Deck 11: Aggression

Question 1

According to the text, aggression always:

A) involves emotional arousal
B) causes physical pain
C) is committed by someone who has been deliberately provoked
D) involves intent to harm or destroy
E) involves any act that is injurious to another person

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Based on the text's definition, aggression includes:

A) a police officer shooting an armed murderer
B) a dentist drilling a tooth
C) a driver running over an unseen child
D) a doctor cutting into a patient
E) none of the above

Answer 2

A

Question 3

According to Pinker (2011), what is the situation regarding violence today in the world?

A) more than ever
B) less than ever
C) more in the highly industrialized countries
D) fewer wars but more murders
E) more wars but fewer murders and rapes

Answer 3

B

Question 4

An armed robber strikes you after forcibly taking your money. This is known as:

A) predatory aggression
B) misattributed aggression
C) reactive aggression
D) intentional aggression
E) instrumental aggression

Question 5

The difference between reactive aggression and proactive aggression is that:

A) reactive aggression involves only emotional harm while proactive aggression involves physical harm
B) proactive aggression occurs when an individual uses a weapon to inflict the harm or injury
C) proactive aggression is a means to an end, while reactive aggression is motivated by anger and the desire to harm
D) proactive aggression is motivated by anger and appears to have as its end the infliction of harm on someone while reactive aggression is intended only to scare someone away
E) reactive aggression is based on instincts while proactive aggression is based on classical conditioning

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of proactive aggression?

A) a driver runs over an unseen child
B) a physician administers a painful injection to a struggling child
C) a child yells angrily at his teacher
D) a schoolyard bully pushes someone down in order to take his candy
E) a dentist drills a tooth to prepare for a gold crown

Question 7

Which of the following is true regarding aggression?

A) anger involves the limbic system arousal
B) anger involves inhibition of the limbic system
C) it is always an indication of the intermittent explosive disorder
D) fear often instigates aggression
E) none of the above

Question 8

In their study of the influence of perceived intent on aggressive behaviour, Rule and Nesdale found that:

A) when participants were insulted, those in the prosocial condition gave more intense shocks than those in the hostile condition
B) when participants were not insulted, those in the hostile condition gave more intense shocks than those in the prosocial condition
C) when participants were insulted, those in the hostile condition gave less intense shocks than those in the no-shock condition
D) when participants were insulted, there were no differences between the prosocial and hostile conditions
E) when participants were not insulted, those in the prosocial condition gave more intense shocks than those in the hostile condition

Question 9

The view that aggression is the result of the displacement of the accumulated energy from the death instinct outward onto others is known as:

A) the sociopathic hypothesis
B) the psychoanalytic approach to aggression
C) the ethological approach to aggression
D) the modelling hypothesis
E) the frustration-aggression theory

Question 10

The initial version of the frustration-aggression hypothesis suggested that:

A) frustration is always followed by aggression
B) aggression is always followed by frustration
C) every instance of aggression is preceded by some sort of frustration
D) aggression is a frequent cause of frustration
E) both a and c

Question 11

In Berkowitz' reformulation of the frustration-aggression hypothesis in terms of aversively-stimulated aggression, he argues that:

A) unpleasant events produce only the motivation to escape
B) unpleasant events produce only the motivation to attack
C) unpleasant events produce the motivation to escape and the motivation to attack
D) unpleasant events produce frustration
E) unpleasant events produce increased awareness of escape routes

Question 12

In a revision of the frustration-aggression hypothesis, Berkowitz has theorized that:

A) frustration produces escape more often than aggression
B) cognitive appraisal will affect the extent to which frustration produces negative feelings
C) aggression is learned through a modelling effect
D) there exists a biological predisposition for frustration to result in aggression
E) aggression must be defined separately for humans and animals

Question 13

According to Berkowitz' aversively-stimulated aggression theory:

A) cognitive appraisal will influence the extent to which frustrations produce negative feelings
B) cognitive factors play no role in aversively-stimulated aggression
C) reinforcement does not seem to influence such aggression
D) such aggression occurs only in animals, and not in humans
E) humans are too smart to react aggressively to negative stimuli

Question 14

According to the kinship principle:

A) aggression is more probable towards close relatives
B) we are related to the people that we aggress against
C) aggression is based on genetic predispositions
D) the murder rate of step-children by step-parents is higher than that to biological children
E) individuals share more genes with their spouses that with their relatives

Question 15

Aggression arises when people are unable to release energy in socially accepted ways. This is an example of __________.

