Chapter 3: Individual Differences in Antisocial Behaviour

Question 1

How do we define evil?

Answer 1

An evil act is intentionally inflicting harm upon others for the pleasure of doing so (sadistic). It is marked by egoism and selfishness, with no empathy for the victim. Evil individuals are often classified as “monsters” and given non-human attributes.
It is hard to create an objective definition of evil because it is subjective, we should look at evil as a continuum rather than a categorical characteristic.

Question 2

What traits make up the Dark Triad? Is there a correlation between the traits?

Answer 2

Coined by Paulhus and Williams (2002), they classified narcissism, machiavellianism, and psychopathy (and potentially sadism) as the dark triad.
There is a positive correlation between the three personality traits, with the biggest relation between narcissism and psychopathy.

Question 3

How are the Dark Triad traits observed and classified?

Answer 3

Traits are subclinical and can be observed in the everyday population. They occur on a continuum and are not categorical so people with these characteristics can live a normal everyday life. To be classified as a psychopath you need to meet a certain threshold
having these traits does not meet having a disorder.
Previously these traits were studied individually but this is problematic, they overlap each other and there is a shared variance (ex. the “core” of the Dark Triad)

Question 4

Is possessing the traits of the Dark Triad inherently “bad”?

Answer 4

These traits are not necessarily “bad”; no personality trait is inherently bad or good. These traits convey benefits to the self, but generally at the cost of others.
ex. narcissism leads to short-term popularity,
psychopathy allows for reduced stress in situations that would stress others

Question 5

What did Moshagen et al. (2018) classify as the Dark Factor of Personality?

Answer 5

The Dark Factor of Personality (D); high levels of D use others for their own benefits and can justify their actions
High D individuals have a general tendency towards ethically, morally, and/or socially questionable behaviour

Question 6

What is the origin, clinical disorder and trait of narcissism? How is measured? Who are some narcissistic celebrities?

Answer 6

1. Origin: the Greek myth of Narcissus; a man who fell in love with his own reflection
2. Clinical disorder: Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)
3. Trait: subclinical narcissism
4. Measured by: the NPI; participants choose which statement mostly resembles themselves, most score 30 out of 40
   ex. I try not to be a show off, I will usually show off if given the chance
5. Narcissistic individuals: Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West

Question 7

What are the key characteristics of narcissism? What is vulnerable narcissism?

Answer 7

• Grandiosity: exaggerated belief in your own self-importance
• Entitlement: belief that you are more deserving than others
• Superiority: belief that you are better than other people
• Self-enhancement: behaviours that improve and promote your self-image
• Self-absorption: concern/focus on your own emotions/interests

Vulnerable narcissism;

• low self-image, insecurity, fragile self-esteem who desire praise
• they are hypersensitive to criticism
• perceive negative qualities in other

Question 8

How are narcissists both likeable and unlikeable?

Answer 8

Narcissists make good first impressions. They tend to dress better and are conscious of their appearance, people may perceive narcissism as self-confidence
However, these impressions degrade over time and antagonistic nature becomes more apparent.

Question 9

Can social media progress narcissism in an individual?

Answer 9

We do not know (yet); there is evidence of a positive correlation between narcissism and social media use, as social media is a good platform for self-promotion and self-enhancement.

Question 10

What is the difference between clinical psychopathy and subclinical psychopathy? How do we measure both forms of psychopathy?

Answer 10

1. Clinical psychopathy: there is not an official diagnosis in the DSM, so known as:
   - Conduct disorder in children/youth
   - Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) in adults
   a. Measured by the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R); must score 30 out of 40
2. Subclinical psychopathy is a “milder” form of clinical psychopathy
   b. Measured by the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP)

Question 11

Who is psychopathy found in?

