Chapter 12:Aggression and Violence

The use of harsh punishments to reduce aggression usually ____________________ ; it may put a halt to a child ? s aggressive behavior in the ____________________ term , but children who are physically punished tend to become ____________________ aggressive and antisocial over time . Because such punishment backfires , for this and several other reasons , most psychologists believe it is a ____________________ way to eliminate aggressive or other unwanted behavior .

In one early experiment , a group of children watched an extremely violent episode of a police drama . In a control condition , a similar group watched an exciting but nonviolent televised sporting event for the same length of time . Each child was then allowed to play in another room with a group of other children . Those who had watched the violent police drama later behaved far ____________________ aggressively with their playmates than did those who had watched the sporting event ? the ____________________ ____________________ effect

Taking all this research together , we conclude that ____________________ exposure to violent media , especially in the form of violent video games , ____________________ have an impact on average children and adolescents , but the impact is ____________________ on those who are already ____________________ to violent behavior .

More seriously , extreme punishment like spanking and physical abuse is a ____________________ factor in children for the development of ____________________ , low self - esteem , ____________________ behavior , and many other problems . And , finally , punishment often ____________________ because it tells the target what not to do , but it does not communicate what the person should do . Spanking a little boy for hitting his sister will ____________________ teach him to play cooperatively with her .

The criminal justice system of most cultures administers harsh punishments both as retribution and as a means of ____________________ violent crimes . Laboratory experiments indicate that punishment can ____________________ act as a deterrent , but only if two conditions are met : Punishment must be ( a ) ____________________ and ( b ) certain . It must follow quickly after the aggression occurred , and it must be unavoidable . In the real world , these conditions are almost never met .

____________________ is the notion that ? blowing off steam ? ? by behaving aggressively or watching others do so ? relieves built - up anger and aggressive energy and hence reduces the likelihood of further aggressive behavior

Freud ? s theory of catharsis has been greatly oversimplified into the notion that people should vent their anger or they will suffer physically and emotionally ; by ____________________ that anger , they will become ____________________ likely to commit aggressive acts in the future . When we are feeling frustrated or angry , many of us do temporarily feel less tense after blowing off steam by yelling , cursing , or perhaps kicking the sofa . But do any of those actions reduce the chance that we will commit further aggression ?
Following Freud , many psychoanalysts believed that playing competitive games served as a ____________________ outlet for aggressive energies . they were ____________________ . In fact , the ____________________ is true : Competitive games often make participants and observers ____________________ aggressive

In the real world , as in the lab , many people feel ____________________ , both physically and mentally , after an angry confrontation . When people ____________________ about their anger , talk to others incessantly about how angry they are , or vent their feelings in hostile acts , their blood pressure goes ____________________ , they often feel ____________________ , and they behave even more aggressively later than if they had just let their feelings of anger subsid e

Repeated aggression is a downward spiral . When you hurt another person , you experience ____________________ dissonance . A good way for you to reduce ____________________ is to convince yourself that hurting the person was not a bad thing to do , because he or she is a bad person who ____________________ to be hurt . But this also sets the stage for further ____________________ , because once a person has ____________________ in finding reasons to dislike another , it is easier to harm that victim again .

Stifling anger , sulking around the house , and hoping the other person will read our mind ____________________ ? t seem to be a good solution , and ____________________ are brooding and ruminating by ourselves , which just ____________________ and intensify the anger
It is possible to control anger by actively enabling it to ____________________ . Actively enabling means using such simple devices as counting to 10 before shooting your mouth off . Taking deep breaths or getting involved in a pleasant , distracting activity are active ways of enabling the anger to ____________________ away .

____________________ anger is not always best for you or for a relationship . You may want to express that anger in a way that helps you gain ____________________ into yourself and the ____________________ of the relationship . You may also wish to express yourself in a way that solves the problem without ____________________ it . But for that to happen , you must calmly state that you are feeling angry and describe , ____________________ , what you believe the other person did to bring about those feelings .

One way to ____________________ aggression , then , is to teach people such ____________________ as how to communicate anger or criticism in ____________________ ways , how to negotiate and compromise when conflicts arise , and how to apologize when they need to

Typically , any apology ____________________ given and in which the perpetrator takes full ____________________ is effective . The bland , token apologies offered by many public figures or corporate leaders when they ? ve been caught doing something illegal or immoral don ? t count

Most people find it ____________________ to inflict pain on a stranger unless they can find a way to ____________________ it , and the most common way of justifying it is to ____________________ the victim . By building ____________________ among people , aggressive acts should be more difficult to commit aggression

The motivation behind the vast majority of rampage killings is an attempt to ____________________ feelings of shame , humiliation , and rejection into feelings of ____________________ . Social ____________________ is the most significant risk factor for teenage suicide , despair , and violence . When a team of researchers investigated fifteen school shootings from between 1995 and 2001 , they found that in thirteen , the killers had been angered by bullying and social rejection .