-based inhibitions against harmdoing, often citing _____ as such an inhibition.

*a. a capacity for empathy

1. inborn nurturing instincts
2. both of these
3. none of these

9-15, p. 290

Studies of dominance hierarchies in children’s play groups suggest that

1. dominant youngsters have more pent up aggressive energy than their nondominant playmates
2. these group structures tend to minimize rather than encourage aggressive exchanges
3. even preschool children are proficient at resolving many disputes before they escalate into aggressive confrontations

*d. these group structures tend to minimize rather than encourage aggressive exchanges and even preschool children are proficient at resolving many disputes before they escalate into aggressive confrontations

1. none of these

9-16, p. 290

Kuo’s (1930) experiment with cats that were raised with rats is important because it clearly demonstrates that

1. rat-killing by cats is an instinctive pattern of behavior
2. social-learning experiences, such as exposure to a rat-killing mother, have little effect on kittens’ tendencies to kill rats

*c. prior social experiences have dramatic effects on kittens’ tendencies to-kill rats

1. rat-killing by cats is an instinctive pattern of behavior and social-learning experiences, such as exposure to a rat-killing mother, have little effect on kittens’ tendencies to kill rats
2. none of these

9-17, p. 290

The original version of the frustration-aggression hypothesis specified that

1. frustration always produces some kind of aggression
2. aggression is always caused by some kind of frustration

*c. both of these

1. none of these

9-18, p. 290-291 WWW

According to Berkowitz’s revision of the frustration-aggression hypothesis

1. frustration produces anger or a readiness to aggress
2. not all aggression can be traced directly to frustration
3. aggressive cues will evoke aggressive responses from a person who is “primed” for aggression
4. frustration produces anger or a readiness to aggress and aggressive cues will evoke aggressive responses from a person who is “primed” for aggression

*e. all of these

9-19, p. 291

The study by Feshbach (1956) in which children played with aggressive or nonaggressive toys demonstrates the importance of _____ in promoting aggressive interactions.

1. frustration

*b. aggressive cues

1. attack
2. dominance hierarchies

9-20, p. 291

Berkowitz’s revised frustration-aggression hypothesis views aggressive behavior as stemming from a combination of

*a. internal forces such as anger and external, aggressive cues

1. instincts and aggressive cues
2. anger and instincts
3. instincts and aggressive cues

9-21, p. 292

Bandura’s social-learning theory was the first model to stress the role of _____ in promoting human aggression.

1. anger
2. instincts
3. aggressive cues

*d. cognitive processes

9-22, p. 292

Evidence for Bandura’s proposition that cognitive processes contribute to

human aggression can be seen in

1. the confidence that aggressive children have that their aggressive acts will “pay off”
2. the fact that aggressive children attach more value to the outcomes of aggression than nonaggressive children do

*c. both of these

1. none of these

9-23, p.292-293

According to Bandura’s social-learning theory, aggressive habits may persist over time if they

1. help aggressors to achieve their objectives
2. are useful at terminating others’ noxious behaviors
3. are socially sanctioned by aggressive peers

*d. all of these

9-24, p. 292

Recent neuroimaging studies are consistent with Bandura’s view that ____, showing that successful aggression activates pleasure centers in the brain.

*a. can be self-reinforcing

1. is instinctual
2. any form of arousal instigates aggression
3. aggression serves to reduce anger or frustration

9-25, p. 293

According to Bandura’s social learning theory

1. internal arousal such as frustration or anger is not necessary for aggression to occur
2. many forms of arousal may increase the likelihood of an aggressive response in situations where aggressive cues are present

*c. both of these

1. none of these

9-26, p. 293 WWW

Bandura’s contention that virtually all highly aggressive children are aggressive because they value aggression as an effective instrumental strategy for attaining other objectives does not easily explain the behavior of

1. proactive aggressors

*b. reactive aggressors

1. late-onset aggressors
2. typical classroom bullies

9-27, p. 293

Joe is a hot-head who is inclined to lash out whenever peers criticize him. Developmentalists would probably classify Joe as _____ .

1. a retaliatory aggressor
2. a proactive aggressor

*c. a reactive aggressor

1. a member of a deviant peer clique

9-28, p. 293

Dexter takes pride (not to mention gaining resources) in his use of force to convince peers to submit to him. Dexter sounds very much like _____ .

1. a retaliatory aggressor

*b. a proactive aggressor

1. a reactive aggressor
2. a member of a deviant peer clique

9-29, p. 294

According to Dodge’s social information-processing theory of aggression, children progress through six cognitive “steps” or processes when deciding how they might react to frustration, anger, or an apparent provocation. The sequencing of these cognitive processes is

1. cue encoding, cue interpretation, goal formulation, strategy generation, response enactment, strategy evaluation

*b. cue encoding, cue interpretation, goal formulation, strategy generation, strategy evaluation, response enactment

1. cue interpretation, goal formulation, strategy generation, strategy

evaluation, cue encoding, response enactment

1. cue interpretation, cue encoding, goal formulation, strategy generation, response enactment, strategy evaluation

9-30, p. 293

Compared with nonaggressive children, reactive aggressors are more likely to

1. believe that they can enhance their self-esteem by dominating other children
2. have high levels of self-confidence

*c. believe that other people are adversaries and, thus, are quick to attribute hostile intent to them

1. all of these

9-31, p. 295

Dodge has identified a hostile attributional bias that reactive aggressors display. In accord with the hostile attributional bias, reactive aggressors are likely to _____ hostile intent to a harmdoer when _____ .