A) the ethological approach to aggression
B) the frustration-aggression hypothesis
C) the sociopathic hypothesis
D) the psychoanalytic approach to aggression
E) the modelling hypothesis

Question 16

A process by which built-up aggressive energy is released is known as:

A) catharsis
B) frustration
C) anger
D) instrumental aggression
E) ethology

Question 17

According to the evolutionary theory:

A) human aggression has evolved along with every other species
B) human aggression is more advanced than that of lower species
C) human aggression should be obsolete because it is counter to evolutionary advantage
D) human aggression has evolved through natural selection
E) catharsis protects us from destroying ourselves

Question 18

Research indicates regarding genetics and aggression:

A) brains differ in susceptibility to being aggressive
B) brains differ in plasticity, hence to susceptibility to environmental influence
C) specific genes have been identified for different types of aggression
D) maltreated children with a specific gene are more likely to exhibit antisocial behaviour
E) both b and d

Question 19

According to Berkowitz, which of the following best accounts for the effect on aggression resulting from the pairing of weapons and aggression on television?

A) instrumental conditioning
B) aversively-stimulated aggression
C) desensitization
D) classical conditioning
E) displacement

Question 20

Which of the following concepts or theories is sometimes used to defend television and film violence?

A) instinct-based theories
B) ethological approach
C) catharsis
D) frustration-aggression hypothesis
E) self-arousal hypothesis

Question 21

Proactive aggression is associated with _____ while reactive aggression is linked to the __________.

A) prefrontal cortex, limbic system
B) limbic system, prefrontal cortex
C) brain plasticity, sociopathy
D) sociopathy, psychopathy
E) none of the above

Question 22

Which of the following is a research finding which contradicts the cathartic view of aggression reduction?

A) witnessing or participating in aggression does not necessarily reduce aggressiveness
B) aggression has a biological basis
C) aggression is a learned behaviour
D) only certain types of aggression are affected by catharsis
E) neurological treatments can reduce aggressive behaviour

Question 23

The textbook concludes that, with regard to the role of physiological factors in human aggression:

A) such factors force us to react with aggression in some situations
B) some people are more genetically prone to aggression
C) brain tumours are a major cause of violence
D) whether we fight or run away depends on what we have learned to do in the past and on how society encourages us to respond
E) pain and suffering are responsible for most aggression

Question 24

Aggression has been linked to which hormone?

A) thyroid-stimulating
B) testosterone
C) cortisol
D) prostaglandin
E) serotonin

Question 25

A strictly physiological approach cannot fully explain aggression in humans because:

A) the effect of physiological factors is too direct
B) it is not always possible to test physiological factors in humans
C) we have free will
D) much of our aggressive behaviour clearly is learned
E) aggressive acts fall under legal jurisdictions in humans

Question 26

Bandura's study of aggression in which children watched a film in which an aggressive model was either rewarded or punished:

A) children engaged in more aggressive behaviour after watching an aggressive model who was not punished
B) children engaged in less aggressive behaviour after watching an aggressive model who was not punished
C) children said that they disapproved of the aggression, whether or not the model was punished
D) children were more likely to copy the behaviour of the model if the model smiled rather than scowled
E) both a and c

Question 27

Which of the following statements is true?

A) a model may facilitate behaviour already in the repertoire of an individual
B) a model's aggressive behaviour can heighten emotional arousal which in turn can lead to more aggressive behaviour
C) adults can be led to imitate a model's behaviour, especially if the model is rewarded or at least not punished
D) all of the above
E) both b and c

Question 28

The notion that aggression is learned through the imitation of others is proposed by:

A) classical conditioning theory
B) social learning theory
C) ethological theory
D) psychoanalytic theory
E) frustration-aggression hypothesis

Question 29

Which of the following is a role played by parents in the rearing of children?

A) they teach the child how to interpret the social environment
B) they provide models for the children to imitate
C) they set standards of conduct and enforce rules
D) both a and b
E) all of the above

Question 30

Repeated experience in childhood, personal or observing models leads to the development of ________ regarding police officers.

