Deck 12: Aggression: Why Do We Hurt Other People

Question 1

For twenty years,Debbie has bottled up her resentment toward her mother.Not coincidentally,she's developed a horrible skin rash,cannot sleep,and has lost her appetite.Debbie's situation is an example of

A)hostile aggression.
B)misplaced aggression.
C)a Freudian concept of aggression.
D)instrumental aggression.

Answer 1

a Freudian concept of aggression.

Question 2

____ aggression is an act that stems from feelings of anger,and that is aimed at inflicting pain.

A)Misplaced
B)Hostile
C)Instrumental
D)Malicious

Answer 2

Hostile

Question 3

Hostile aggression differs from instrumental aggression in that instrumental aggression

A)often follows from anger or frustration.
B)is more destructive than hostile aggression.
C)is more likely to result in retaliation.
D)involves inflicting pain as a means to an end.

Answer 3

involves inflicting pain as a means to an end.

Question 4

Whenever Jeff becomes angry,he suppresses his emotions.He continues to hold in these feelings,and they build up until one day he explodes and punches his hand through a wall.Jeff's behavior is an illustration of

A)the hydraulic theory of aggression.
B)instrumental aggression.
C)social learning theory.
D)Eros.

Question 5

____ aggression is an act in the service of a goal that does not involve the infliction of pain.

A)Misplaced
B)Hostile
C)Instrumental
D)Oblique

Question 6

According to the authors of your text,the same act may be considered aggression or not depending on

A)whether physical harm was actually done.
B)whether physical or psychological harm was done.
C)whether physical or psychological harm was intended.
D)whether the act was due to anger or was a means to an end.

Question 7

The goal of ____ aggression is to inflict pain; the goal of ____ aggression is to achieve some other outcome.

A)hostile; instrumental
B)hostile; functional
C)functional; instrumental
D)biological; evolutionary

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of hostile rather than of instrumental aggression?

A)A farmer kills a pig for an Easter ham.
B)A golfer breaks a club over his knee.
C)A woman uses a fly swatter to kill a fly.
D)A soldier kills an enemy at war.

Question 9

Which of the following is the best example of hostile aggression?

A)Bernie is angry at his mother and screams at her,"I hate you!"
B)Angela threatens her younger brother to force him to give up a toy which belongs to her.
C)A lineman sacks a quarterback to put him out of the game.
D)An angry driver loses control and runs his car into a ditch.

Question 10

Mr.Jenkins was backing out of his driveway and accidentally hit his neighbor (whom he dislikes)as he was biking by.Why isn't this act aggressive?

A)Because no psychological harm was done.
B)Because Mr.Jenkins wasn't angry at the time.
C)The neighbor was defenseless.
D)It was unintentional.

Question 11

Your text provides the example of the Columbine High School shootings as an extreme example of aggression.Which of the following is not true about the shooting?

A)The shooters intended the massacre to be much worse.
B)The shooters were disgruntled high school teachers.
C)It is the worst school shooting in U.S.history.
D)Over a dozen people were injured and/or killed.

Question 12

Sigmund Freud asserted that aggressive urges must be released in some way,or else they will build until they produce physical or psychological illness.Given this specific assertion,Freud's is a(n) ____ model of aggression.

A)personality
B) evolutionary
C)hydraulic
D)instrumental

Question 13

____ is to instinct toward life as ____ is to instinct toward death.

A)Thomas Hobbes; Jean Jacques Rousseau
B)Eros; Thanatos
C)Ego; Id
D)Jean Jacques Rousseau; Sigmund Freud

Question 14

Julie is really interested in Tom.She flirts with him at lunch a few times,and finally asks him out for a drink on Friday.According to the authors of your text,Julie's behavior is

A)assertive.
B)aggressive.
C)masculine.
D)abnormal.

Question 15

Andrea asks her friends to spread a nasty rumor about her opponent for the office of class president to attempt to damage his reputation in the days before the election.This is an example of

A)instrumental aggression.
B)hostile aggression.
C)assertiveness.
D)extreme prejudice.

