Aggression Flashcards
1
Q
What is the most important structure in the limbic system
A
Amygdala
2
Q
What is a simple and summarised definition of the limbic system
A
Subcortical structures in the brain thought to be closely involved in regulating emotional behaviour including aggression.
3
Q
What components of the brain is the limbic system made out of (name the two main components)
A
- Fornix
- Cingulate gyrus
- Thalamus
- Hippocampus *
- Amygdala *
- Hypothalamus
4
Q
What is the hippocampus and what may an impaired hippocampus prevent
A
- Involved with the formation of long - term memories and so allows one to compare a current threat with similar past experiences
- An impaired hippocampus prevents the nervous system from putting things into a relevant and meaningful context and so may cause the amygdala to respond innapropriately to sensory stimuli
5
Q
What does the amygdala do
A
- Plays a key role in humans in animals and how they respons to their environment (threats and challenges)
- Fight or flight
- Heightened activity in amygdala = increased aggression
- Responsible for quickly evaluating the emotional importance of sensory information and prompting the appropriate response
6
Q
What is the Ultimatum game (and who created it)
A
Gospic et al:
- 2 players
- The proposer offers to split the money in a certain way with the responder (often unfairly split towards the proposers advantage)
- If the responder accepts then the money is split as proposed
- If rejected both receive nothing
- Responders have their brains scanned (fMRI)
- When responders rejected offers their amygdala showed heightened response
7
Q
What did results show of the ultimatum game if responders had taken benzodiazepine before
A
- Halved the number of rejections
- Decreased amygdala behaviour
8
Q
What two hormones are associated with aggression
A
- Serotonin
- Testosterone
9
Q
How is serotonin associated with aggression
A
- Serotonin = a neurotransmitter involved in communication of impulses between neurons
- Has wide spread inhibitory effects and dampens neuronal activity
- Normal levels of serotonin in the orbital frontal cortex are linked with reduced firing of neurons and is associated with self control
- Low levels of serotonin disturbs this mechanism = no self control leading to impulsive behaviour- aggression (Denson et al)
10
Q
What do decreased levels of serotonin mean in a person and how may you overcome this issue
A
- Decreased levels of serotonin mean that neural impulses are not dampened when they start to fire more (no inhibitory effect)
- Self control is harder to maintain = aggression
- SSRIs taken - prevention of serotonin being reabsorbed by presynaptic transmission and therefore dissapearing from the bloodstream so normal levels remain
11
Q
How is testosterone associated with aggression
A
- Men often more aggressive than women (have higher levels of testoterone)
- Testosterone has a role in regulating social behaviours via its influence on certain areas of the brain
12
Q
What are 2 supporting studies for the association of testosterone and aggression
A
- Giammanco et al - Used animal studies to demonstrate experimental increases in testosterone are related to greater aggressive behaviour in several species
- Dolan et al - found a positive correlation between testosterone levels and aggressive behaviours in a sample of 60 male offenders in UK maximum security hospitals - these men mainly suffered from personality disorders and have histories of impulsively violent behaviours
13
Q
What is one weakness on the explanation of aggression and neural mechanisms (the limbic system)
A
- Recent studies indictate that the amygdala does not operate in isolation - functions in tandem with the orbifrontal cortex (not part of the limbic system)
Normal levels of serotonin in orbifrontal cortex = self control
14
Q
What are 2 strengths on the explanation of aggression and hormones
A
- Drugs that increase serotonin activity also reduce levels of aggression
Berman et al - gave participants either a placebo or a dose of paroxetine (enhances serotonin activity) - participants then took part in a lab based game in which shocks were received in response to provaction. The paroxetine participants consistently gave fewer and less intense shocks - this was only evident for those with prior aggressive history - Higher levels of testosterone found in men than women - can explain why men are generally more aggressive than women
15
Q
Who first identified the XXY karyotype
A
Sandberg
16
Q
What research evidence does Court-Brown have on the XYY karyotype
A
Found that of a sample of 314 patients in a high security hospital , 15 were found to have chromosomal abnormalities and 9 had an extra Y chromosome and had an increased likelihood of aggressive behaviour
17
Q
Rutter et al’s Twin Study - procedure and findings
A
Procedure:
Carried out a meta-analysis of twin studies on criminality
Findings:
Dizygotic twins have concordance rates between 13 & 21% and monozygotic twins have concordance rates between 26 & 51%
Both types of twins grew up together - difference is as such likely to be genetic
18
Q
Medrick, Gabrielli and Hutchings Adoption Study - procedure and findings
A
Procedure:
Studied the criminal records of all Danish children adopted between 1924 - 47
Findings:
- If criminal records of adopted children were more similar to those of their biological parents than adopted parents it suggests there is a genetic component
- Having a criminal biological father increased the risk of criminality but the highest risk was for those with a criminal biological father and criminal adoptive father
19
Q
Which approach would agree and support Medrick, Gabrielli and Hutchings adoption studys conclusion
A
Interactionist - Diathesis - Stress model : Have genetic vulnerability but also need external stressor to trigger development of condition
20
Q
Belyaev - Animal breeding study - Study and findings
A
- Aim was to reduce the aggressiveness of the Silver Fox to make them easier to breed for their much sought after fur
- After 18 generations the animals were tame (similar to dogs)
- Unfortunately for Belyaev the animals also now resembled dogs aswell so the fur they required no longer existed
- The programme was also able to breed extremely aggressive silver foxes - supports hypothesis genes are involved with aggression
21
Q
What may be a weakness of Belyaevs animal breeding study
A
Difficult to generalise results to humans (extrapolation)
22
Q
How does the MAO- A gene work
A
- Gene produces Monoamine Oxidase (an enzyme) - role is to ‘mop up’ / break down neurotransmitters (dopamine,norepinephrine and serotonin) in the brain after a nerve impulse has been transmitted from one neuron to another
- It does this by breaking down the neurotransmitter into constituent chemicals to be excreted or recyled
23
Q
What might having too little of MAO-A mean for a person
A
Too little of the gene leads to the brain being flooded with too much serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine which eventually leads to a lowered sensitivity to these neurotransmitters
24
Q
How did Brunner et al study the MAO-A gene
A
- Studied 28 male members of a large Dutch family who were repeatedly involved in impulsively aggressive violent criminal behaviours
- Had abnormally low levels of MAO-A gene in their brains and the low activity version of the MAO-A gene
25
What is one variant of the MAO-A gene referred to as which leads to MAO-A low activity in areas of the brain
'The warrior gene'
26
what does GxE interactions stand for
Genes x Environment
27
What is low MAO-A gene activity only related to aggression when combined with...
