Aggression Flashcards
What is the limbic system?
system linked to emotional behaviours such as aggression
Name a feature of the limbic system
The amygdala
What was Gospic’s study into aggression?
Provoked participants to mild provocation while under fMRI. When PP’s acted aggressively there was lots of activity in the amygdala
What is the function of serotonin?
neurotransmitter with the role of slowing down and calming neural activity
What happens as a result of decreased serotonin?
reduction in self-control which leads to more impulsive behaviour
What did Virkkunen et al do to investigate serotonin in aggression?
compared the levels of serotonin in proactive and reactive aggressive offenders. He found that the levels were significantly lower in the reactive aggression
What do Virkkunen’s results show?
Links low levels of serotonin to aggression
How is testosterone linked with aggression?
Observations have shown males to be most aggressive at times of development when testosterone levels are the highest
What animal studies show testosterone’s role in aggression?
Giammanco castrated animals which reduced the levels of aggression displayed by males of many species. When injecting the same animals with testosterone the aggressive behaviour was restored
What did Berman suggest about serotonin?
drugs used to increase serotonin have also been found to reduce levels of aggressive behaviour
Outline hereditary explanations for aggression
Coccaro found that there were higher concordance rates when displaying aggression between monozygotic twins than there were in dizygotic twins
What were the concordance rates between both twin types for physical aggression?
50% monozygotic twins
19% dizygotic twins
What did Soo Rhee and Waldman find out about genetic influences on aggression?
genetic influences accounted for 41% of the variance in aggression
What is the function of the MAOA gene?
Produces the MAO-A enzyme (monoamine oxidase) which regulates serotonin
What is the MAOA-L variant of monoamine oxidase?
The low-activity variant
How did Brunner et al research the MAOA-L variant?
Studies 28 Dutch family members who were convicted of impulsively aggressive criminal acts such as rape and murder and found the MAOA-L variant in all men
What is the interactionist approach to aggression?
Genes and environment.
What research strengthens the interactionist approach to aggression?
Frazzetto et al linked higher levels of aggression and the MAOA-L gene with those who experienced childhood trauma in the first 15 years of life
What does the ethological explanation of aggression state?
Aggression is adaptive
What is ritualistic aggression and who proposed it?
proposed by Lorenz, ritualistic aggression is when an animal “surrenders” in a fight in order to indicate a defeat instead of being killed
What was Lorenz’s study into ritualistic aggression?
He observed many interspecies fights and pointed that they all ended with rituals as animals killing one another could cause extinction
What is an innate releasing mechanism?
A specific sequence of behaviours which are triggered by an environmental stimulus. This behavioural sequence is known as a fixed action pattern
What did Lea suggest about fixed action patterns?
They have six main features
What are the six features of (FAP)
Stereotyped
Universal
Unaffected
Ballistic
Single-purpose
Response
What research supports FAP?
Tinbergen’s Stickleback research
What was Tinbergen’s procedure when investigating FAP?
Presented Sticklebacks with wooden models with red underbellies during mating season in which the males of the species are hostile towards each other
What were Tinbergen’s findings?
If the model had a red underbelly then the stickleback would attack it however if there was no red underbelly then nothing happened. He also found that the FAP displayed were unchanging between different encounters
What is meant by the term cuckoldry?
When a male raises another mans child
What is meant by the term cuckoldry?
When a male raises another man’s child
What is evidence of the evolutionary explanation for aggression?
Sexual jealousy
What causes sexual jealousy?
When men are at risk of being cuckoldry
What are two male retention strategies?
Direct guarding and negative inducements
Give an example of direct guarding.
Overinvolvement in their partner’s life E.G checking who they’ve been seeing
Give an example of negative inducements.
Issuing threats of dire consequences E.G “ill kill myself if you leave me”
What research supports retention strategies?
when women were asked to report on male retention strategies by measuring the extent they agreed with statements such as “does he insist on knowing where you are?”. Those who had experienced these statements were twice as likely to have experienced physical violence
How is bullying explained through evolution?
Bullying may have been used by our ancestors in order to promote their own health and create opportunities for reproduction
What research supports the view that bullying is evolutionary?
Volk et al argued that characteristics associated with bullying are attractive to females. This is because bullying can ward off potential rivals
Why and how would women bully?
By means of controlling a partner. Females use verbal bullying to keep their partners fidelity (resource provision)
What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
Frustration always leads to aggression
What are the three recognitions made by the FA hypothesis?
