Deck 11: Aggression

Question 1

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates aggression?

A) Felix and Oscar engage in a heated debate concerning the merits of the Big Mac versus the Whopper.
B) Maude trips over the scooter her son absentmindedly left in the driveway.
C) In his attempt to save Samantha from dying, Darin breaks three of her ribs while performing CPR.
D) Ginger kicks MaryAnn in the shins to keep her from eating the last coconut pie.

Answer 1

Ginger kicks MaryAnn in the shins to keep her from eating the last coconut pie.

Question 2

The fact that groping schoolgirls on the train in Japan is not uncommon illustrates that

A) what is unacceptable aggression in relation to children differs across cultures.
B) what is unacceptable aggression in relation to children is consistent across cultures.
C) collectivist cultures are hypersexualized.
D) collectivist cultures are repressed sexually.

Answer 2

what is unacceptable aggression in relation to children differs across cultures.

Question 3

Which of the following best illustrates chikan, a practice widely criticized in Japan?

A) People who sell drugs on the street are disciplined through public "vigilante" punishment rather than facing legal actions.
B) Teachers in school are allowed to use caning as a disciplinary method on children as young as four years of age.
C) Mothers take their daughters away from the home to raise them in solitude until they reach the age of three years.
D) Adult businessmen grope schoolgirls who ride public transportation.

Answer 3

Adult businessmen grope schoolgirls who ride public transportation.

Question 4

Which of the following situations best illustrates instrumental aggression?

A) When Buster finds out that his favorite television show has been preempted by the presidential debates, he kicks Gob, who just happens to be standing nearby.
B) After getting fired from his job at the nuclear power plant, Homer pulls out his semiautomatic machine gun and shoots at the squirrels in his backyard.
C) Karen pinches Grace until Grace finally moves out of the way so that Karen can get to the liquor cabinet.
D) Edith stabs her husband Archie with a fork when she finds out that he totally forgot her birthday.

Question 5

College students in the U.S. tend to be more likely than those of other nations to disapprove of

A) violence against young girls.
B) gun violence.
C) a husband slapping his wife.
D) bullying.

Question 6

The Amish, the Hutterites, and the Mennonites are all examples of societies that live in the violent United States without, for the most part, having become violent themselves. What is a similar type of nonviolent culture that resides in Southern Mexico?

A) Paliyan
B) Batek
C) Zapotec
D) Glwi

Question 7

A negative, antagonistic attitude toward another person or group is called

A) emotional aggression.
B) hostility.
C) anger.
D) instrumental aggression.

Question 8

Group attacks against other groups are less prevalent in

A) the Middle East.
B) Eastern Europe.
C) Africa.
D) the United States.

Question 9

Robbing a bank because you need money is an example of ____ aggression.

A) proactive
B) emotional
C) institutional
D) reactive

Question 10

The term that best describes the difference between aggression and violence is

A) extremity.
B) intent.
C) affect.
D) hostility.

Question 11

One form of aggression that is prevalent across virtually all cultures is

A) violence against young girls.
B) gun violence.
C) domestic violence.
D) bullying.

Question 12

When Katie found out that her brother Matt had pulled the heads off all of her Barbie dolls, she threw her Easy Bake oven at him. Katie's behavior illustrates ____ aggression.

A) instrumental
B) proactive
C) incompatible
D) reactive

Question 13

Which of the following would decrease the likelihood that Chris would behave in a physically aggressive manner?

A) If Chris is a teenager
B) If Chris is male
C) If Chris is drunk
D) If Chris is gay

Question 14

Craig and colleagues (2000) set up hidden cameras and microphones in a Canadian schoolyard and found that bullying in midsized schools occurred at a rate of ____ episodes per hour.

A) 1
B) 4.5
C) 7.25
D) 10

Question 15

Proactive is the same as ____ aggression, while reactive is the same as ____ aggression.

A) instrumental; emotional
B) emotional; instrumental
C) relational; impersonal
D) impersonal; relational

Question 16

What was evident from the research by Forbes and others (2009, 2011) about how levels of aggression differed in individualist versus collectivist cultures?

A) Aggression levels were highest in the United States, a highly individualist culture.
B) Aggression levels were highest in China, a highly collectivist culture.
C) Aggression levels were lowest in the United States, a highly collectivist culture.
D) Both the United States and China had equally high levels of aggression.