Answer 11

Psychopathy is not only found in inmates/violent
For example, neuroscientist James Fallon is a “pro-social” psychopath who is highly ambitious
Psychopathy has been found to help you get promoted on the corporate ladder (but only for men)

Psychopaths: Ted Bundy, Martin Shkreli (CEO)
- Martin Shkreli bought pharmaceutical company and raised price of AIDS drug from $13.50 to $750/pill. He served a 7 year prison sentence for securities fraud, and showed no remorse.

Question 12

What are the key characteristics of psychopathy?

Answer 12

• Impulsivity: don’t weigh the pros/cons of behaviour before doing it
• Thrill-seeking: crave excitement and novelty; live “on the edge”
• Lack of guilt: unconcerned about consequences of their behaviour on others
• Aggressiveness: prone to hostility, easily angered
• Shallow affect: “emotional poverty”, do not experience same emotions (ex. blunted fear), they can pass lie detector tests because they do not have anxiety with lying
• Callousness: low empathy

Question 13

Why do psychopaths have low empathy?

Answer 13

Their lack of empathy is rooted in brain differences. They have decreased activity in the:

• vmPFC, related to decision-making
• right amygdala, related to emotions

Question 14

Who coined machiavellianism? How is it measured? Who are some machiavellian individuals?

Answer 14

1. Coined by Christie & Geis (1970); inspired by The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
2. Measured by the MACH-IV. Sample item: “you never tell anyone the real reason you did something unless it is useful to do so.”
3. Machiavellian individuals: Vladimir Putin, Josef Stalin
   - they are know as the “manipulative schemer”

Question 15

What are the key characteristics of machiavellianism?

Answer 15

• Cynicism: distrust of others
• Exploitative: will take advantage of others for personal gain
• Deceitful: willingness to lie and cheat to get ahead
• Callous affect: emotionally “cool” in interpersonal interactions
• Strategic/calculating orientation: plan ahead, consider long-term outcomes

Question 16

What are some of the antisocial behaviours of machiavellian individuals in applied settings?

Answer 16

• Workplace; counterproductive work behaviours (CWBs)
  ex. harassment, gossip, theft, sabotage, intentional poor work, absenteeism
• Romantic relationships; will cheat on partners and be emotionally abusive
• Academic dishonesty; will plagiarize term papers

Question 17

What is the potential new member of the dark triad? What are some examples of behaviour of the potential new member?

Answer 17

Sadism would make it a Dark Tetrad.

ex. trolling on internet forums, bullying, malicious pranks

Question 18

What are the key characteristics of sadism?

Answer 18

• Enjoyment of cruelty: enjoy hurting others/witnessing others suffering
• Dominance: pleasure from being in control and subjugating others
• Lack of empathy: unaffected by others’ suffering (emotional or physical)

Question 19

Describe the bug squishing study used to study sadism.

Answer 19

Conducted by (Buckels et al., 2013). Participants were given test for sadism then asked to choose between four unpleasant tasks:
- bug killer
- assistant bug killer
- dipping hand in ice water
- toilet cleaning
Bugs were given names to give a “human” characteristics, ¼ of participants chose to be bug killers and they had the highest sadism scores, reporting the most enjoyment

Question 20

What is self-control? Who suffers the most from a lack of self-control?

Answer 20

Self control is internal restraints that should inhibit the release of aggressive response tendencies
- 2-3 year olds lack the self-control skills needed to regulate aggressive urges

Question 21

Describe the first ego depletion study done by Stucke and Baumeister.

Answer 21

Experimenters put a plate of treats in front of the participants.
I.V: resist vs. don’t have to resist eating treats
All participants were given a creativity task and then received negative feedback from experimenter
D.V: allowed to give an evaluation of the experimenter that had big implications (ex. loss of study funding) for the experimenter
“Treat resistors” gave more negative feedback to experimenter, presumably because their ego was depleted; we already used our resistance to not eat the treats, we could not resist giving bad feedback

Question 22

Describe the second ego depletion study done by DeWall et al. What conclusion can be drawn on ego depletion?

