Deck 24: The Nature and Nurture of Aggression

Question 1

Frustration grows when

A)one's motivation to achieve a goal is weak.
B)people have multiple goals to achieve.
C)one expects gratification.
D)people are surprised by a consequence.

Answer 1

one expects gratification.

Question 2

How intense and reactive we are in infancy reflects our

A)serotonin levels.
B)aggressive instinct.
C)temperament.
D)social learning.

Answer 2

temperament.

Question 3

In contrast to Freud's view of aggression,Lorenz argued that aggression is

A)innate.
B)adaptive rather than self-destructive.
C)biologically influenced but not instinctive.
D)socially learned.

Answer 3

adaptive rather than self-destructive.

Question 4

The blocking of goal-directed behavior is called

A)instrumental aggression.
B)hostile aggression.
C)frustration.
D)displacement.

Question 5

_____ is defined as intentional and repeated aggression via email,texts,social networking sites,and other electronic media.

A)Spamming
B)Clickbaiting
C)Cyberbullying
D)Phishing

Question 6

A study of brain activity in the prefrontal cortex of murderers found

A)no differences between these men and normal controls.
B)less activity than normal.
C)spikes in activity levels.
D)more activity than normal.

Question 7

Juanita is upset with Rose.During a social gathering,Juanita verbally cuts Rose down in front of others.Juanita's behavior is

A)assertive.
B)manipulative.
C)aggressive.
D)an example of displacement.

Question 8

After arguing with her boyfriend over the telephone,Roberta smashes down the receiver and then throws the phone across the room.This behavior most clearly demonstrates

A)the weapons effect.
B)displacement.
C)instrumental aggression.
D)Parkinson's second law.

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of social aggression?

A)spamming
B)hurting someone's body
C)lashing
D)cyberbullying

Question 10

Studies of hormonal influences on aggression indicate that

A)hormonal influences appear to be much stronger in other animals than in humans.
B)testosterone and rates of violent crime increase rapidly after age 25.
C)variations in testosterone seem to have no effect on behavior within the normal range of teen boys and adult men.
D)people with high levels of testosterone are less prone to engage in delinquent acts.

Question 11

Which of the following statements is true about the relationship between testosterone and aggression?

A)The relationship between testosterone levels and aggression is indirect.
B)Aggression increases as people age because testosterone levels increase as people grow old.
C)Testosterone levels are lower among prisoners convicted of planned violent crimes compared with those convicted of nonviolent crimes.
D)Men with low testosterone are less likely to react aggressively when provoked.

Question 12

Instinctive behavior is behavior that is

A)survival-oriented and common to most members of a species.
B)innate,unlearned,and shown by all members of a species.
C)reflexive and automatic but easily overcome by learning.
D)taught to members of a species.

Question 13

The study of neural influences on aggression has indicated that

A)one specific region of the brain controls aggression.
B)activating the amygdala can facilitate aggressive outbursts in humans.
C)activating the occipital lobe can cause a tyrant monkey to be more docile.
D)activating the frontal lobe can trigger aggressive behavior.

Question 14

Which of the following is an example of aggression as it is defined in the text?

A)Sam accidentally slams the car door too quickly,and it hits Tim's knee.
B)Luisa urges her classmates not to vote for Marcy for dormitory senator,citing some rumors about Marcy's social life.
C)Carla,a dentist,delivers a shot of Novocain before pulling her patient's tooth.
D)Joe's eagerness and enthusiasm resulted in his being promoted to sales manager in a very short time.

Question 15

Nathan is a teenager.He sees his friend,Joseph,regularly insult and bully other friends in his college.Nathan adopts his friend's aggressive style in his daily life because he thinks it is an appropriate way of treating people.This is an example of

A)the outgroup homogeneity effect.
B)ingroup bias.
C)the social learning theory.
D)the selection effect.

Question 16

Who among the following argued that there is an inborn aggressive drive?

A)Bandura
B)Berkowitz
C)Lorenz
D)Dollard

Question 17

The redirection of aggression to a target other than the source of the frustration is referred to as

A)displacement.
B)substitution.
C)instrumental aggression.
D)projection.

Question 18

MacDonald and her colleagues (2000)found that intoxicated people administered stronger shocks and felt angrier when thinking about

A)their physical shortcomings.
B)their grades in college.
C)relationship conflicts.
D)their families.

Question 19

Sigmund Freud argued that aggression ultimately springs from

A)an innate sexual drive.
B)a primitive death urge.
C)observation of aggressive adult models.
D)blocking of goal-directed behavior.

Question 20

Various commentators believe that the propensity of Americans to attack someone in the Arab-Muslim world after the 9/11 terror attack is best explained by

A)the frustration-aggression theory.
B)the adaptation-level phenomenon.
C)the selection effect.
D)the social learning theory.