Question 17

Whitley feels intensely displeased that Lena deliberately left the tuna fish sandwich sitting out in the sun so that Whitley would get food poisoning after she ate it. Whitley's emotional response would best be described as

A) instrumental aggression.
B) hostility.
C) anger.
D) displacement.

Question 18

The defining characteristic of aggression is that the aggressor

A) intends to harm another living being.
B) actually causes physical or psychological harm.
C) is angry or otherwise emotionally aroused during the aggressive act.
D) derives enjoyment from the aggressive act.

Question 19

U.S. citizens tend to be more likely than those of other nations to engage in

A) politically motivated violence directed toward groups.
B) mob violence at sporting events.
C) violence against young girls.
D) gun-related violence against individuals.

Question 20

Aggressive behavior whereby harm is inflicted as a means to a desired end is known as ____ aggression.

A) proactive
B) reactive
C) emotional
D) relational

Question 21

According to the study of traits associated with aggression, if Bettina is extremely Type A, she will tend to

A) be more aggressive than most people across situations.
B) rely more on verbal versus physical aggression.
C) be more aggressive than other people when provoked.
D) exhibit more relational than overt forms of aggression.

Question 22

Regarding self-esteem and aggression, which of the following statements is false ?

A) Narcissism is a good predictor of aggression.
B) Low self-esteem is a good predictor of aggression.
C) Narcissism is correlated with aggression in response to provocation.
D) High self-esteem is predictive of aggression when combined with narcissism and provocation.

Question 23

Campbell proposed that women are more likely than men to use relational aggression because women

A) lack direct access to wealth.
B) have lower levels of testosterone.
C) place more of a value on their own lives and therefore avoid risky behaviors.
D) do not want to risk physically harming the father of their offspring.

Question 24

Which of the following statements is emphasized in Smith's (2007) book, which relates human evolution to warfare?

A) Pacifists have a greater chance for reproductive success.
B) Pacifism is likely to become part of human nature.
C) Warriors have a greater chance for reproductive success.
D) Warriors are least likely to be accepted as part of the group.

Question 25

Evolutionary accounts of aggression emphasize the

A) role of aggression in securing food and land.
B) contribution of genetics and hormones to aggressive behavior.
C) importance of intrapsychic conflict in aggressive behavior.
D) role of aggression in securing a mate.

Question 26

A murder has been committed. Given the research on homicide, which of the following is most likely?

A) The victim was black and the murdered was white.
B) The murder occurred in the eastern United States.
C) The murderer belongs to a culture of honor.
D) The murderer and victim were of the same race.

Question 27

Which of the following personality factors is most strongly associated with aggression?

A) Being low in agreeableness
B) Being low in conscientiousness
C) Being high in neuroticism
D) Being high in openness to experiences

Question 28

Which of the following statements is most consistent with evolutionary explanations of aggression?

A) Children are more likely to be abused by their biological parents than by stepparents.
B) Male-to-female violence is predominantly triggered by sexual jealousy.
C) Male-to-male violence is triggered by a rise in testosterone.
D) Different cultures demonstrate different levels of aggressiveness.

Question 29

In which region of the United States is the murder rate consistently the highest?

A) The Midwest
B) The Northeast
C) The South
D) The West Coast

Question 30

Which of the following statements regarding the relationship between gender and aggression is false ?

A) In virtually every culture, males are more violent than females.
B) Men are more likely to commit a homicide and are more likely to be the victim of a murder than women.
C) Males are more likely to engage in risky, self-destructive behavior than females.
D) Boys demonstrate more overt and relational forms of aggression than do girls.

Question 31

Char ice, a teenaged girl, is angry with her friend, so she tells all her other friends that this girl has had sex with most of the football team. Carmen's behavior illustrates ____ aggression.

A) indirect
B) hostile
C) physical
D) overt

Question 32

What is the nature of the relationship between self-control and aggression?

A) Clear and consistent negative correlation
B) Ambiguous and inconsistent correlation
C) Clear and consistent positive correlation
D) One that is mediated by self-esteem

Question 33

The relatively greater violence rates in the southern United States have been attributed to

A) greater variability of temperature in the South than in the North.
B) the manner in which residents of the South respond to status threats.
C) the ratio of males to females living in the South.
D) the age demographics of the South.

Question 34

Compared to straight men, gay men are

A) less likely to physically aggress, but equally likely to engage in indirect aggression.
B) less likely to both physically and indirectly aggress.
C) more likely to physically aggress, but less likely to engage in direct aggression.
D) more likely to both physically and indirectly aggress.