*a. overattribute; the harmdoer’s intent is ambiguous

1. underattribute; the harmdoer’s intent is benign
2. overattribute; the harmdoer’s intent is hostile
3. none of these

9-32, p. 295

Dodge believes that reactive aggressors are apt to remain highly aggressive because

1. they overattribute hostile intentions to their peers when harmed under ambiguous circumstances
2. by virtue of their own hostile inclinations, they are likely to be attacked by peers

*c. both of these

1. none of these

9-33, p. 295

Compared to nonaggressive children and reactive aggressors, proactive aggressors are more likely to engage in

1. retaliatory aggression

*b. instrumental aggression

1. hostile aggression
2. relational aggression

9-34, p. 295 WWW

One day at school, Josh gets up real quick from the table and spills paint all over Frank’s art project. Frank thinks to himself, “I’ll teach that little creep to be more careful” and he consciously plans an aggressive means of getting back at Josh for his carelessness. From the perspective of Dodge’s social information-processing theory of aggression, Frank would be classified as

1. a reactive aggressor
2. a relational aggressor
3. a passive aggressor

*d. a proactive aggressor

9-35, p. 290-291, 296

Berkowitz’s revision of the frustration-aggression hypothesis and Dodge’s social information-processing theory stress the importance of situational cues in promoting aggressive behavior. While Berkowitz contends that situational cues often _____ aggressive responses, Dodge claims that the effects of these cues depend on _____ .

*a. evoke; how they are processed and interpreted

1. evoke; their reinforcement value
2. inhibit; how they are processed and interpreted
3. sustain; the degree of anger the child is experiencing

9-36, p. 296

A clear strength of Dodge’s social information-processing theory of aggression is _____ .

*a. its specification of information-processing biases that underlie both hostile and instrumental aggression

1. its explanation of how children develop the biases that promote hostile and instrumental aggression
2. both of these
3. none of these

9-37, p. 296

Dodge’s social information-processing theory of aggression has been criticized for

1. failing to specify the information-processing biases that underlie proactive

and reactive aggression

1. failing to specify how children might develop biases in processing social

information

1. paying little attention to the role of emotions in aggressive behavior
2. failing to specify the information-processing biases that underlie proactive

and reactive aggression and paying little attention to the role of emotions in aggressive behavior

*e. failing to specify how children might develop biases in processing social information and paying little attention to the role of emotions in aggressive behavior

9-38, p. 297

The child’s earliest aggressive acts are best described as

1. instinctional aggression
2. hostile aggression

*c. instrumental aggression

1. verbal taunts

9-39, p. 297

Research on the origins of aggression (e.g., Caplan et al., 1991) suggests that acts classified as _____ first appear at about age _____ , and that prior to that time children treat their adversaries as inanimate obstacles.

1. instinctual aggression; 6 months

*b. instrumental aggression; 12 months

1. instrumental aggression; 24 months
2. hostile aggression; 12 months
3. hostile aggression; 24 months

9-40, p. 297

Children begin to treat other children as adversaries and to fight over control of toys

1. as early as age 6 months

*b. by the end of the first year

1. once they achieve self-recognition
2. by the time they achieve a basic gender identity

9-41, p. 297

The increase in conflicts that infants display after their first birthday is thought by some developmentalists to reflect _____.

1. the origins of hostile aggression

*b. infants’ desire to assert their wills as they begin their quest for autonomy

1. a need to dominate their playmates
2. reactive, retaliatory aggression

9-42, p. 297

Studies of conflicts among pairs of 1-year-olds and 2-year-olds (for example, Caplan et al., 1991) suggest that

1. 2-year-olds have fewer conflicts over toys than 1-year-olds do
2. conflicts among 2-year-olds are more likely to be resolved aggressively than are conflicts among 1-year-olds
3. early conflicts among peers are basically maladaptive, typically serving as instigators of aggression
4. all of these

*e. none of these

9-43, p. 297

Early conflicts among 2-year-olds over toys

1. are almost certain to end in a battle

*b. are more often resolved by negotiation and sharing than through shows of force

1. occur less frequently than squabbles over toys among 1-year-olds
2. rarely occur

9-44, p. 297

Compared to groups of 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds fight _____ with peers in conflicts over toys, particularly when _____.

1. more; they are boys
2. more; toys are in short supply
3. less; they are girls

*d. less; adults intervene and suggest prosocial means of conflict resolution

9-45, p. 297-298 WWW

Studies of children’s aggression during the preschool period reveal that _____ .