Answer 22

Experimenters stopped participants from eating either a donut or a radish
I.V: resist doughnut vs. resist radish
Participants were provoked by confederate by being given negative feedback on essay
D.V: how much hot sauce they gave to confederate
Doughnut resistors (requires high self-control) administered more hot sauce than radish resistors

Conclusion: self-control inhibits aggression and is a limited resource (ego depletion); in the absence of provocation, low self-control does not predict aggression

Question 23

How does aggression progress in children? Why do children resort to aggression?

Answer 23

Before age 2, babies are engaging in exploratory aggression
Children are most aggressive at 2 year olds, ¼ social interactions are aggressive
Aggression steadily declines starting at age 4 and at this age children begin engaging in indirect forms of aggression

Like animals, our natural reactions is to resort to aggression but because we are a group species, we learn other mechanisms to allow for a successful evolution
There are individual differences in aggression based on temperament

Question 24

When does aggression emerge in humans?

Answer 24

The precursors of individual differences in aggression emerge very early in life.
At 3 months, a child can recognise anger in adults’ facial expressions.
Aggression related to frustration is first seen in the second half of the first year.
Aggression in conflicts with peers and adults become frequent at 2 and 3.

Question 25

What is the Cardiff Infant Contentiousness Scale

Answer 25

The CICS addresses six aspects of use of physical force in social interaction and the expression of anger in babies:
- does not let go of toys
- pulls hair
- hit at other people
- bites
- has angry moods
- has temper tantrums
Babies whose parents noted these behaviours at 5-8 months, were more likely to use physical force in free play at 11-15 months.

Question 26

At what age does physical aggression decline? What form of aggression heightens at this age?

Answer 26

Overt physical aggression declines after 30 months (2.5 years), but indirect and relational forms of aggression begin as children’s verbal skills and understanding of social relationships develop.

Question 27

How does aggression differ based on gender in childhood?

Answer 27

Boys show higher levels of physical aggression than girls.
- direct aggression related to externalising problems, such as attentional deficits and delinquency
Girls show more indirect and relational forms of aggression.
- indirect aggression related to internalising problems, such as depression and anxiety

Question 28

How does aggression change from childhood to adolescence?

Answer 28

Aggression and violence becomes more socially organised, such as juvenile gangs which assemble similarly aggressive teens.
Boy gangs are more prominent, but girl gangs are becoming more frequent.

Question 29

Are aggressive kids, aggressive adults?

Answer 29

There is longitudinal evidence that aggressive behaviour is relative stable over time, it seems to be as stable as intelligence.
A study involving six sites in three countries, studying 6 to 15 year olds, found that childhood physical aggression predicted violent delinquency in adolescent boys, but was inconsistent for girls.
Several long-term studies have shown that aggression in childhood is linked to aggressive behavior in later life.
A study of 30 years (Temcheff, 2008) found significant links between peer-nominated aggression in childhood and self-reports of aggression towards children and spouses in adulthood; low education attainment seems to be the risk factor for carrying aggression in adulthood.

Question 30

What did Huesmann, Dubow, and Boxer (2009) find in their Columbia County Longitudinal Study on prevalence of aggression through the life-course?

Answer 30

Tested participants at age 8, 19, 30, and 48.
There’s a very consistent pattern of significant correlation of aggression for both genders, and that the stability is higher in adulthood than in the transition from childhood to age 19.
- meaning aggression can vary between age 8 and 19 (still unlikely), but when tested high or low at age 30 the same high or low result was found at age 48

Question 31

What processes have been proposed to explain the stability of aggression in the course of development?

Answer 31

1. Cumulative continuity
   - aggression is maintained because of its owns consequences that accumulate over time
   ex. highly aggressive children often experience academic failure, which may increase anger and hostility and consolidate aggressive behaviour
2. Interactional continuity
   - aggression is maintained through the responses it elicits in others
   ex. highly aggressive children are socially rejected by non-aggressive peers, which lead them to selectively associate with other aggressive peers, creating an environment where aggression is socially accepted

Question 32

What other changes in aggression over the lifecourse have been found?