Question 35

According to an evolutionary perspective, males are competitive with each other because

A) females are predisposed to sexual jealousy.
B) males select high-status females for mating.
C) aggression enhances the male's confidence in the paternity of his offspring.
D) males use physical aggression to eliminate women who are unlikely to provide offspring.

Question 36

Though women are at least as likely as men to aggress in an intimate relationship, men's aggression in such relationships differs in that it typically

A) emerges in the face of provocation.
B) has more severe consequences.
C) results from alcohol abuse.
D) is sexual in nature.

Question 37

The fact that the American population has been aging in recent years has been offered as an explanation for the

A) decrease in violent crimes.
B) increase in gun-related violence.
C) greater availability of violent pornography.
D) current overcrowded conditions in prisons.

Question 38

In Ainsworth and Mariner's (2014) study, male participants playing a reaction-time computer game were most likely to blast their opponent with an aversive noise in their headphones if

A) the participant was primed by viewing pictures of very attractive women and his opponent was regarded as being socially dominant.
B) the participant was primed by viewing pictures of very attractive women and his opponent was regarded as being of average social dominance.
C) the participant was primed by viewing pictures of less attractive women and his opponent was regarded as being socially dominant.
D) the participant was primed by viewing pictures of less attractive women and his opponent was regarded as being of average social dominance.

Question 39

Which of the following statements about gender differences in aggression is true ?

A) Men use more relational aggression than verbal aggression.
B) Women use relational aggression more than men.
C) When there is a clear provocation, men use much more overt aggression than women.
D) Women use more verbal aggression than indirect aggression.

Question 40

In which state is there most likely to exist a culture of honor?

A) Texas
B) Illinois
C) South Dakota
D) Rhode Island

Question 41

Chris is a playground bully. He finds that he can win the admiration of his peers by acting aggressively. Chris's aggressive behavior is encouraged by

A) positive reinforcement.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) positive punishment.
D) negative punishment.

Question 42

Finnegan notices his wife talking to another man and flies into a jealous rage. According to the evolutionary perspective, Finnegan's behavior is designed to

A) assert his social intelligence.
B) increase his confidence in the paternity of his offspring.
C) deflect the death instinct outward instead of inward.
D) increase the level of serotonin in his brain.

Question 43

One of the research studies on testosterone and aggression indicates that

A) it is surprising that women ever aggress given that they have no testosterone.
B) their relationship in human males is weaker and less reliable than expected.
C) very little regarding aggressive behavior is actually heritable.
D) their relationship disappears when examining samples of elderly adults.

Question 44

Consider a mother who slaps her son whenever he engages in aggression. If negative reinforcement is responsible for her behavior, what likely happens after she slaps him?

A) He ignores her.
B) He slaps her back.
C) He behaves more aggressively.
D) He behaves less aggressively.

Question 45

According to research on the role of the brain and executive function in predicting aggressive tendencies, when very aggressive teenagers witnessed a situation in which someone intentionally inflicted pain on another person, they exhibited brain activity associated with

A) being part of a group.
B) empathy.
C) experiencing rewards.
D) filtering sensory input.

Question 46

Drugs that ____ the level of serotonin tend to ____ aggression levels.

A) boost; lower
B) boost; increase
C) boost; not affect
D) decrease; raise

Question 47

From an evolutionary perspective of aggression, Vladas Griskevicius found that

A) women do not use aggression of any type to boost their status.
B) men are more likely to boost their status through indirect aggression.
C) women are more likely to boost their status through direct aggression.
D) men are more likely to boost their status through direct aggression.

Question 48

The only way that Britney can get her husband to stop leaving his dirty socks on the kitchen table is to pinch him every time he does it. Britney's aggressive behavior is perpetuated through the idea of

A) positive reinforcement.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) positive punishment.
D) negative punishment.

Question 49

Twin studies suggest that heritability explains ____ of the variation in aggression in children.

A) less than one quarter
B) between about a quarter and a third
C) between about a third and a half
D) between about a half and two-thirds

Question 50

The finding that male-to-male violence primarily occurs due to status challenges and male-to-female violence due to sexual jealousy conforms to the ____ perspective of aggression.

A) instinct
B) evolutionary
C) learning
D) sociocultural

Question 51

Mario and Luigi are trying to decide whether to spank their child when she does something undesirable. Research suggests that this type of punishment

A) will be most effective if she perceives her parents to be warm and supportive.
B) is very unlikely to lead their daughter to engage in serious aggression later in life.
C) is not used by many of their friends, if they are representative of U.S. citizens.
D) will cause their child to learn the rules of their family very quickly.