Question 21

According to the social learning theory,whether we act aggressively or not depends on

A)the aversive event.
B)the anticipated consequences.
C)the role of the parent.
D)bodily symptoms.

Question 22

Violent crimes are more likely committed

A)in the winter rather than the summer.
B)when the weather is hot.
C)on nights with a full moon.
D)during rainy periods.

Question 23

Berkowitz and LePage (1967)found that frustrated men delivered more shocks when

A)guns happened to be in the room.
B)badminton racquets happened to be in the room.
C)they had just received a shot that lowered their serotonin levels.
D)they were initially depressed.

Question 24

According to Berkowitz (1989),the frustration-aggression relationship is mediated by the

A)gender differences in people.
B)age gap people.
C)the feeling of anger in people.
D)neurotransmitters.

Question 25

Research on the role of family influences on aggression indicates that

A)abused children later abuse their own children at four times the national rate.
B)higher rates of violence occur when fathers care for the children.
C)an only child tends to be aggressive in social situations outside the family.
D)physical punishment suppresses aggression in children.

Question 26

Jason instigates more and more fights with younger children on the school playground because he gains the attention and respect of his friends.This most clearly suggests that his aggression is

A)the result of frustration.
B)instinctive.
C)a learned response.
D)the result of displacement.

Question 27

In a revision of the frustration-aggression theory,Berkowitz emphasized the importance of

A)anger,an emotional readiness to aggress.
B)the role of biochemical influences,such as alcohol.
C)relative deprivation and the adaptation level phenomenon.
D)catharsis as a reducer of frustration.

Question 28

Which of the following has been linked with aggressive behavior according to the text?

A)dashed expectations
B)a personal insult
C)physical pain
D)an unexpected request

Question 29

The near consensus among social psychologists is that

A)viewing or participating in violence fails to produce catharsis.
B)hitting a punching bag reduces aggression.
C)sexual materials provide an outlet for bottled-up impulses.
D)venting to reduce anger is like using gasoline to put out a fire.

Question 30

In view of research on the pain-attack response,Berkowitz (1998)now believes that _____ is the basic trigger of hostile aggression.

A)aversive stimulation
B)heat
C)frustration
D)rage

Question 31

Displaced aggression is most likely to occur when the target _____ to the instigator.

A)shares no similarity
B)shares some similarity
C)is somehow related
D)is unrelated

Question 32

Compared to the national rate,abused children are _____ times _____ likely to abuse their own children.

A)4; less
B)4; more
C)10; less
D)10; more

Question 33

In a famous experiment by Albert Bandura and his colleagues,children watched an adult attack a Bobo doll with a mallet.They were then shown some toys that they were forbidden to play with.When they were taken to another room,they

A)began to cry.
B)attacked a Bobo doll.
C)verbally attacked the adult experimenter.
D)chose to watch a violent rather than a nonviolent film.

Question 34

In an experiment conducted by Griffitt (1970),students who answered questionnaires while they were _____ reported feeling more tired and aggressive and expressed more hostility toward a stranger than did participants in a control group.

A)distracted by loud noises
B)in an uncomfortably hot room
C)being closely observed
D)eating popcorn and peanuts

Question 35

In relation to aggression,the most studied environmental irritant is

A)pain.
B)cigarette smoke.
C)air pollution.
D)heat.

Question 36

Research suggests that the sight of a weapon can

A)elicit frustration.
B)sensitize one to the dangers of violence.
C)prime aggressive thoughts.
D)produce catharsis.

Question 37

According to Albert Bandura,an important influence on one's tendency to be aggressive is

A)the rate of hormone biosynthesis and secretion.
B)how much anger or frustration has built up inside.
C)one's hereditary predisposition to be aggressive.
D)the observation of other people's aggressive behavior.

Question 38

When Martin returns home from school,he shows his anger for his poor grades in science by throwing his laptop.Instead of acknowledging the fact that he was underprepared for his test,he breaks the keyboard and screen.This is an example of

A)subgrouping.
B)displaced aggression.
C)relative deprivation.
D)the outgroup homogeneity effect.

Question 39

Given the review of research on heat and aggression in the text,you can conclude that the relationship between these two variables is

A)positive.
B)negative.
C)neutral.
D)curvilinear.

Question 40

Within U.S.subcultures,

A)cities and areas populated by southerners have much higher White homicide rates than those populated by northerners.
B)cities and areas populated by Midwesterners have much higher White homicide rates than those populated by southerners.
C)White Southern men are less likely to own a gun.
D)White Southern men are half as likely as rural Midwesterner White men to support wars.

Question 41

Myers suggests that one way we could reduce aggression is by

A)reacting to crime after it happens.
B)forbidding children from watching TV.
C)training parents how to discipline without violence.
D)outlawing video games.

Question 42

An individual is most likely to be aggressive when

A)his testosterone levels are low.
B)the expectation to be gratified is absent.
C)days and seasons are hot.
D)there is a lack of motivation to achieve a goal.