Answer 32

A non-aggressive child can become an aggressive adolescent
An aggressive child can become less aggressive over time
Martino (2008) found that almost half of their sample of grade 7 to 11 students showed an increase (23%) or a decrease (22%) in aggression over the 4-year period.
- 37% remained consistently low
- 17% remained consistently high

Question 33

What are the two forms of escalation of aggression viewed in the textbooks?

Answer 33

1. Short-term escalation
   - a rapid increase in violence among individuals who only start to become aggressive relatively late
2. Long-term escalation
   - a gradual increase in the severity of aggressive actions from childhood to adolescence

Question 34

What distinction did Moffitt make when studying antisocial and aggressive behaviour?

Answer 34

1. Adolescence-limited aggressive and antisocial behaviour
   - emerges in puberty as a normative pattern of behaviour
   - psychological discomfort during the “maturity gap”
   - desire for autonomy
   - desistance from antisocial behaviour when adopting adult roles
   - social mimicry of antisocial models
   - associated w/ non-violent delinquent offences in adulthood
2. Life-course persistent aggressive and antisocial behaviour
   - originates in early childhood
   - early neurodevelopmental risk factors: cognitive deficits, difficult temperament, hyperactivity
   - exacerbated by high-risk social environment: inadequate parenting, family conflict, rejection by peers
   - associated with violent crime in adulthood

Question 35

What conclusion can we draw about aggression being a stable character trait?

Answer 35

There is evidence for both stability and change in aggressive behaviour. We must examine emotional and cognitive processes to understand.

Question 36

What have aggressive children found to have deficits in?

Answer 36

• affective regulation
• impulse control
• difficult temperament
  Deficits make children more likely to develop and sustain aggressive behaviour patterns.

Question 37

What are two forms of aggression that an individual can possess?

Answer 37

1. Reactive aggression
   - shown in response to provocation
   ex. children who are angered by losing a game
   - more strongly related to adjustment problems
2. Proactive aggression
   - unprovoked aggression

Question 38

What is a hostile attributional style (Dodge, 2006)?

Answer 38

Children with a hostile attributional style interpret their peers’ behaviour in the light of a pre-existing knowledge structure that sees potentially harmful behaviour by others as the expression of their hostile intentions.

• in young children, equating (hostile) intent with (negative) outcome is a common reaction when experiencing harm from others
• during socialisation, they learn to consider that others’ actions are not always intended to be harmful
• a learning process is required to make benign attributions, children who maintain a hostile attributional style beyond early childhood show deficits in this learning process, and may account for the stability of aggression through time.

Question 39

What did Burks (1999) find in a longitudinal study that tested hostile attributional style?

Answer 39

They assessed aggressive behaviour in kindergarten and grade 8.
They found that:
- children who had hostile knowledge structures were more likely to attribute hostility in a specific social encounter
- were rated more aggressive by their mother and teacher
- the link between early aggression and aggressive behaviour in grade 8 was mediated by hostile knowledge structures
Individual differences in aggression may be due to schematic, habitual ways of information processing that suggest aggression as an adequate response in social interactions.

Question 40

What social influences are found to influence the development of aggression?

Answer 40

• harsh parental discipline
• exposure to abuse and parental rejection
• viewing of violent media
• peer rejection; associating with more aggressive peer as a result

Question 41

What is the second leading cause of death among 10-24 year olds in the USA?

Answer 41

Homicide
- 86% of victims were male, 84% killed with firearm
In adolescence and young adulthood aggressive behaviour becomes more harmful, because they have access to firearms, knives, and other weapons.

Question 42

Which personality traits are associated with higher aggression and lower aggression in adulthood?

Answer 42

Associated with higher aggression:
- trait anger and hostility
- irritability
- emotional susceptibility
- rumination
- hostile attributional style
- narcissism
Associated with lower aggression:
- dissipation
- perspective taking
- self-control

Question 43

What are the definitions of anger and hostility?

