Identifying and Managing Aggressive Student Behaviors, Attitudes and Emotions

IDENTIFYING AND MANAGING AGGRESSIVE STUDENT BEHAVIORS, ATTITUDES AND EMOTIONS

Brian Van Brunt, Ed.D.

Director of Counseling

Western Kentucky University

[email protected]

www.aggressionmanagement.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.aggressionmanagement.com/

Case Study Case Study ““KendallKendall””Case Study Case Study ““KendallKendall””

• Kendall has trouble staying focused in the classroom. He often is interrupting lectures by talking to friends in the back of the classroom.

• Kendall has been diagnosed with ADHD and is attending college partially because his parents said “you can go to college or you can get a job.” He struggles with anger, frustration and lack of focus.

• He has headphones on during an exam and the professor asks him to take them off…he laughs and looks back down.

Case Study Case Study ““SaraSara””Case Study Case Study ““SaraSara””

• Sara’s boyfriend recently broke up with her after learning that she had been cheating on him. She is very focused in class and very detail orientated on her assignments.

• Another student tells her to “shut up” under her breath at the start of class and Sara has had enough. She turns and shouts “you shut up!” and throws a water bottle at the other student.

• The professor then asks her to leave the classroom and she refuses and says “I didn’t do anything. It was this bitch…”

• Hopes that they will go away…• Fear or worry that nothing will happen if you report• Fear or worry that reporting it will make you look bad• Concern that we will be victims of retaliation• Being seen as a “rat” or “intolerant” or “unkind”• Don’t want to be responsible for pushing someone “over

the edge.”• Not sure what to do

What Keeps us From Addressing What Keeps us From Addressing These Behaviors?These Behaviors?

What Keeps us From Addressing What Keeps us From Addressing These Behaviors?These Behaviors?

This training is designed to teach the basics of Aggression Management.

How to Recognize AggressionHow to Recognize Aggression

The Un-Magnificent SevenThe Un-Magnificent Seven

How to Manage AggressionHow to Manage Aggression5

Distinguish between assertive and aggressive behavior


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Aggressive behavior occurs frequently in the classroom.– Student-to-student arguments– Direct or indirect threatening emails– Drunk or substance abusing students– Psychological crisis– Dating relationship arguments that spill into classroom– Vandalism and robbery– Threats concerning papers, grades or attendance


• Address behavior, not targeting mentally ill.

• We are concerned with aggression, threats, intimidation, hoarding of weapons, frustration, anger & isolation that leads to violence.

• Mentally ill are more likely to be victims of violence, not perpetrators.

– (Choe, Tepin, Abrams; 2008).

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• Following the tragedy of Virginia Tech and the NIU school shootings, we’ve learned that aggressive individuals engage in either:

– Primal Aggression

– Cognitive Aggression9


• Primal Aggression

– Instinctual fight or flight response

– Fueled by adrenaline

– Aggressors who lose control and attack

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Body Language of a Primal Attacker: Clustering

Head back

Target glancing

Lips quivering/teeth bared

Hands clenched/pumping

Bulging arm & neck veins

Red-face to white-face

Shifting shoulders

Watch palms for weaponsFeet shifting/kicking

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Cognitive Aggression– Conscious or non-conscious response– Fueled by intent (hostile/malicious intent)– Victimizer, predator (criminal) or terrorist (murder/suicide), School shooters

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• On August 5, 2009 George Sodini turned out the lights on a dance-aerobics class, and opened fire with three guns, firing 36 bullets.

• He killed 3 women and wounded 9 others before committing suicide.

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• He left a blog from Nov. 5, 2008 to Aug. 3, 2009.

• “they look so beautiful as to not be human, very edible"

• "I dress good, am clean-shaven, bathe, touch of cologne - yet 30 million women rejected me - over an 18 or 25-year period"

• "I can do this. Leaving work today, I felt like a zombie - just going thru the motions."

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• On December 8, 2009 Jason Hamilton fired two rounds at the professor in his math classroom at the Woodbridge campus of Northern Virginia Community College.

• He had a .30-06 bolt action rifle purchased the day before at a Dick's Sporting Goods store.

• The rifle jammed after two shots. He was arrested in the hall. Police report he was upset about grades before the shooting.

• Thirty-six of 45 campus security cameras were not working at the time of the shooting , did not have floor plans or master keys to the building 15

• On February 12th , 2010 Amy Bishop shot and killed three and severely wounded three others during a faculty meeting.