Question 16

Freud's concept of Thanatos is similar to the theory developed by

A)Thomas Hobbes.
B)Jean Jacques Rousseau.
C)Konrad Lorenz.
D)Albert Bandura.

Question 17

Which of the following is the best example of instrumental aggression?

A)Scott has a quick temper and gets into fights at parties.
B)An assassin kills a leader to ensure the success of a coup.
C)Angry at her boyfriend,Liz destroys his stereo.
D)Karin runs over her neighbor's cat.

Question 18

When Sigmund Freud (1930,p.67)wrote,"It is at work in every living being and is striving to bring it to ruin and to reduce life to its original condition of inanimate matter," he was referring to

A)instrumental aggression.
B)the death instinct.
C)evolutionary processes.
D)the Nazi war machine.

Question 19

According to most social psychologists,aggression is defined as

A)the intention to cause harm to or pain in another.
B)the infliction of harm or pain on another.
C)the intention to relieve frustration by harming another.
D)any action that results in physical or psychological pain in another.

Question 20

According to the social-psychological definition of "aggression," which of the behaviors below is the best example of aggression?

A)David is not paying attention and runs over the neighbor's cat as he backs out of the driveway.
B)Amanda asserts herself with her boss and makes a spirited argument for a raise.
C)A child throws a temper tantrum and tries to hit his father.
D)One basketball player fouls another when he is trying to shoot.

Question 21

According to Sigmund Freud,which of the following is an essential function that society serves?

A)making people more aggressive
B)turning aggressive energy into acceptable behavior
C)eliminating aggression from people
D)creating many outlets for sexual energy

Question 22

According to evolutionary theory,some psychologists argue that men are programmed to be aggressive.What is their explanation for this claim?

A)Men are stronger than women,thus more aggressive.
B)Men are socialized to be more aggressive.
C)Aggression may help men perpetuate their genes.
D)Acts of aggression and violence are attractive to many women.

Question 23

According to crime statistics reported by your text,when are males most likely to be violent?

A)between five and nine years of age
B)between fifteen and twenty-five years of age
C)between forty and fifty-five years of age
D)seventy years of age and older

Question 24

Researchers have found that humans kill members of their own kind at ____ rate ____.

A)the same; as bonobos
B)a lower; than bonobos
C)a higher; than chimpanzees
D)the same; as chimpanzees

Question 25

Based on the evolutionary explanations for aggression presented in your text,who is most likely to be aggressive?

A)An Asian American.
B)A woman.
C)An African American.
D)A man.

Question 26

Shortly after Mary and Robert were married,he became somewhat aggressive to other men who showed an interest in his wife,and made claims like,"Anyone who lays a hand on my woman has to go through me first." Such claims and aggression are explained by evolutionary theory as

A)displays of dominance.
B)acts of power.
C)domestic violence.
D)aggressive jealousy.

Question 27

Based on information presented in your text,what are the two evolutionary reasons why males are aggressive?

A)dominance and jealousy
B)hostility and instrumentality
C)jealousy and hostility
D)dominance and instrumentality

Question 28

In a primitive tribe,Shantu fights with the other young men his age to impress the young ladies.As it turns out,several young women are attracted to him because he seems to be able to protect them and is rising in social status.In essence,Shantu's aggression can be explained in evolutionary terms as a display of

A)jealousy.
B)dominance.
C)brutality.
D)fertility.

Question 29

Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1963)raised rats in isolation.When other rats were finally introduced into their cages,rats raised alone ____, suggesting that ____.

A)could not defend themselves; aggression is learned
B)used the same aggressive behaviors as other rats; aggression need not be learned
C)did not aggress against them; instrumental aggression does not exist in nonhumans
D)fled from the new rats; aggression must be learned

Question 30

Evolutionary explanations for behavior are controversial for several reasons.Nonetheless,how true are the evolutionary explanations for aggression?

A)proven fact
B)theory supported by substantial research
C)They are speculations.
D)They have been disproven in recent years.

Question 31

Who is most likely to have said the following about human nature: "It is not determined by blood,but by the society we belong to."

