Lesson 3- Aggression and Violence in Sport

Introduction
This lesson discusses the causes and consequences of human aggression
and violence. Both internal and external causes are considered. Effective and
ineffective techniques for reducing aggression are also discussed.

Aggression is indeed the dark side of human nature. Although aggression

may have been adaptive in our ancient past, it hardly seems adaptive today.
For example, on 14 December 2012 Adam Lanza, age 20, first killed his
mother in their home, and then went to an elementary school in Newtown,
Connecticut and began shooting, killing 20 children and 6 school employees,
before killing himself. When incidents such as these happen, we want to
know what caused them. Although it is impossible to know what motivated a
particular individual such as Lanza to commit the Newtown school shooting,
for decades researchers have studied the internal and external factors that
influence aggression and violence.

Learning objectives
At the end of the lesson the student must be able to:

a. Explain the important components of the definition of aggression, and

explain how aggression differs from violence.
b. Explain whether people think the world is less violent now than in the
past, and whether it actually is less violent. If there is a discrepancy
between perception and reality, how can it be resolved?

c. Identify the internal causes and external causes of aggression.

Compare and contrast how the inner and external causes differ.

d. Identify effective and ineffective approaches to reducing aggression.

Discussion
Aggression is defined as the infliction of an adverse stimulus, physical,
verbal, or gestural, upon one person by another. Aggression is not an
attitude, but behavior and, most critically, it is committed with the intent to
injure.

Violence in sports parallels the reality of violence in society as a whole we

see examples of societal violence in the news, Sports news isn’t much better.

Violence - extreme aggression

Human aggression is very complex and is caused by multiple factors. We will

consider a few of the most important internal and external causes of
aggression. Internal causes include anything the individual brings to the
situation that increases the probability of aggression. External causes
include anything in the environment that increases the probability of
aggression. Finally, we will consider a few strategies for reducing aggression.

There are three distinct components of aggressive behaviour:

1. Hostile Aggression

2. Instrumental Aggression

3. Assertive Behaviour
Assertive Behaviour

 Often confused with aggression

 Increased effort and energy expenditure

 No intent to harm

 No anger involved

 May result in harm, but any resultant harm is incidental to the game

 e.g., Assertive checking meant to slow down the opponent

What Causes Aggressive Behavior in Sport?

 The following causes most likely interact to cause aggressive

behaviour

1. Parents and coaches

 Through comments, e.g., “Bob can really take care of himself.”
 By demonstrating interest in televised sporting event fights
 Recommendations:
 Good role models need to convey a negative reaction to
aggression
  Other?
2. Outcome of the contest and league standing
 More aggression occurs after losing contest
 Frustration
 Lower league standing teams demonstrate more aggression
 Frustration and a little to lose
 Recommendations:
 Refocus the teams efforts into more productive channels, e.g., a
new game plan
3. Point spread

The larger the point spread, the more aggression occurs

 Nothing to lose because game is perceived to be out of reach

Recommendations

 Refocus attention, e.g., try out a new play

4. Physical contact
Sports with a lot of physical contact result in more aggression
 If player believes that the opponent is trying to hurt him/her
there is an increased likelihood that aggression will occur
Recommendations:
 Encouraging athletes to increase effort vs. aggressive acts
 Victory (vs. harm) = the ultimate way to get back at an opponent
5. Fan Reaction
More aggression occurs when a team plays away from home
 Linked to fan reaction, i.e., unfriendly crowd is likely to anger the
visiting team
Recommendations:
 Players must learn to “tune out” this fan reaction and focus on
the game

