42: Aggressive Behavior, Motivation

A great movie and a great story full of pleasant moments. I recommend it. 

I. Discuss the quotes with a partner. Do you agree, disagree or partially agree with them? Justify your answers.

1. People who are rude a couple of times and seem to be acting out of character may be upset at something else in their life, and simply taking their frustration out on you for no reason. Although that individual should know better than to let their emotions get the best of them, we all have our moments of irrationality. It's a very human quality.

2. Aggressive behavior  most commonly occurs with strangers, who don't expect to see you again and probably don't care about what you think of them. They don't bother to consider your feelings, especially if they're already emotionally bogged down by something else in their lives.

3.  When the person in question does something rude or offensive to you, politely but firmly call them out on their inappropriate behavior. Look at the them in the eye and ask them to please stop provoking you.

4.  If you think that the rudeness is based on a resolvable misunderstanding, you can extend the confrontation by asking them why they are behaving this way.

 5. Some people genuinely don't realize they're being rude. They may not have learned certain social skills. In case you have encountered someone like this, you may want to politely inform that they have been rude. You'll generally get an apology straight away.

II. Rank the types of aggression below, according to what you believe are most offensive to you. Rank 1 is the most aggressive and 9 the one that hurts you the least.

• Shouting
• Swearing
• Personal insults and name calling
• Racial or sexual comments
• Verbal threats
• Posturing and threatening gestures
• Abusive phone calls, letters, online messages
• Emotional abuse
• Sarcasm

 III. There are three major theories that explain aggressiveness. Try to match the theories and their descriptions.

1. Theories that see aggression as an instinct.

2. Theories that suggest frustration is an important factor in aggression. 

3. Theories that suggest aggression is learned behaviour.

(  ) This theory argues that aggressive behaviour is not inborn, rather it is something that is learned, either through direct experience or through observation or imitation of others.  The more that an individual’s aggression is rewarded, perhaps by getting what is wanted or by parental approval, the more likely that person is to be aggressive in the future. 

(  ) There are a number of theories which attempt to explain aggression by suggesting that aggressive behaviour occurs because each individual is born with an aggressive instinct. Such theories suggest that aggression is innate, i.e. inborn, and, therefore, unavoidable.  

(  )  This theory proposes that aggression occurs as a result of disappointments in not achieving their aims.  Such individuals are motivated to be aggressive towards whoever or whatever is standing in their way. 

IV. Watch the movie segment and then discuss the questions that follow.

 

 1. Describe the scene.

2. What types of aggression in exercise II did you manage to see in the segment?

3. What was the reason of the aggression?

4. How did the baseball player react to the insults?

5. What were the consequences of the aggressive behavior in the baseball player?

6. Does this kind of strategy work when the objective is affecting another person behavior? Did it work that time?

7. How would you react in that situation?

8. What should be done in that case? Do you think that that kind of aggressive behavior is acceptable when it comes to sports, for example? Why (not)?

Answer key:

III. 3, 1, 2

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - 42