A)Freud
B)Hobbes
C)Rousseau
D)Darwin

Question 32

Based on research conducted with nonhuman animals,it is reasonable to conclude that aggression

A)is not inevitable,but instead an optional strategy.
B)may be instinctive; very few species are able to suppress aggressive urges.
C)is not instinctive,but rather solely a result of learned processes.
D)is instinctive in all species except humans.

Question 33

According to the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau,what causes aggression in humans?

A)instincts that are evolved
B)genetics: family history of aggression
C)aggressive energy and impulses
D)the type of society one lives in

Question 34

Biologist Zing Yang Kuo (1961)demonstrated that a cat that had been raised from birth with a rat in the same cage would attack neither that specific rat nor other rats.This research suggests that

A)conflict over scarce resources contributes to aggression.
B)aggression is a learned response.
C)aggressive behavior is not instinctive.
D)aggressive instincts can be modified through experience.

Question 35

The chimpanzee shares 98 percent of its DNA with humans,and can be described as

A)the only non-human species that commits murder.
B)the only non-human species that steals from members of its own group.
C)extremely peaceful.
D)led by a female hierarchy.

Question 36

According to research presented by the authors of your text,humans' two closest primate relatives (sharing 98 percent of DNA with humans)are the ____,known for their aggressive nature,and the ____,known for their peaceful nature.

A)bonobos,chimpanzees
B)pygmy chimps,bonobos
C)chimpanzees,bonobos
D)bonobos,pygmy chimps

Question 37

According to evolutionary theory (as discussed by the authors of your text),why do males tend to be more violent in their teens and twenties?

A)They are having trouble finding their place in the world.
B)These are peak reproductive years.
C)They are starting puberty.
D)This is when anti-social personality disorder manifests.

Question 38

According to the authors of your text,the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau stand in contrast to the ideas of

A)B.F.Skinner.
B)Thomas Hobbes.
C)modern social psychology.
D)Albert Bandura.

Question 39

How does female-dominated society lead bonobos to deal with conflict?

A)They defuse tension by having sex.
B)There is aggressive conflict,but only among females.
C)There is aggressive conflict,but among both males and females in mixed sex combat.
D)They have a clear and unchallenged hierarchy with a female firmly in charge of the group.

Question 40

Complete the following analogy about the cause of aggression: Thomas Hobbes: ____:: Jean-Jacques Rousseau: ____.

A)inborn: society
B)Eros: Thanatos
C)inborn: Thanatos
D)society: inborn

Question 41

A neurotransmitter (brain chemical)whose lack is associated with aggression is

A)dopamine.
B)norepinephrine.
C)serotonin.
D)acetylcholine.

Question 42

Assume that Kyle grew up in the South,where a "culture of honor" predominates.Based on research conducted by Richard Nisbett and his colleagues (Cohen,Nisbett,Bowdie,& Schwarz,1996; Nisbett,1993), Kyle would be more likely than a Northerner to behave aggressively when

A)he feels his life is threatened.
B)someone insults him.
C)he has been drinking.
D)he has won a contest.

Question 43

According to the authors of your text,higher levels of serotonin serve to ____ aggression,while higher levels of testosterone serve to ____ aggression.

A)increase; stabilize
B)stabilize; decrease
C)increase; decrease
D)decrease; increase

Question 44

Survey research by Richard Nisbett (1993)has revealed that although Southerners are no more likely than Northerners to endorse aggression in general,

A)Southerners are more prone to aggress in response to insults.
B)the availability of handguns in the South produces more homicides there.
C)the "culture of honor" in the North encourages alternatives to aggression.
D)Southerners are less likely to endorse aggression at the service of self-protection.

Question 45

Bonobos are a close primate relative to humans,sharing 98 percent of human DNA.Bonobos are particularly interesting to use when studying aggression because

A)they are highly aggressive primates who are known to brutally attack one another.
B)they are led by a male hierarchy.
C)they are very peaceful and led by a female hierarchy.
D)they are the only other animal with the hormone testosterone.

Question 46

Most social psychologists regard aggressive behavior patterns as

A)infinitely modifiable and flexible.
B)completely due to culture,with no influence of biology.
C)inborn,but modifiable when threat is imminent.
D)expressing a limited range of responses to provocation.