Examples of Violence in Sport

  Hockey

– 2000: Marty McSorley knocks out Donald Brashear by slashing

him in the head with his stick

 Basketball

– 1995: Vernon Maxwell hits an abusive fan in the stands

 Baseball

– Roger Clemens throws the jagged piece of a broken bat at Mike

Piazza

 Examples can be found in almost every sport

Internal factor affecting aggression and violence

1. Age

At what age are people most aggressive? You might be surprised to learn
that toddlers 1 to 3 years old are most aggressive. Toddlers often rely on
physical aggression to resolve conflict and get what they want. In free play
situations, researchers have found that 25 percent of their interactions are
aggressive (Tremblay, 2000). No other group of individuals (e.g., Mafia,
street gangs) resorts to aggression 25 percent of the time. Fortunately for
the rest of us, most toddler aggression isn’t severe enough to qualify as
violence because they don’t use weapons, such as guns and knives. As
children grow older, they learn to inhibit their aggressive impulses and
resolve conflict using nonaggressive means, such as compromise and
negotiation. Although most people become less aggressive over time, a
small subset of people becomes more aggressive over time. The most
dangerous years for this small subset of people (and for society as a whole)
are late adolescence and early adulthood. For example, 18- to 24-year-olds
commit most murders in the U.S.
 2. Gender

At all ages, males tend to be more physically aggressive than females.

However, it would be wrong to think that females are never physically
aggressive. Females do use physical aggression, especially when they are
provoked by other females (Collins, Quigley, & Leonard, 2007). Among
heterosexual partners, women are actually slightly more likely than men to
use physical aggression (Archer, 2000). However, when men do use physical
aggression, they are more likely than women to cause serious injuries and
even death to their partners. When people are strongly provoked, gender
differences in aggression shrink (Bettencourt & Miller, 1996).

Females are much more likely than males to engage in relational aggression,
defined as intentionally harming another person’s social relationships,
feelings of acceptance, or inclusion within a group (Crick & Grotpeter, 1995).
Examples of relational aggression include gossiping, spreading rumors,
withdrawing affection to get what you want, excluding someone from your
circle of friends, and giving someone the “silent treatment.”

3. Personality Traits Related to Aggression

Some people seem to be cranky and aggressive almost all the time.
Aggressiveness is almost as stable as intelligence over time (Olweus, 1979).
Individual differences in aggressiveness are often assessed using self-report
questionnaires such as the “Aggression Questionnaire” (Buss & Perry, 1992),
which includes items such as “I get into fights a little more than the average
person” and “When frustrated, I let my irritation show.” Scores on these
questionnaires are positively related to actual aggressive and violent
behaviors (Anderson & Bushman, 1997).
The components of the “Dark Triad of Personality”—narcissism,
psychopathy, and Machiavellianism—are also related to aggression (Paulhus
& Williams, 2002). The term “narcissism” comes from the mythical Greek
character Narcissus who fell in love with his own image reflected in the
water. Narcissists have inflated egos, and they lash out aggressively against
others when their inflated egos are threatened (e.g., Bushman & Baumeister,
1998). It is a common myth that aggressive people have low self-esteem
(Bushman et al., 2009). Psychopaths are callous individuals who lack
empathy for others. One of the strongest deterrents of aggression is
empathy, which psychopaths lack. The term “Machiavellianism” comes from
the Italian philosopher and writer Niccolò Machiavelli, who advocated using
any means necessary to gain raw political power, including aggression and
violence.

4. Hostile Cognitive Biases

One key to keeping aggression in check is to give people the benefit of the
doubt. Some people, however, do just the opposite. There are three hostile
cognitive biases. The hostile attribution bias is the tendency to perceive
ambiguous actions by others as hostile actions (Dodge, 1980). For example,
if a person bumps into you, a hostile attribution would be that the person did
it on purpose and wants to hurt you. The hostile perception bias is the
tendency to perceive social interactions in general as being aggressive (Dill
et al., 1997). For example, if you see two people talking in an animated
fashion, a hostile perception would be that they are fighting with each other.
The hostile expectation bias is the tendency to expect others to react to
potential conflicts with aggression (Dill et al., 1997). For example, if you
bump into another person, a hostile expectation would be that the person
will assume that you did it on purpose and will attack you in return. People
with hostile cognitive biases view the world as a hostile place.
Internal factor affecting aggression and violence