Answer 43

Anger and hostility are key components of trait aggressiveness.

Anger: psychological arousal and preparation for aggression, and represents the emotional or affective component of trait aggression

Hostility: feelings of ill will and injustice, and represents the cognitive component.

Question 44

What is irritability and how does it affect aggression?

Answer 44

Irritability: the habitual tendency to react impulsively, controversially, or rudely at the slightest provocation or disagreement.
- rank high on “I think I am rather touchy” item
- aggression in irritable people especially high if frustrated
Giancola found that highly irritable participants administered more painful shocks.
Drinking alcohol increased aggressive behaviour in highly irritable but not in less irritable male participants.
Bettencourt (2006) confirmed the link between trait irritability and situational aggression across a broader range of studies.

Question 45

What is emotional susceptibility and how does it affect aggression?

Answer 45

Emotional susceptibility: an individual’s tendency to experience feelings of discomfort, helplessness, inadequacy, and vulnerability.

Bettencourt (2006) found that individual differences in emotional susceptibility predicted aggressive behaviour, particularly following provocation such as frustration or exercise.

Question 46

What is rumination and dissipation, how do they affect aggression?

Answer 46

Rumination and dissipation: represent the opposite poles of a continuum that describes the extent to which people are preoccupied with aggressive cognitions following an aggression-eliciting stimulus.

• Low ruminators/high dissipators: quickly get over a provocative or hostile encounter without investing much time and effort
• High ruminators/low dissipators: remain cognitively preoccupied with the hostile experience and are more likely to plan and elaborate retaliative responses

The tendency to ruminate about anger was linked to aggression; the tendency to ruminate about sadness was associated with depression.

Bushman (2005) found that when participants were forced to ruminate about a provocation they were reported significantly higher levels of anger after 25-minutes, than the group who was distracted from the proocation.

Question 47

How does hostile attributional style affect aggression in adults?

Answer 47

Attribution style not only affects the way people interpret actions directed at them individually, but shapes social perceptions in general.
They tend to view the world through “blood-red tinted glasses”
Attributional style is a cognitive disposition, and does not depend on the experience of affective arousal (ex. anger) as a result of being personally affected by others’ apparently hostile actions. However, this cognitive disposition may go hand-in-hand with affect-based dispositions towards aggression.
Dill et al (1997) found that irritability and trait aggressiveness predicted the extent to which participants attributed aggressive thoughts to the actor in a scenario describing an ambiguous social interaction.

Question 48

What is perspective taking and how does it affect aggression?

Answer 48

Perspective taking: a cognitive variable associated with the inhibition of aggressive responses

• the ability to orient themselves non-egocentrically to the perspective of another person
• more likely to choose a non-aggressive response to a verbal attack (when aggressor is become more aggressive as altercation persists)

Question 49

How does self-esteem affect aggression in adults?

Answer 49

There is mixed results; some say low self-esteem is linked to aggression and some say the opposite, or that there is no link at all.
It seems that unrealistically high (inflated) but fragile self-esteem leads to aggressive behaviour, which is referred to as narcissism.
High self-esteem: “I am good good”
Narcissistic: “I am better”

Question 50

How does narcissism affect aggression in adults?

Answer 50

Aggression is an ego-protective function, and is activated to restore a threatened sense of personal superiority.

• aggressive in responses to threats to a positive sense of self-worth
• narcissism related to domestic violence, aggressive driving, murder and assault

Zeichner classified participants as:
1. unprovoked aggressors
- those who chose to deliver an aversive shock before they received the first shock
2. retaliative aggressors
- those who delivered aversive shocks after receiving the first shock
3. Non-aggressors
- those who refrained from delivering shocks all together
Narcissists rank much higher as unprovoked aggressors.

Twenge and Campbell found narcissists react more angrily to social rejection and showed more direct aggression against the person rejecting them, but also behaved more aggressively towards a third party.
- ego threat seems to be the biggest provocation

Question 51

What is self-control and how does it affect aggression?