Question 47

A study by Cohen and his colleagues (1996)demonstrated that when participants were first "accidentally" bumped,then called a disrespectful name,Northerners tended to react ____ Southerners.

A)more aggressively than
B)more assertively than
C)as aggressively as
D)less aggressively than

Question 48

____ is to neural cause of aggression as ____ is to chemical cause.

A)The amygdala; testosterone
B)Testosterone; subcortical stimulation
C)An evolutionary explanation; a biological explanation
D)Arousal; frustration

Question 49

James Dabbs and his colleagues have found that testosterone levels are significantly higher in men ____,suggesting a ____ contribution to aggression in humans.

A)from abusive homes; neurochemical
B)convicted of violent crimes; neurochemical
C)from lower socioeconomic backgrounds; social
D)convicted of property crimes; biological

Question 50

What,according to the social-psychological point of view,is inherited about aggression?

A)Nothing: aggression is completely learned from one's parents,peers,and culture.
B)a tendency to respond to provocation against an aggressor,which can be overridden
C)fixed action patterns of responding to certain "trigger" cues
D)patterns of threat and attack in response to challenge

Question 51

Stimulation of the amygdala in dominant rhesus monkeys often yields aggression,whereas stimulation of the amygdala in less dominant monkeys may yield either fight or flight,depending on the status of another nearby monkey (Moyer,1976).These results suggest that in nonhuman primates,

A)some additional structure at the core of the brain is involved in aggression.
B)both social and biological factors play a role in aggression.
C)aggression is primarily biologically determined.
D)group norms influence the acceptability of aggression.

Question 52

Richard Nisbett (1993)has conducted research pointing to regional differences in the propensity to aggress.Based on his findings,which of the men below would be more likely to beat up another man who called his wife "ugly"?

A)Jethro,who lives in New York City
B)Rocky,who is from Maine
C)Ted,who lives in Texas
D)Brian,who lives in rural Indiana

Question 53

Research suggests that men are more likely than women to interpret ____ situations as provocative and thus to respond aggressively.

A)insulting
B)frustrating
C)ambiguous
D)conciliatory

Question 54

In a "natural experiment" studying the level of aggressiveness in people undergoing a sex change,it was found that women who became men because more aggressive.One likely causal explanation is they

A)were more aggressive to start with.
B)are more aggressive because they are stigmatized.
C)are receiving testosterone,which is linked to aggression.
D)have larger amygdalas.

Question 55

The Pygmies of Central Africa and the Arapesh of New Guinea live in peace and harmony,while European history consists of one war after the other.Formerly peace-loving,the Iroquois became a fierce and aggressive Native American tribe in the seventeenth century.These examples illustrate that

A)in humans,innate behavioral patterns-including aggression-are infinitely malleable and modifiable.
B)frustration often contributes to aggression in otherwise peaceable societies.
C)there are strong regional differences in the endorsement of aggression as a solution to social problems.
D)humans,lacking inhibitory mechanisms,must rely on cultural norms to curb aggression.

Question 56

In which situations are women and girls less aggressive than men and boys?

A)across the board,in virtually every situation examined
B)when the aggression engaged in is covert (e.g.,backbiting and spreading false rumors)
C)when the aggression is in response to a direct provocation such as an insult
D)in everyday situations when nothing special is going on

Question 57

During the seventeenth century,when European fur traders arrived,the Iroquois changed from a peace-loving tribe to fierce enemies of their neighbors,the Hurons.This suggests that

A)there are consistent cultural norms driving the expression of aggression.
B)tribal inbreeding selected for aggressive behaviors.
C)economic and social competition can elicit aggression.
D)aggression is affected by innate propensities and learned inhibitory responses.

Question 58

Which of the following statements about neural and chemical influences on aggression is true?

A)Stimulation of the amygdala yields aggression in primates regardless of the social circumstances.
B)Too much serotonin tends to foster aggression.
C)Too little testosterone tends to foster aggression.
D)Most of the data cited in the text as evidence for the relationship between neurochemicals and aggressive behavior is correlational data.

Question 59

According to your textbook,most social psychologists agree that aggression is an ____ strategy.