1. Frustration and Other Unpleasant Events

One of the earliest theories of aggression proposed that aggression is caused

by frustration, which was defined as blocking goal-directed behavior (Dollard
et al., 1939). For example, if you are standing in a long line to purchase a
ticket, it is frustrating when someone crowds in front of you. This theory was
later expanded to say that all unpleasant events, not just frustrations, cause
aggression (Berkowitz, 1989). Unpleasant events such as frustrations,
provocations, social rejections, hot temperatures, loud noises, bad air (e.g.,
pollution, foul odors, secondhand smoke), and crowding can all cause
aggression. Unpleasant events automatically trigger a fight–flight response.

2. Alcohol

Alcohol has long been associated with aggression and violence. In fact,
sometimes alcohol is deliberately used to promote aggression. It has been
standard practice for many centuries to issue soldiers some alcohol before
they went into battle, both to increase aggression and reduce fear (Keegan,
1993). There is ample evidence of a link between alcohol and aggression,
including evidence from experimental studies showing that consuming
alcohol can cause an increase in aggression (e.g., Lipsey, Wilson, Cohen, &
Derzon, 1997). Most theories of intoxicated aggression fall into one of two
categories: (a) pharmacological theories that focus on how alcohol disrupts
cognitive processes, and (b) expectancy theories that focus on how social
attitudes about alcohol facilitate aggression. Normally, people have strong
inhibitions against behaving aggressively, and pharmacological models focus
on how alcohol reduces these inhibitions. To use a car analogy, alcohol
increases aggression by cutting the brake line rather than by stepping on the
gas. How does alcohol cut the brake line? Alcohol disrupts cognitive
executive functions that help us organize, plan, achieve goals, and inhibit
inappropriate behaviors (Giancola, 2000). Alcohol also reduces glucose,
which provides energy to the brain for self-control (Gailliot & Baumeister,
2007). Alcohol has a “myopic” effect on attention—it causes people to focus
attention only on the most salient features of a situation and not pay
attention to more subtle features (Steele & Josephs, 1990). In some places
where alcohol is consumed (e.g., crowded bar), provocations can be salient.
Alcohol also reduces self-awareness, which decreases attention to internal
standards against behaving aggressively (Hull, 1981).

According to expectancy theories, alcohol increases aggression because

people expect it to. In our brains, alcohol and aggression are strongly linked
together. Indeed, research shows that subliminally exposing people to
alcohol-related words (e.g., vodka) can make them more aggressive, even
though they do not drink one drop of alcohol (Subra et al., 2010). In many
cultures, drinking occasions are culturally agreed-on “time out” periods
where people are not held responsible for their actions (MacAndrew &
Edgerton, 1969). Those who behave aggressively when intoxicated
sometimes “blame the bottle” for their aggressive actions.

Does this research evidence mean that aggression is somehow contained in

alcohol? No. Alcohol increases rather than causes aggressive tendencies.
Factors that normally increase aggression (e.g., frustrations and other
unpleasant events, aggressive cues) have a stronger effect on intoxicated
people than on sober people (Bushman, 1997). In other words, alcohol
mainly seems to increase aggression in combination with other factors. If
someone insults or attacks you, your response will probably be more
aggressive if you are drunk than sober. When there is no provocation,
however, the effect of alcohol on aggression may be negligible. Plenty of
people enjoy an occasional drink without becoming aggressive.

Reducing Aggression

Most people are greatly concerned about the amount of aggression in

society. Aggression directly interferes with our basic needs of safety and
security. Thus, it is urgent to find ways to reduce aggression. Because there
is no single cause for aggression, it is difficult to design effective treatments.
A treatment that works for one individual may not work for another
individual. And some extremely aggressive people, such as psychopaths, are
considered to be untreatable. Indeed, many people have started to accept
the fact that aggression and violence have become an inevitable, intrinsic
part of our society. This being said, there certainly are things that can be
done to reduce aggression and violence. Before discussing some effective
methods for reducing aggression, two ineffective methods need to be
debunked: catharsis and punishment.