1. unfocused temper tantrums become increasingly common after age 4

*b. the incidence of forceful, oppositional and hence, aggressive behaviors peaks between ages 2 and 3 and very gradually declines thereafter

1. children’s tendencies to retaliate after provocations declines dramatically after age 3
2. none of these

9-46, p. 297-298

Over the preschool period (ages 3 to 6)

1. physical aggression increases
2. verbal aggression decreases
3. unfocused temper tantrums become increasingly common

*d. there is a decline in the overall frequency of aggressive interactions

9-47, p. 298

Physical aggression

1. increases throughout childhood and adolescence
2. increases until first grade and then stabilizes

*c. is gradually replaced by verbal aggression during the preschool period

1. is rare after age 8

9-48, p. 298

Studies of children’s aggressive interactions in nursery school settings reveal that

1. aggression is usually hostile in character

*b. aggression is usually instrumental in character

1. aggression is directed primarily at inanimate objects
2. older nursery schoolers are more physically aggressive than their younger classmates

9-49, p. 298

One reason that the frequency of aggression declines from age 3 to 6 years is that children

1. become better at regulating anger and negative emotions
2. begin to internalize adult-specified rules of conduct
3. acquire other strategies for settling disputes

*d. all of these

9-50, p. 298-299

Elementary school children show more _____ aggression than preschool children because they are better able than preschoolers to _____.

*a. hostile; infer the aggressive intentions of other people

1. hostile; determine when they have harmed a victim
2. instrumental; infer the aggressive intentions of other people
3. instrumental; devise aggressive strategies to achieve their objectives

9-51, p. 298-299

Hostile aggression increases during the elementary school years because

1. children are better able to infer a provocator’s aggressive intent
2. retaliatory aggression is informally sanctioned by peers

*c. both of these

1. none of these; hostile aggression declines during the elementary school years

9-52, p. 299

A clear majority of aggressive acts that occur in children’s peer groups

*a. involve highly aggressive youngsters and overvictimized targets

1. are clearly provoked by the victims
2. both of these
3. none of these

9-53, p. 299-300

Recent research implies that _____ is very important at sustaining bullying activities

1. the popularity and social recognition that most bullies enjoy

*b. the support of friends

1. both of these
2. none of these

9-54, p. 300

Studies of habitual bullies reveal that these children tend to select _____ victims.

1. girls

*b. primarily weak, socially isolated peers

1. primarily other aggressive peers
2. primarily those peers who accidentally did them harm

9-55, p. 300

The fact that bullies pick on _____ and have seen aggression pay off for

perpetrators at home implies that most bullies qualify as _____ aggressors.

1. girls; reactive
2. other aggressive children; reactive

*c. physically weak targets; proactive

1. girls; proactive

9-56, p. 300 WWW

Compared to normal, nonvictimized classmates, most habitual victims of peer aggression _____ .

1. are disruptive braggarts who have unrealistically high self-esteem
2. are quick to defend themselves or their egos

*c. rarely invite the hostilities they receive

1. are disruptive braggarts who have unrealistically high self-esteem and are quick to defend themselves or their egos
2. none of these

9-57, p. 300

Research on the victims of aggression has shown that victims _____ .

1. are virtually always children who “ask for it” by engaging in provocative behavior and verbalizations
2. are virtually always children who are passive, weak, and nonprovocative
3. do not display any particular set of characteristics

*d. include both passive and provocative individuals who are rejected by peers

9-58, p. 300

Children who display the hostile attributional bias are at risk of becoming

1. habitual bullies
2. proactive aggressors
3. passive victims

*d. provocative victims

9-59, p. 300

Jorge is sometimes physically abused by a parent and is often pushed around by his three older siblings. Given his home environment, he is at risk of

becoming

*a. a provocative victim

1. a proactive aggressor
2. a passive victim
3. a habitual bully

9-60, p. 300

Some hot-headed, oppositional children are at risk of becoming ________, a class of kids that tends to be the most disliked of all.

1. bullies
2. passive victims

*c. bully/victims

1. relational aggressors

9-61, p. 300

Chronic victims are most likely to continue to be victimized over time when they

1. blame themselves for their victimization
2. have no friends to stick up for them

*c. both of these

1. none of these

9-62, p. 300-301

Chronic victims may find it difficult to make friendships that might protect them from being victimized because

1. they lack social skills
2. other children may avoid them for fear of losing social status
3. other children may avoid them for fear of being victimized themselves
4. they lack social skills and other children may avoid them for fear of losing social status

*e. all of these

9-63, p. 301

Youngsters who are bullied in instant messages or in online slam books

1. are not likely affected as negatively as they are by face-to-face bullying
2. are best advised to stick up for themselves by confronting electronic bullies
3. both of these

*d. none of these

9-64, p. 301-302

From middle childhood through adolescence

1. the general incidence of physical aggression declines
2. arrests for assault and other serious violence increase

*c. both of these

1. none of these

9-65, p. 301-302

From middle childhood through adolescence

1. overt aggression declines
2. covert forms of antisocial conduct increase

*c. both of these

1. none of these