Question 52

Angelina is interested in whether the teenager she is preparing to adopt is likely to be aggressive as an adult. Research suggests that she would be wise to consider whether he

A) is a twin.
B) had aggressive biological parents.
C) has long fingers.
D) was born in a nation with a warm climate.

Question 53

Gershoff's (2002) meta-analysis of over 36,000 participants indicates a positive correlation between corporal punishment and other factors. Which of the following factors was not shown to have a positive correlation?

A) Aggression as a child
B) Aggression as an adult
C) Adult criminal behavior
D) Improved academic performance

Question 54

Each of the following individuals behaved aggressively, and each was punished for his or her aggression. For which of the following persons will the indicated punishment have the best chance of successfully reducing aggression?

A) Jake, who was punished immediately following his act of aggression
B) Keizer, who was extremely angry when punished for emotional aggression
C) Lakes, who was punished in a very angry, hostile manner by her parents
D) Danielle, who was punished for some of her aggressive acts but not for others

Question 55

Which of the following statements is more related to social learning theory?

A) North American hockey players are more likely called for aggressive penalties than European players.
B) Females tend to place a higher value on protecting their offspring than males.
C) Hunters are less likely to be aggressive than nonhunters after exposure to guns.
D) Chronically aggressive children tend to perceive hostile intent in others.

Question 56

Which research result would provide evidence that aggression is a heritable trait?

A) Identical twins reared together are more similar in their levels of aggressiveness than identical twins reared apart.
B) Adopted children are more similar in levels of aggressiveness to their adoptive parents than to their biological parents.
C) Fraternal twins are more similar in levels of aggressiveness than non-twin siblings.
D) Identical twins are more similar in levels of aggressiveness than fraternal twins.

Question 57

Which of the following theories states that behavior is learned through the observation of others as well as through the direct experience of rewards and punishments?

A) Multisystemic
B) Frustration-aggression
C) Social learning
D) I-cubed

Question 58

When aggression stops an undesired outcome or prevents it altogether, the aggressive behavior will increase in the future through the process of

A) positive reinforcement.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) positive punishment.
D) negative punishment.

Question 59

Research on brain and aggression indicates that poor executive functioning due to impaired prefrontal processing leads to

A) increased aggression.
B) behavioral change.
C) concussion.
D) high dehumanization.

Question 60

Which of the following statements is false regarding the relationship between testosterone and aggression?

A) A man of dominant status with high testosterone and low cortisol is less likely to aggress.
B) Males in college fraternities with lower testosterone levels tend to be socially responsible and to smile more.
C) This relationship is strong in both humans and animals.
D) Men have higher levels of testosterone than women.

Question 61

Nonie gets a new Barbie doll for her sixth birthday, and she immediately begins to punch, kick, and throw the doll around the house. Which of the following is likely to have contributed to this behavior?

A) Nonie saw Uncle Floyd yell at Auntie Mime when she threw her Barbie doll.
B) Nonie saw her cousin Bruce hug and kiss his Barbie doll.
C) Nonie just finished watching the new Barney beat up Barbie in a cartoon on television.
D) Nonie has been socialized in a stereotypical female role.

Question 62

Gee and Leith (2007) analyzed aggressive behavior in the National Hockey League (NHL). They concluded that players born in North America were more likely to resort to fighting to deal with their frustration because

A) hockey players generally have aggressive personalities.
B) they were always punished severely when they acted aggressively.
C) the sport of hockey makes people act aggressively.
D) they had been exposed to models of aggression in hockey from a young age.

Question 63

When his wife tells him that he cannot go out bowling with the guys, Homer gets mad and yells at his son, Bart. Homer's behavior is an example of

A) instrumental aggression.
B) catharsis.
C) displacement.
D) vicarious aggression.

Question 64

Of the following, the frustration-aggression hypothesis would probably be least effective as an explanation for

A) instrumental aggression.
B) emotional aggression.
C) hate crimes due to poor economy.
D) examples of road rage.

Question 65

Marty watches his older brother act nonaggressively after being provoked. According to social learning theory, Marty is subsequently likely to

A) act less aggressively and experience stronger restraints against aggression.
B) refrain from acting aggressively because he believes that he will be punished for aggressing.
C) experience catharsis and displace his aggression onto safer, more acceptable targets.
D) find more socially acceptable outlets for his impulses, such as rough sports.