1. Catharsis

The term catharsis dates back to Aristotle and means to cleanse or purge.
Aristotle taught that viewing tragic plays gave people emotional release from
negative emotions. In Greek tragedy, the heroes didn’t just grow old and
retire—they are often murdered. Sigmund Freud revived the ancient notion
of catharsis by proposing that people should express their bottled-up anger.
Freud believed if they repressed it, negative emotions would build up inside
the individual and surface as psychological disorders. According to catharsis
theory, acting aggressively or even viewing aggression purges angry feelings
and aggressive impulses into harmless channels. Unfortunately for catharsis
theory, research shows the opposite often occurs.

If venting anger doesn’t get rid of it, what does? All emotions, including
anger, consist of bodily states (e.g., arousal) and mental meanings. To get
rid of anger, you can focus on either of those. Anger can be reduced by
getting rid of the arousal state, such as by relaxing, listening to calming
music, or counting to 10 before responding. Mental tactics can also reduce
anger, such as by reframing the situation or by distracting oneself and
turning one’s attention to more pleasant topics. Incompatible behaviors can
also help get rid of anger. For example, petting a puppy, watching a comedy,
kissing your lover, or helping someone in need, because those acts are
incompatible with anger and, therefore, they make the angry state
impossible to sustain (e.g., Baron, 1976). Viewing the provocative situation
from a more distant perspective, such as that of a fly on the wall, also helps.
 2. Punishment

Most cultures assume that punishment is an effective way to deter

aggression and violence. Punishment is defined as inflicting pain or removing
pleasure for a misdeed. Punishment can range in intensity from spanking a
child to executing a convicted killer. Parents use it, organizations use it, and
governments use it, but does it work? Today, aggression researchers have
their doubts. Punishment is most effective when it is: (a) intense, (b) prompt,
(c) applied consistently and with certainty, (d) perceived as justified, and (e)
possible to replace the undesirable punished behavior with a desirable
alternative behavior (Berkowitz, 1993). Even if punishment occurs under
these ideal conditions, it may only suppress aggressive behavior temporarily,
and it has several undesirable long-term consequences. Most important,
punishment models the aggressive behavior it seeks to prevent. Longitudinal
studies have shown that children who are physically punished by their
parents at home are more aggressive outside the home, such as in school
(e.g., Lefkowitz, Huesmann, & Eron, 1978). Because punishment is
unpleasant, it can also trigger aggression just like other unpleasant events.

3. Successful interventions

Although specific aggression intervention strategies cannot be discussed in

any detail here, there are two important general points to be made. First,
successful interventions target as many causes of aggression as possible and
attempt to tackle them collectively. Interventions that are narrowly focused
at removing a single cause of aggression, however well conducted, are
bound to fail. In general, external causes are easier to change than internal
causes. For example, one can reduce alcohol consumption, and make
unpleasant situations more tolerable (e.g., use air conditioners when it is hot,
reduce crowding in stressful environments such as prisons and psychiatric
wards).
Second, aggression problems are best treated in early development, when
people are still malleable. As was mentioned previously, aggression is very
stable over time, almost as stable as intelligence. If young children display
excessive levels of aggression (often in the form of hitting, biting, or kicking),
it places them at high risk for becoming violent adolescents and even violent
adults. It is much more difficult to alter aggressive behaviors when they are
part of an adult personality, than when they are still in development.

Yoda warned that anger, fear, and aggression are the dark side of the Force.
They are also the dark side of human nature. Fortunately, aggression and
violence are decreasing over time, and this trend should continue. We also
know a lot more now than ever before about what factors increase
aggression and how to treat aggressive behavior problems. When Luke
Skywalker was going to enter the dark cave on Degobah (the fictional Star
Wars planet), Yoda said, “Your weapons, you will not need them.” Hopefully,
there will come a time in the not-too-distant future when people all over the
world will no longer need weapons.