• She taught her regularly scheduled biology class and then attended a faculty meeting. Another professor reports she sat quietly listening for 40 minutes before opening fire.

• There is speculation that this was related to her not getting tenure at the university or related to a business project.

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• Anders Breivik in Norway…– Planned his attack over 10 years– Painstakingly detailed his acquisitions of

weapons, bomb making materials– Developed a exercise, nutrition and drug

enhancement program– Conducted test runs– Practiced on simulation games– Buried weapons and ammo– Protected plan from friends– Investment in daily rituals


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• With both Cognitive and Primal Aggressors, we must be aware of how they move through the aggression continuum.

• The Aggression Continuum is made up of the:

– Crisis Phase

– Escalation Phase

– Trigger Phase19


• Trigger Phase (Heart Rate 60-80)

– Calm, normal breathing

– An activating event occurs

– Stress and anxiety begin

– Circumstances are dynamic but everyone is coping

– Offers a baseline

– Begins escalating…20


• Escalation Phase (Heart Rate 115-145)

– As anxiety mounts…

– Quality of judgment diminishes

– Swearing, arguing with others

– Fewer arm and hand gestures

– Diminished creativity in thought

– Reduced thoughtful consideration 21


Faculty will also go through these changes (escalation phase) when responding to a crisis.

Cycle breathing can reduce physical, emotional & cognitive experiences during escalation. This breathing can helps you stay in control of decision making & deescalate the crisis.

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Breathe in slowly to the count of 1…2…3…4…

Hold your breath to the count of 1…2…

Breath out slowly to the count of 1…2…3…4…

Hold your breathe to the count of 1…2…

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• Crisis Phase (Heart Rate 145-175)

– Hardens point of view

– Issues ultimatum

– Growling, baring teeth

– Direct, prolonged eye contact

– Moving in and out of your personal space

– Eyes targeting body parts to strike24


• Crisis Phase (Heart Rate Above 175)

– Loss of verbal control

– Loss of judgment

– Begins physical attack


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Forced Loss of FaceImage Destruction

Threat Strategies

Win/Lose Attack

Limited Destructive Blows

Lose/Lose Attack

Nine Levels of Aggression

Es

cala

tion

Phas

e

C

risis

Pha

se

Actions vs. WordsHarmful Debate

Hardening

Trigger Phase 26

• Not all behavior you encounter will be overt aggression.

• Most will be Cognitive (intent-driven) Aggression.

• Many students develop frustrating behavior patterns that create chaos and disrupt others.

• We will now discuss the un-magnificent seven common patterns of frustrating passive aggressive behavior.

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• The Sherman Tank

– Enjoys confrontation & always need to prove themselves right

– Argues about rules in your class & syllabus

– Pushes past weaker personalities

– Seeks to dominate

– Challenges your authority28


• The Sniper

– Criticizes you behind your back

– Gossips and creates chaos when you’re not around

– Blends in to surroundings when threatened or challenged, uses jokes or sarcasm to cover motives

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• The Exploder

– Has wide mood swings. Is a “loud mouth” and makes insulting and cutting remarks

– Wants everyone silent who disagrees with them and is happiest when others are passive

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• The Complainer

– Whines and complains about their situation

– Never seems happy or optimistic about improvement, wears down and drains others

– Feels unappreciated and powerless

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• The Negativist

– Is never happy and desires others to be just as gloomy

– Rarely sees the bright side

– Says “no” to everything

– Bums others out…(man)32


• The Clam

– Disengaged, silent and unresponsive

– May be upset or frustrated, but never communicates it

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Keep “the clam” on the top of your list.

Quiet, growing frustration could be precursor to explosion or the strategic plotting seen in many school shootings.

Engage the student, help them express their frustrations & become connected to community.

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• The Bulldozer

– Overwhelms others with facts & figures

– Only values their own opinion and has little regard for knowledge or viewpoints of others

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• Now we have a basic understanding of

– Cognitive and Primal Aggression

– The Aggression Continuum (Trigger, Escalation and Crisis)

– Passive Aggression (The Un-Magnificent Seven)

• How to manage aggressive behavior you may encounter

How to Manage AggressionHow to Manage Aggression

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• Students respond less to what we say, and more to the way and manner in which we say it.