A) aggressive tendencies
B) cognitive scripts
C) reinforcement of aggression
D) cognitive appraisal
E) career choices

Question 31

Bullying has been linked to being raised in a home characterized by:

A) family conflict
B) punitive parenting
C) participation in aggressive ports
D) both a and b
E) both b and c

Question 32

Who of the following are more at risk of being bullied?

A) children with developmental difficulties
B) students identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual
C) boys perceived as not 'masculine enough'
D) all of the above
E) both b and c

Question 33

Who are most likely to have aggressive children?

A) hostile parents
B) parents who are cold and rejecting
C) permissive parents
D) parents who use physical punishment
E) frustrated parents

Question 34

In a study in several European countries, about what percent of adolescents reported themselves as having been bullied?

A) 3%-7%
B) 13%-17%
C) 23%-27%
D) 33%-37%
E) 93%-97%

Question 35

Longitudinal research has shown that:

A) children from aggressive families are more likely to marry aggressive individuals
B) children from aggressive families are more likely to be aggressive than those from non-aggressive families
C) children from aggressive families are less likely to be aggressive than those from non-aggressive families
D) a and b
E) none of the above

Question 36

In their longitudinal study of aggression, Nagin and Tremblay (1999) found that:

A) most of the boys who were particularly aggressive in kindergarten were still aggressive in high school
B) few of the boys who were particularly aggressive in kindergarten were still aggressive in high school
C) girls who were aggressive in kindergarten were still aggressive in high school
D) children who were aggressive in kindergarten and came from aggressive families but not those who came from more peaceful families became more aggressive in high school
E) continued aggression from kindergarten through secondary school depended on genetic factor

Question 37

The differential susceptibility model refers to:

A) greater sensitivity to stimulation in the social environment
B) genetic variation in brain plasticity
C) harsh treatment from parents
D) both a and b
E) both b and c

Question 38

Research (Tolan, Gorman-Smith & Henry, 2006) indicates that _______ accounts for the majority of violent acts in any given society.

A) sexual assaults
B) domestic violence
C) bullying
D) terrorism
E) ice hockey

Question 39

Which of the following is best supported by research evidence?

A) every child who has been abused will become an abusive parent
B) every child who grew up watching family violence will become a harsh and abusive parent
C) most child abusers were themselves abused as children
D) greater likelihood of child abuse if parent had been abused as a child
E) most abused children become delinquents

Question 40

From the results of longitudinal research, which of the following statements is false?

A) the aggressive propensity of males tends to stabilize at the age of three
B) it is more difficult for children with a low IQ to learn aggressive behaviours
C) the aggressiveness of children decreases as they learn coping strategies
D) aggression is perpetuated within the family
E) it is more difficult to predict how aggressive a female will be as an adult based on her aggressiveness as a child

Question 41

In a 15-year study of over 1000 boys in Montreal, about how many who were rated as aggressive as children were aggressive as adolescents?

A) about 1 in 10
B) about 1 in 8
C) about 1 in 6
D) about 1 in 4 e about 50%

Question 42

A person who lacks empathy, remorse, has little concern for the feelings of others and exhibits weak self-control is referred to as:

A) an authoritarian person
B) a sadist
C) a lunatic
D) a psychopath
E) an uncontrolled person

Question 43

Individuals who have a psychopathic personality:

A) have little concern for the feelings and well-being of others
B) exhibit weak self-control and impulsiveness
C) show little fear of punishment
D) receive more convictions for violent crimes and behave more violently in prison than do other inmates
E) all of the above

Question 44

Which of the following are methods to study the effects of violent television?

A) laboratory experiments
B) field studies, participants assigned to a television 'diet' high or low in violence
C) correlational studies
D) longitudinal studies
E) all of the above

Question 45

Research in Western countries and Japan shows what about the effects of violent video games on aggressive behaviour?

A) exposure to violent games is a causal risk factor on aggressive thoughts and behaviours
B) exposure to violent games is a causal risk factor on aggressive thoughts but not on behaviour
C) exposure to violent games is caused by previously established aggressive behaviour
D) exposure to violent games is a causal risk factor on aggressive thoughts and behaviours in Western countries but not in Japan
E) exposure to violent games is a causal risk factor on aggressive behaviours but not on aggressive thoughts

Question 46

What is a methodological problem in studies of the effects of video games on aggressive behaviour?

