While aggression may in certain circumstances be appropriate ...

[tatyanajohnson]

While aggression may in certain circumstances be appropriate (perhaps in a competitive situation), we generally cannot be lashing out at others in most social situations. What is the name of the mechanism for curbing aggressive tendencies?
 
  What resource must we typically draw on to curb those tendencies? Describe the donut study used to test this hypothesis?
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Describe and explain the general aggression model.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[amanda_14]

Answer to Question 1

Answer:
Self-regulation is the name of the mechanism for controlling aggressive urges, and such self-control appears to require cognitive resources.
In one study, participants were given either a delicious donut or a radish but were not allowed to eat either one. Then participants got annoying negative feedback from another participant (who didn't really exist) on an essay they had written. Participants were then asked to prepare a snack for the other participant; they were allowed to put as much or as little hot sauce on the snack--after having been told that the other participant didn't like spicy dishes, thus, more hot sauce equaled more aggression. Participants who had been exposed to the donut used more hot sauce on the snack. This showed that cognitive resources were used up while earlier resisting the donut, but not the radish. Thus people whose cognitive resources are depleted, perhaps even by lack of good sleep, may be more inclined to aggress against others.

Answer to Question 2

Answer:
Answers should include the following points:
1) The general aggression model is a modern theory of aggression that builds on the social learning perspective.
2) The GAM posits two classes of input variables  a) factors relating to the current situation and b) factors relating to the persons involved.
3) The GAM posits that these variables can cause aggression through their impact on three basic processes  a) physiological arousal, b) affective states, and c) cognitions - that can be considered as internal states.
4) More recently, the GAM has been expanded to include the effect that some stimuli (such as media violence) have on knowledge structures (schemas).
5) The internal states then influence an individual's appraisal and decision-making processes, which determine whether the individual will take thoughtful action or impulsive action in a particular situation.