• When communicating emotionally, people attend to:

– Words 7%

– Tone/Inflection 38%

– Body Language 55% (Albert Mehrabian (1971 UCLA Study)

93%!!!37


• We need to have the proper mindset prior to attempting to manage any aggressive behavior.

• It is not the words we say, but the way we say them.

• Requires us to control our own emotions and body language.

• Cycle Breathing can help us achieve this state.

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• Cycle Breathing helps us

– gain control over our breathing

– keep our heart rate down

– better respond to an aggressive situation

• Requires practice to internalize process of lowering heart rate and controlling breathing.

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• In addition to cycle breathing; we must be prepared.

– Be aware of when a person is in a Trigger, Escalation or Crisis Phase.

– Understand what to look for in Cognitive and Primal Aggressors.

– Counseling staff should have a plan and training to address the situation before it occurs.

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• Build trust with aggressor – key to de-escalating aggression.

• Be aware of differences but focus on similarities.

• Develop commonalties with students to persuade them toward more healthy choices (non-aggressive).

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• Find commonalities

– We remember feeling overwhelmed by classes

– We know it is hard to live in close quarters with others

– We’ve been frustrated over rules & felt trapped

– We may be sad when away from family/friends

– We don’t like being singled out & embarrassed

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• Display a quiet confidence

• Convey a willingness to help

• Offer acceptance, respect and validation

• Use enthusiasm and keen interest

• Ask “I there anything I can say or do to gain your cooperation? . . . . I'd sure like to think there is.”


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• Be aware of perception differences. A student in an escalation or crisis phase will see things differently than someone not in these stages.

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QUACK!!!

• We must acknowledge the difference between

how we currently see things and how the

aggressive person is.

• Efforts are then made to persuade the aggressor

toward healthier choices.48


• Aggression Management’s Universal Approach

1. Get the student away from the crowd.

2. Begin your interaction with a positive statement, not a negative one (constructive, not punitive)

3. Explain the documented issues in a neutral and reflective way (without sarcasm).

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• Aggression Management’s Universal Approach

4. Explain that their present behavior is not in their best interest.

5. Ask how we can work together to solve this problem. Consider the miracle question “What outcome would you like to see?”

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Call campus police immediately when students hurt themselves. Rule of thumb: if you see blood or a weapon, someone needs to call the police.

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Call for help if you are concerned. Think of the “hot potato” game. You don’t want to be left holding the responsibility. Excuse yourself from the classroom and make the call.

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Follow up on a situation. If you are not face-to-face with the student and come by information second hand, don’t wait to pass it on.

Don’t assume someone else will call or take care of the situation. Pass on the information directly to the police, academic dean, counseling or Behavioral Intervention Team.

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• Shock or Challenge – “Go ahead and do it”

• Analyze motives – “You just feel bad because…”– “You really just want to quit school…”– Over-react, embarrass student publically

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• Distract the student by talking about other things or trying to change the subject

• Cajoling the person – “Really, come on. Who would want to do that?”

• Move fast or threaten the student by meeting hostility with hostility

Remember To…Remember To…NOTNOT Do These Things Do These Things

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Emergency

Start

• Document the behavior you observe.

• Ask yourself

– Are there witness statements I should gather?

– Is there evidence I should save?

– Are my notes clear and legible?

– Will my statement withstand cross-examination?

– Did I create my statement immediately after event?

Remember To…Remember To…DOCUMENT EVERYTHINGDOCUMENT EVERYTHING

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• Ask yourself:

– Did I organize the events chronologically?

– Did the report go where it needs to go?

– Am I writing objective facts?

– Am I telling the truth?

– Did I avoid distortions?

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Remember To…Remember To…DOCUMENT EVERYTHINGDOCUMENT EVERYTHING

• If the aggressive student is not responding, we must look toward safe escape.

• This approach must be considered from the start. Not just a “last ditch” approach that is only considered after the student becomes aggressive.

Last ThoughtsLast Thoughts

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• Know your emergency numbers & how to access them, including back-up on-call administrators

• Develop a code word or gesture to communicate with your back-up.

• Be aware of your FIGHT or FLIGHT instincts. Understand that fighting is not an option.

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• Place yourself in the room with an awareness of weapons and where you can escape.

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Thank You!

• [email protected]

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Identifying and Managing Aggressive Student Behaviors, Attitudes and Emotions

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