Psychology of Action

Goals of Aggresssive Behaviour

Fight Club?

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Goals of Aggressive Behaviour

Social psychological research suggests that aggressive behavior

may serve a wide range of motivations.

Goals of Aggressive Behaviour

1] the desire to influence other people

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Goals of Aggressive Behaviour

2] to gain power and dominance over others

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Goals of Aggressive Behaviour

3] to create the an impression of toughness

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Goals of Aggressive Behaviour

4] to gain money or social approval

Goals of Aggressive Behaviour

5] to discharge negative feelings

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Death Wish

InstinctsFreud spoke of a death instinct versus life instinct. We have two desires at conflict. Our life instinct drives our behavior to anything we can to survive. Our death instinct is a powerful force people have to end their own lives eg. Having a death wish.

Freud’s theory is that instead of killing ourselves we satiate the death instinct by redirecting it towards the destruction of other people .

Misplaced Aggression?

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Animal Instinct

Challenge Freud’s assertions and speculate that an ‘aggressive instinct’ could have evolved through natural selection. Those animals willing to fight for their territories, their mates or resources would survive better than those who simply turned and ran.

Fight or Flight?

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Time Bomb?

Konrad Lorenz – proposed that humans, like animals, have an innate urge to attack. Like hunger or sexual desire, these aggressive urges will build up over time until they are discharged.

Displacement – punching a wall versus a person

Catharsis – discharging of pent-up emotion eg. Aggressive energy.

Movie Release

Many filmmakers and television producers have claimed that showed sexually graphic or violent images can be cathartic … most recent research has shown the opposite occurs – those who watch violent movies or play violent video games increases violent tendencies in the viewers/players.

According to most recent research humans are not programmed to be blindly aggressive. Aggressive is a strategy for survival and reproduction, useful in some situations but not in most others.

Aggressive behavior is generally instrumental – serving a function. Most people know that aggressiveness can backfire causing physical or emotional injury therefore only choose aggression when other avenues have failed.

Aggression and Adaptive Goals