Causes of frustration may be abstract, too powerful or unavailable at the time
Outline research into the weapon effect.
Participants were given fake electric shocks by a confederate which caused anger and frustration. The PPs were then given the chance to shock the confederate back while presented with weapons E.G guns on a table
What were the findings of research into the weapon effect?
The number of shocks issued by the PPs was greater when there were two guns on the table compared to other conditions.
What research supports the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
Groups were given a jigsaw to complete while under specific conditions such as:
an impossible jigsaw
running out of time due to a confederate
being insulted every time they failed
What were the findings of the frustration-aggression hypothesis research?
The insulted participants gave the strongest shocks followed by the group that ran out of time and then the impossible task group. All shocks were more intense compared to a control group
What are the social psychological explanations of aggression?
Social learning theory
De-individuation
How does SLT explain aggressive behaviour?
Vicarious reinforcement- When a child observes aggressive behaviour being rewarded
What are the cognitive conditions for learning?
Attention
Retention
Reproduction
Motivation
What is meant by self-efficacy?
the extent to which we believe our actions will achieve a desired goal
How can Bandura’s BoBo doll study support SLT and aggression?
The study outlined how aggressive behaviour can be imitated by children through vicarious reinforcement
How can de-individuation cause aggressive behaviour?
we lose self-awareness as well as stop regulating and monitoring our own behaviour
what is private self-awareness?
when we regulate our own behaviour. This is reduced when in a crowd
what is meant by public self-awareness?
refers to how much we care what other people think. This is reduced in crowds
Outline research into de-individuation.
229 participants were asked the question “if you could do anything without consequences what would you do?” Only 9% of responses were prosocial and 26% were criminal acts. 36% were antisocial behaviours.
What is the importation model in the context of aggression in prisons?
Inmates in prisons are aggressive due to the prison being an accumulation of people from typically aggressive backgrounds
What is the deprivation model explanation of aggression in prisons?
Harsh environments (such as prisons) cause inmates to cope by resorting to aggressive behaviour
What are two explanations of institutional aggression?
Dispositional and Situational
What research linked aggression to excessive TV viewing?
1000 New Zealanders TV watching patterns were observed. It was found that time spent watching TV in childhood and adolescence was a reliable predictor of aggressive behaviour in early adulthood. This is due to excessive TV being linked to reduced social interaction.
What did Bandura do to link aggression with viewing violent content?
He repeated the BoBo doll study with a video of adults hitting the doll. They found that the behaviour was replicated regardless of it being face to face or viewed through a screen
What evidence is there to suggest that the effects of TV violence is not that strong?
Meta-analysis of previous research found a positive correlation between viewing violence and anti-social behaviour however TV/film only accounted for about 1-10% of the variance in children’s aggressive behaviour
How was Mortal Kombat used to demonstrate how aggression is linked to violence?
Players were given the opportunity to blast (fake) opponents with white noise after playing 10 minutes of a game. Those who played Mortal Kombat were more aggressive when blasting white noise at their opponents
How can we become desensitised to aggression?
overexposure to aggression through the media creates lesser arousal associated with the sympathetic nervous system
How does disinhibition cause aggression?
Environmental triggers weaken normal social constraints towards certain behaviours. This makes those behaviours temporarily socially acceptable
How does cognitive priming explain aggression?
violent imagery creates scripts about aggression which are stored in memory. These memories are triggered when we perceive a situation to be aggression
How does Mertins et al support the MAOA-L gene?
Proved the opposite happens with the MAOA-H gene as PPS with MAOA-H who played the money distribution game were extremely cooperative and less agitated
What did Goodall observe with monkeys that limits ritualistic aggression?
She observed a four year war between two monkey communities in which they killed one another
Which African Tribe did Elizabeth Thomas find that reject all acts of aggression?
!Kung San people
What is the frustration aggression hypothesis’s suggestion of Catharsis?
By acting aggressively we satisfy our unconscious need to do so resulting in the end to aggressive behaviour
What did Busman find regarding Catharsis?
acts of aggression, such as using a punching bag, actually increased aggression instead of satisfying it
What did Douglas and McCarthy find in regards to anonymity in online chatrooms?
The greater anonymity of the person the more hostile they were
What were the concordance rates of aggression found by Coccaro?
Monozygotic twins = 50%
Dizygotic twins = 19%
How many real life instances of “crowd encouraged suicides” did Mann identify?
21