A) the effect may be due to excitement rather than violence
B) the effect may be due to competitiveness rather than violence
C) the effect may be due to prior preferences for violence
D) both a and b
E) both b and c

Question 47

Studies by Bushman and Gibson (2011), in which participants played a violent or non-violent video game and were tested for aggression next day, found that those who played the violent game:

A) were more aggressive next day
B) were not more aggressive next day
C) were more aggressive if they have ruminated (thought) about the game
D) were more aggressive if they had not ruminated about the game
E) were more aggressive only if tested on the same game

Question 48

Studies by Bushman and Gibson (2011), in which participants played a violent or non-violent video game and were tested for aggression next day, found that those who played the violent game:

A) were more aggressive next day if female
B) were more aggressive if ruminating and female
C) were more aggressive next day if ruminating and male
D) were more aggressive next day if male
E) were less aggressive next day in all conditions

Question 49

Violence perpetrated in the hope of gaining media attention is called:

A) the Jack the Ripper effect
B) copycat aggression
C) stimulus pairing effect
D) all of the above e none of the above

Question 50

The weapons effect is an example of:

A) stimulus pairing
B) social modelling
C) copycat aggression
D) stimulus response
E) all of the above

Question 51

The type of procedure used in the study in which Eron et al. (1972) examined the relationship between viewing of violence at age eight and aggression at age 18, and the relationship between aggression at age eight and violence viewing at 18 is known as:

A) a longitudinal study
B) a cross-lagged procedure
C) a cross-sectional study
D) a field experiment
E) a correlational study

Question 52

Habitual exposure to media violence can lead to greater tolerance for violence through:

A) stimulus pairing
B) sensitization
C) desensitization
D) resensitization
E) sensory deprivation

Question 53

Which category of people is usually used to study the effects of media violence?

A) children
B) women
C) prisoners
D) college students
E) TV addicts

Question 54

Which of the following is a major source of social psychological evidence on the effects of viewing violent television?

A) field studies
B) laboratory experiments
C) correlational studies
D) both a and c
E) all of the above

Question 55

Research on the relationship between viewing TV violence and violent behaviour suggests that:

A) individuals already prone to aggression are more likely to choose to watch violence
B) personality differences may influence individual cognitive responses to TV violence
C) personality differences may affect individual emotional responses to portrayals of violence
D) all of the above
E) b and c

Question 56

In a study by Carnagey, Anderson & Bushman (2007), participants played a violent video game for 20 minutes and then watched a violent film. Compared to participants who did not play the game. They showed:

A) more aggression after the film
B) less aggression after the film
C) their heart rates and galvanic skin responses were lower during the film
D) their heart rates and galvanic skin responses were higher during the film
E) their hearts stopped beating

Question 57

A decrease in emotional response due to repeated exposure to aggression is known as:

A) habituation
B) priming
C) desensitization
D) catharsis
E) saturation

Question 58

When repeated exposure to aggression leads to lowered autonomic responses to aggression, this is referred to as:

A) extinction
B) desensitization
C) catharsis
D) immunity
E) saturation

Question 59

In the context of Berkowitz' studies of aggression, 'stimulus pairing' refers to:

A) a generalized emotional reaction to aggression-related stimuli
B) a specific emotional response to pairs of aggressive stimuli
C) the activation of a series of aggression-related thoughts and feelings by a certain stimulus such as a gun
D) an increase in emotional response due to repeated exposure to aggression
E) a diversity of emotional responses which have been paired with particular stimuli

Question 60

Male participants view a series of violent films over several days. Both self-reports and measures of arousal decreased over that time. Three days after viewing the last film, participants:

A) were less aggressive towards a victim
B) expressed greater sympathy towards victims of domestic violence
C) expressed less sympathy towards victims of domestic violence
D) were less violent themselves in a domestic situation
E) were less aroused

Question 61

The contagion view of aggression suggests that:

A) aggressiveness can be transferred from person to person
B) when certain emotions are released, a person becomes frustrated and acts aggressively
C) there is a generalization of desensitization to violence in many forms
D) publicized acts of violence result in an increased incidence of such acts
E) none of the above

Question 62

When President Kennedy was assassinated, there was an increase in violent crimes in the US. This supports the concept of:

A) social norms
B) instrumental aggression
C) the bandwagon effect
D) deindividuation
E) contagion

Question 63

Media violence cultivates a perception of the world as a dangerous place. How does this correspond to reality?