Answer 51

Self-control is an internal restraint that should inhibit the release of aggressive response tendencies.
- lack of self-control can result in criminal behaviour, heavy smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption
Impulsivity, the opposite of self-control, seems to also be linked to aggression when provoked.
- tested through ego-depletion tests

Question 52

In infancy how is aggression manifested and are their gender differences?

Answer 52

• Frustration and rage

- no gender differences

Question 53

In toddlerhood how is aggression manifested and are their gender differences?

Answer 53

• instrumental aggression

- few gender differences

Question 54

In preschool how is aggression manifested and are their gender differences?

Answer 54

• personal aggression
• physical fighting
• yes, there are gender differences

Question 55

In the schooling years how is aggression manifested and are their gender differences?

Answer 55

• indirect aggression
• group and gang fighting
• aggravated assault
• sexual violence
• homicide
  Yes, there are gender differences
• girls can start to become aggressive in adolescence without a previous history of aggression
• girls’ involvement in serious violence peaks earlier than that of boys

Question 56

What did Archer and Cote (2005) find in relation to gender differences in aggression?

Answer 56

Boys are more physically aggressive than girls in same-sex encounters
Girls are more physically aggressive than boys in opposite-sex encounters.

Boys are always found to be more verbally aggressive than girls, except in adolescence, where they are equal.

Question 57

Why is it thought that boys are more physically aggressive than girls?

Answer 57

1. more rapid maturation by girls in infancy promotes greater self-regulation skills
2. higher rates of rough-and-tumble play among boys spill over into aggression and bring the development of norms condoning aggression
3. gender norms in girls prohibiting over aggression in girls

Question 58

What gender differences in adulthood aggression are found?

Answer 58

In both the US and Germany, men are over-represented in statistics for violent crimes.

Question 59

What did Archer find when studying fights rates of male students?

Answer 59

• 61% of students had been in a fight in the 3 years prior to the study
• 11% of them bled, and 18% made their opponents bleed
• 15% of fights had the police involved
• 8% of fights involved an arrest

Question 60

What does Archer find in relation to d scores?

Answer 60

D is a difference score, with higher values denoting a larger gender difference. Positive d scores indicate that males score higher than females, and negative d scores show the opposite.
Positive d scores found for physical and verbal aggression
Negative d scores in indirect relational aggression

Question 61

What are the three proposed explanations for gender differences in aggression?

Answer 61

1. The hormonal explanation
   - higher testosterone in me
2. The sociobiological (evolutionary) model
   - male aggression is used to secure access to female mating partners
   - indirect aggression by females is used to achieve access to attractive mating partners with a low risk of physical injury, important for care of offspring
3. The social role model
   - aggressive behaviour is regulated by male and female gender roles adopted in the process of socialisation, and is not explained by biological sex
   - meaning aggression should disappear if role demands are removed (supported by research)

Question 62

Under the sociobiological (evolutionary) model, what is the “male warrior hypothesis”?

Answer 62

Proposed by Van Vugt.
Argues that forming coalitions with other men to procure and protect resources has favoured the evolution of a “tribal brain” that increases men’s propensity to engage in intergroup conflict.
- making men more competitive in intergroup situations

Question 63

What is a study that supports the social role model?

Answer 63

Lightdale (1994) found gender differences disappeared when participants were deindividuated.
Participants played a video gain where they could attack their opponents by dropping bombs.
When individuated, men dropped significantly more bombs.
When deindividuated, there was no significant difference between genders, women were as aggressive as men.

Question 64

What research has been done on hypermasculinity?

Answer 64

Hypermasculinity is referred to as the “macho personality pattern”, consisting of three related components:
a. calloused sexual attitudes towards women
b. the perception of violence as manly
c. the view of danger as exciting
- positive correlations between the endorsement of the macho personality pattern and aggression
Reidy (2009) found hypermasculine men were more aggressive towards a female confederate in terms of delivering electric shocks in a competitive reaction time paradigm.