Case Study

Aggression

Case Study 4

• This case study assignment requires that you apply information about concepts from Chapter 10 of the textbook and from lecture. Read the case study carefully and answer the five questions in detail. If you have any questions regarding this assignment please ask.

Case Study: Basketball Brawl

On Friday, November 19, 2004, near the end of an Indiana Pacers – Detroit Pistons game, two Indiana players stormed in the stands and brawled with spectators. The fight started with pushing and shoving between players on the opposing teams and then spilled over into the audience. Some fans got involved in the melee by throwing things at the players. Beer, ice and even a chair were some of the items thrown. Several people suffered minor injuries and were taken to a local hospital.

The Pacers were ahead 97-82. The fight began when Piston’s Ben Wallace was jumping up to make a shot. Ron Artest, a Pacer player, fouled Wallace from behind. Wallace turned around and shoved Artest in the face. Players from both teams then joined in the fight with a lot of shoving and pushing. The coaches from both teams intervened to get their players to calm down. By this time, Artest was laying on his back on the scorer’s table – no longer part of the players’ fight. But then Artest was hit by something thrown from the stands, and that’s when he charged the audience. He was joined by another Pacers’ player. Spectator, Mike Ryan, says that Artest attacked him. “He was on top of me, pummeling me. He asked me, ‘Did you do it?’ I said, ‘No, man. No!’”

This is the version of events Artest gave in an interview:

“I thought it was an OK foul. The refs told me it wasn’t a technical and it wasn’t a flagrant. I think Wallace’s reaction was too much. I don’t mind him pushing me. But he also caught me in my nose. I’m not sure what will happen regarding that…I was lying on the table when Wallace threw a towel at me. I got up and then was lying down again when I got hit with a liquid, ice and glass container on my chest and on my face. After that it was self-defense.”

1. How does the textbook define aggression? Do any of the following behaviors by a basketball player qualify as aggression? a) Punching a fan. b) Blocking a shot by an opposing player. c) Accidentally fouling another player. d) Yelling at and insulting a teammate when the teammate misses a shot. Explain your answers – why does or why doesn’t a behavior meet the definition of aggression?
2. All the players and fans involved in the melee were males and the fans involved in throwing objects at the players had been drinking.
   1. When and how does alcohol increase aggressiveness?
   2. Could alcohol have contributed to the fight at the basketball game? Explain your answer.
   3. What is the relationship between testosterone levels and aggression?
   4. Could testosterone been a possible influence in the fight at this game? Explain your answer.
3. Answer the following:
   1. What is frustration? Might any of the basketball players be experiencing frustration? Explain your answer.
   2. According to Leonard Berkowitz how does frustration sometimes contribute to aggression?
   3. Apply Berkowitz’s model to the brawl at the basketball came.
4. Arousal has been linked to aggression. For example, Zillman et al. found that people who just exercised and were thus physically aroused were more aggressive. Certainly playing basketball, a demanding physical game, would increase arousal. With this in mind answer these two items:
   1. Describe Zillman’s Exhitation transfer model of aggression. (The theory is discussed in lecture)
   2. Apply the model to this situation. E.g., Take the player, Ron Artest, step by step through the model. You may have to speculate about what was on his mind or how he interpreted events.
5. The video of the fight at the Pacers – Pistons game was shown on several network news and sports programs. No doubt this video was seen by many young fans.
   1. Have psychologists found a link between viewing media violence and aggression in children? (A simple answer of yes, no or sometimes, is not an adequate answer to this question!)
   2. What predictions would social learning theory (observational learning) make for young fans who watched the brawl?
   3. Some people argue that watching violence can be cathartic. What is catharsis? Have psychologist found evidence to support this idea?

Reference

ESPN.com News Services. Artest, Jackson charge Palace stands./ Retrieved March 20, 2007 from http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1927380&type=story ———— TEXTBOOK: Social Psychology 13th Edition David G. Myers and Jean M. Twenge. Publication Year 2019, ISBN # 978-1260397116.