A)inherited
B)uncontrollable
C)optional
D)inflexible

Question 60

According to Richard Nisbett (1993),a(n) ____ is characteristic of regions where inhabitants evolved from herding societies,and thus ____.

A)culture of honor; aggression is relatively rare
B)culture of honor; some forms of aggression are more common
C)norm of "machismo"; aggression is more common and more lethal
D)ethos of cooperation; aggression has become evolutionarily maladaptive

Question 61

Gary,a Northern male who has a reputation for violence,has been drinking with his friends.Stan approaches Gary and insults his girlfriend.Gary and Stan get into a fistfight.Which of the following best explains why Gary and Stan began to fight? Research suggests that

A)Northern males are more prone to react to insults with aggression.
B)alcohol is especially likely to interact with testosterone to increase aggression.
C)alcohol lowers our social inhibitions and allows us to act impulsively.
D)people from different parts of the country hold different expectations about the effects of alcohol.

Question 62

Given what the text presents about temperature and levels of aggression,during which month would you expect to find the highest rate of violent crime in North America?

A)January
B)April
C)July
D)November

Question 63

Your textbook reports some statistics on gender differences in violence committed against intimate partners.Of all the violent crimes committed against women in a typical year,nearly ____ percent were committed by their intimate male partners,while for men the figure is less than ____ percent.

A)75; 50
B)50; 25
C)25; 20
D)25; 5

Question 64

Which of the following is false?

A)Across cultures,men have been found to be more aggressive than women in everyday life.
B)Gender differences exist in aggression,particularly in response to provocation (e.g.,an insult.)
C)When aggression is indirect (nonphysical),females may be as aggressive as males.
D)Females tend to feel more guilt and anxiety over aggressive behavior than males do.

Question 65

Desdemona is having a bad day.As she runs to answer the phone,she bangs her knee on the coffee table.Cursing and limping,Desdemona grabs the phone and tosses it across the room.She never did figure out who called.This is an example of

A)hostile aggression caused by pain.
B)instrumental aggression caused by pain.
C)a biochemical cause of hostile aggression.
D)the neural basis of aggression.

Question 66

One problem with using archival data (e.g.,existing records of disturbances)to demonstrate that exposure to uncomfortable levels of heat causes people to behave aggressively is that

A)it is difficult to access such records.
B)by definition,people who participate in disturbances are not a random sample.
C)more people might simply be outside on a warm day than on a cold day.
D)such disturbances do not involve the kind of aggression of interest to social psychologists.

Question 67

Citizens are outraged at an unpopular government policy,and in many parts of the country they have taken to the streets to protest.Results of research on the "long,hot summer" would lead you to predict that would be least likely to fill the streets in protest.

A)in the winter,residents of Minneapolis,Minnesota
B)in the fall,residents of Houston,Texas
C)in the summer,residents of Chicago,Illinois
D)in the winter,residents of Atlanta,Georgia

Question 68

Over the last forty-five years in the United States,social changes have meant that women have increasingly taken advantage of the same opportunities and confronted the same challenges as men.Over the same period,there has not been a corresponding increase in the number of violent crimes committed by women.These crime data suggest that

A)among humans,aggression is social in origin.
B)gender differences in aggression may have a biological component.
C)different sex role expectations account for gender differences in aggression.
D)men are more likely to manifest hostile aggression,and women to manifest instrumental aggression.

Question 69

Both the archival study of crime statistics and controlled laboratory experiments (e.g., Taylor & Leonard,1983)have

A)lent credibility to the "belligerent drunk" cliché.
B)contradicted cultural clichés about the relationship between alcohol and aggression.
C)increased aggression,but only when the person was provoked
D)demonstrated that alcohol increases hostile but not instrumental aggression.

Question 70

Which research findings below provide the most sound evidence that excessive heat causes greater aggression?

A)In cities all over the country,riots are more likely to occur on hot days than on cold days.
B)In Phoenix,drivers without air conditioning are more likely to honk at others than are drivers with air conditioning.
C)Compared to students who took a test in a normal temperature room,test-taking students in a ninety- degree room were more likely to express hostility toward a stranger.
D)Throughout the history of the World Series,more batters have been hit by pitched balls on hot days than on cool days.