A) media accurately reflect what is happening in society
B) media accurately reflect the society and serve a useful purpose in encouraging people to be on guard
C) the rate of violent crime in most Western nations has declined over the past two decades
D) the rate of violent crime in most Western nations has increased over the past two decades
E) both a and d

Question 64

If a weapon is either real or viewed in films, and is repeatedly observed to be used in a violent context, this can lead to the weapon by itself eliciting thoughts and feelings associated with violence. This is known as:

A) sensitization
B) semantic meaning
C) stimulus pairing
D) active attributions
E) desensitization

Question 65

The desensitization explanation of aggression postulates that:

A) repeated exposure to aggression leads to an increased acceptance of aggressive behaviour
B) repeated exposure to aggression primes aggressive behaviour
C) repeated exposure to aggression can be beneficial if carefully monitored
D) repeated exposure to aggression leads to imitation of the aggressive acts
E) repeated exposure to aggression leads to lowered autonomic responses to aggression

Question 66

A publicized crime results in an increased incidence of the crime. This is an example of:

A) cognitive neo-associationism
B) contagion
C) desensitization
D) generalization
E) authoritarianism

Question 67

Televised violence may have indirect effect(s) such as:

A) increased apprehension
B) imitation
C) desensitization
D) stimulus pairing
E) all of the above

Question 68

Pornography in which women are portrayed as enjoying being sexually victimized has been shown in research to:

A) promotes rape myths
B) instigate sexual violence
C) has no effect on sexual callousness
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 69

A large meta-analysis of studies on adolescent sexual offenders shows that they were more likely than others to have:

A) experienced sexual violence
B) experienced abuse or neglect
C) social isolation
D) early exposure to pornography
E) all of the above

Question 70

Participants watched neutral or sexually explicit videos with strong or subordinate female characters. When the female character was subordinate, female participants reported ______ and male participants more _______.

A) anxiety, depression
B) anxiety, sexist attitudes
C) anxiety, anxiety
D) depression, sexual arousal
E) sexual arousal, sexual arousal

Question 71

According to the text, most firearms deaths were:

A) suicides
B) homicides
C) accidental deaths
D) suspects fleeing police
E) intruders committing robberies

Question 72

In the film Crash (Cronenberg, 1996), people amplified their sexual arousal by deliberately being in car crashes. This portrays what social psychology principle?

A) stimulus pairing
B) modified frustration-aggression
C) excitation transfer
D) excitation pairing
E) none of the above

Question 73

The intensity of 'make-up' sec following a quarrel illustrates:

A) frustration-aggression
B) excitation transfer
C) stimulus pairing
D) resensitization
E) all of the above

Question 74

According to the text, in 1997 __________ of all homicides were committed with a firearm.

A) one-quarter
B) one-third
C) one-half
D) two-thirds
E) three-quarters

Question 75

Some cultures maintain a _________ that insists on violent retribution against someone who brings dishonor to the self or family.

A) patriarchy
B) low frustration tolerance
C) code of honour
D) glorification of violence
E) stimulus pairing

Question 76

Neighbourhoods that are low in ______ are more prone to violence.

A) social support
B) social capital
C) cultural resources
D) effective policing
E) all of the above

Question 77

Kawachi et al (1999) found that the strongest correlate of violent crime across various communities were measures of:

A) social support
B) access to violent media presentations
C) peer pressures
D) social capital
E) societal capitalism

Question 78

Studies of violent crimes show that both the perpetrator and victim tend strongly to be:

A) male
B) female
C) both genders
D) rich
E) poor

Question 79

The fact that androgens are related to male aggression:

A) means that men cannot be expected to learn to be peaceful
B) applies only to animals and not to humans
C) indicates that aggression is caused to some degree by hormones
D) may reflect the fact that androgens enhance musculature and increase available energy, thus increasing the likelihood that aggression will be useful in attaining certain goals
E) may reflect the fact that androgens produce a strong tendency to react quickly to any stimulation and to experience a heightened level of fear

Question 80

Female aggression tends to be:

A) proactive
B) reactive
C) impulsive
D) indirect
E) rare