Question 66

In observing aggressive behavior in children, Bandura et al. (1961) demonstrated that

A) children will follow an adult model's lead in terms of degree and nature of aggression demonstrated.
B) antisocial behaviors are mostly associated with highly aggressive children.
C) violent TV has little effect on the children's own aggressive tendencies.
D) physical punishment may curtail the aggressive tendencies of children.

Question 67

Aggressing against a substitute target because aggressive acts against the source of the frustration are inhibited by fear or lack of access is called

A) catharsis.
B) displacement.
C) rumination.
D) desensitization.

Question 68

Aggressive models teach aggressive behavior by all of the following except

A) teaching observers how to perform the aggressive act.
B) fostering positive attitudes toward aggression.
C) allowing observers to construct aggressive scripts.
D) increasing the frustration experienced by observers.

Question 69

Which of the following conclusions is least consistent with the original formulation of the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

A) The need to aggress in response to frustration can be reduced if the frustrated individual behaves in an aggressive but relatively harmless way toward an object that is not related to the source of the frustration.
B) The need to aggress in response to frustration is taught directly by reinforcement, important models, and the media, and can be "unlearned" if the reinforcements and models change.
C) The need to aggress in response to frustration is a psychological drive that resembles the physiological drive of seeking food in response to hunger.
D) The need to aggress in response to frustration can lead to nonviolent acts of aggression such as spreading rumors about someone or telling hostile jokes.

Question 70

A socialization explanation for gender differences in aggressive tendencies

A) would focus on differences between men and women in levels of hormones and neurotransmitters.
B) might consider ways in which parents react differently to the aggressive actions of young boys versus girls.
C) would suggest that such differences should be identical across different cultures.
D) should examine the genetic similarity between relatives who show high levels of aggression.

Question 71

The idea that frustration always elicits the motive to aggress and all aggression is caused by frustration is known as

A) the frustration-aggression hypothesis.
B) the negative affect model.
C) excitation transfer theory.
D) catharsis.

Question 72

Ethan has been released from jail in the United States and is applying for jobs in the South and the Northeast. Ethan is probably more likely to land interviews in the South than in the Northeast if he was in jail for

A) assaulting a person who taunted him in public about an affair with his wife.
B) committing fraud on a million-dollar insurance claim.
C) illegally importing cocaine across the border.
D) robbing a jewelry store owned by a member of a racial minority group.

Question 73

Which of the following cases is the best example of displacement?

A) A boy yells at his pet at home after a bad day at school.
B) An adolescent expresses more hostile attitudes after working out.
C) A football player commits aggressive penalties due to hot weather.
D) An aggressive child who is rejected by peers perceives hostile intent in others.

Question 74

Brown and others (2009) found the school violence is especially associated with

A) the presence of weapons in the school.
B) the culture of honor in the area.
C) the level of economic frustration in the geographic region.
D) the temperature of the day.

Question 75

Based on the principles of social learning theory, which of the following measures is most likely to be successful in teaching a child to act nonviolently?

A) Punishing the child physically for acting aggressively
B) Exposing the child to older models who are punished harshly for acting aggressively
C) Exposing the child to older models who act nonaggressively in response to provoking situations
D) Teaching the child how to displace frustrations and anger through role-playing

Question 76

Ryan was abused as a child. He is now married to a woman who abuses him, and he is physically abusive toward his child. This pattern of behavior is consistent with

A) the negative affect escape model.
B) the arousal affect model.
C) frustration-aggression hypothesis.
D) the cycle of violence.

Question 77

Which of the following statements concerning a culture of honor is true ?

A) It is more prevalent among women than men.
B) It is more prevalent in the northern United States than in the southern United States.
C) It is a product of socialization that can influence the tendency to aggress.
D) It is produced by differences in testosterone and serotonin levels.

Question 78

The transmission of domestic violence across generations is called the

A) cultivation of honor.
B) rumination/frustration hypothesis.
C) domestic desensitization effect.
D) cycle of violence.

Question 79

Deion is least likely to imitate the aggressive behaviors of Darcy if Darcy

A) is a cartoon character.
B) is punished for behaving aggressively.
C) is rewarded for behaving aggressively.
D) experiences catharsis following the aggressive behavior.

Question 80

Nisbett and Cohen (1996) found that among ____ in the American South, there was a greater acceptance of the notion that a man has a right to kill in defense of his family and his house.

A) black women
B) white women
C) black men
D) white men