Question 71

William Griffitt and Roberta Veitch (1971)administered tests to students who were randomly assigned to take the test in a room with normal temperature or in a ninety-degree room.After completing the test,students were asked how aggressive they felt,and their hostility toward a stranger was measured.These researchers found that students in the

A)normal room felt more aggressive than those in the ninety-degree room,but both sets of students were equally hostile to the stranger.
B)ninety-degree room felt more aggressive than those in the normal room,but both sets of students were equally hostile to the stranger.
C)normal room felt less aggressive than those in the ninety-degree room,but were more hostile to the stranger.
D)the ninety-degree room felt more aggressive than those in the normal room,and were more hostile to the stranger.

Question 72

One government official was quoted in your text as saying "Women worry when they go out; perhaps they should worry when they stay in." What did he mean by this?

A)Women are more likely to get hurt during a break-in at home than in an attack on the street.
B)Women are too self-conscious about their appearance when they go out in public but are too lax about their appearance when they are just hanging out at home.
C)Women think they are more likely to overspend when they go to the shopping mall,but the biggest over- expenditures are for household bills.
D)If women are the victims of violence,that violence is quite likely to have been committed by the woman's intimate male partner.

Question 73

A prison guard has to transport (by bus)four prisoners convicted of violent crimes.Based on information from your text,who would be most likely to cause the guard problems and behave aggressively?

A)Rough Robbie,who has a row in the bus all to himself
B)Tough Tony,who is sitting right by the air conditioning vent
C)Bold Bob,who is squeezed next to the luggage and is next to the smelly bathroom
D)Gunshot George,who is sleepy

Question 74

Riots do occur more often on hot days than on cool days (Carlsmith & Anderson,1979).The hotter the day in a number of cities,the more violent crimes occur (Anderson & Anderson,1984; Rotton & Frey,1985).These results suggest that discomfort can lead to aggression.However,such results should be interpreted with caution because

A)representative samples were not secured by the researchers.
B)some third variable might account for the relation.
C)researchers only studied violent aggression.
D)researchers limited themselves to the United States.

Question 75

Which statement below most accurately reflects the relationship between alcohol and aggression?

A)Alcohol makes all people more aggressive.
B)People who are prone to violence are most likely to be high alcohol consumers.
C)Alcohol interferes with our ability to attribute ambiguous behavior to situations.
D)Alcohol will not make violence-prone people more likely to aggress if they are in a situation where violence is condemned.

Question 76

Recall from your text that boys are more aggressive than girls; worldwide,men are more likely than women to be convicted of violent crimes,and if women are arrested,it is typically for nonviolent crimes such as forgery or fraud.According to the authors,these findings suggest the role of ____ factors that contribute to aggression.

A)biochemical
B)socialization
C)psychological
D)evolutionary

Question 77

Which of the following statements is false?

A)When women commit acts of overt aggression,they are more likely to feel guilt or anxiety over it than men do.
B)Although gender differences exist in aggression in general,when it comes to domestic violence,women are as likely to murder their husbands as men are to murder their wives.
C)The gender difference in aggression tends to show up in everyday situations when nothing special is going on.
D)Cross-cultural comparisons show that men tend to be more aggressive than women in virtually every culture examined.

Question 78

Well-controlled laboratory experiments and field studies have revealed that alcohol consumption contributes to aggression by

A)increasing testosterone.
B)reducing social inhibitions and restraints.
C)increasing hostility.
D)decreasing frustration tolerance.

Question 79

Your textbook describes the results of cross-cultural observational research that addresses levels of aggression in children.According to this research,which of the following children would be most likely to engage in "non-playful" pushing,hitting,and shoving on the playground?

A)Bobby,because he grew up in the United States
B)Althea,because she spent her formative years in Ethiopia
C)Jason,because he is a boy
D)Robyn,because her parents use threats of severe punishment

Question 80

Which of the following is not one of the causes the authors of your text suggest for the gender difference in violence against intimate partners?

A)Men have more testosterone than women.
B)The difference reflects sexism in society.
C)male jealousy; an evolutionary explanation
D)Men are less likely to provoke aggression from women.