... early traumatic events
28
What are 3 weaknesses of the genetic factors of aggression
- Difficult to isolate genes - Not easy to seperate genetic and environmental factors - GxE interactions
- The sizes of genetic effects are statistically significant but also small - probably other genes involved
Vassos et al - in a meta-analysis could find no evidence of an association between any single gene and aggression
Hundreds or thousands of genes interact in complex ways to determine aggressive behaviour
Shows there is no single candidate gene (SUPPORTS MODERN DAY IDEA OF THE DIATHESIS-STRESS MODEL)
- Methods of measuring aggression differ between studies and include self-reports, parent and teacher reports and direct observations
Findings as such vary - difficult to draw valid conclusions
29
Who developed the ethological approach
Lorenz
30
What do ethologists believe in terms of aggression
Whilst the potential for aggression may be innate, actual aggressive behaviour is triggered by environmental stimuli known as releasers
- Aggression is adaptive and promotes survival
31
What does FAPs and IRM stand for
FAP = fixed action pattern
IRM = Innate releasing mechanism
32
What is the process of an IRM and FAP
An IRM is a built-in physiological process or structure (e.g a network of neurons in the brain). An environmental stimulus (e.g a certain facial expression) triggers the IRM which then triggers a specific sequence of behaviours (FAP).
33
What are Leas 6 main features of a FAP
- Stereotyped/ Relatively unchanging sequences of behaviour
- Universal - same behaviour is found in every individual of that species
- Unaffected by learning - same for all regardless of experience
- 'Ballistic' - once the behaviour is trigerred it follows a predicted cource and cannot be altered before it is completed
- Single purpose - behaviour only occurs in a specific situation
- A response to an identifiable sign stimulus
34
Timbergen procedure and findings of FAPs and IRMs (male sticklebacks)
Procedure:
- Male sticklebacks = highly territorial during the spring mating season, when they also develop a red spot on their underbelly
- If another male enters their territory, a sequence of highly-stereotyped aggressive behaviour is initiated
- The sign stimulus that trigger the IRM - red spot
- Timbergen presented sticklebacks with a series of wooden models (of 'fish') of different shapes
Findings:
- Regardless of shape, if the model had a red spot the stickleback would aggressively display and even attack it
- No red spot = no aggression (despite shape)
- FAPs = unchanging
35
What does ritualistic aggression mean
Fights between the same species often use little physical aggression (maintains survival of species)
Aggressive encounters consisted mainly of a period ritualistic signalling (e.g displaying claws and teeth and facial expressions)
36
How do ritualistic aggressive confrontations end
Ritual appeasement - acceptance of defeat (e.g laying on belly or exposing neck)
37
What animal does Lorenz compare humans too and why
Doves - Humans are non-hunters so haven't developed the same fearsome weapons other animals have (sharp teeth or claws)
38
What are 2 (+) weaknesses of the ethological explanation of aggression
- Lehrman - Lorenz underestimated the role of enviornmental factors - FAPs tends to not be used in ethology now and is rather referred to as behaviour patterns to acknowledge the role of experience : subtle variations between aggressive behaviours of the same species suggesting it isn't fixed
- Cultural differences - aggressive behaviour is more common in some human cultures than others
- The view that aggression has evolved into a self-limiting and relatively physically harmless ritual has been challenged by observations made from Jane Goodall - Chimpanzees had 'four-year war' where male chimps from one community set about systematically slaughtering all members from another group
- Eibl-Eibesfelt - humans have FAPs such as smiling and the 'eyebrow flash' but believes that FAPs such as aggression are not adaptive in modern times
39
What is one strength of the ethological explanation of aggression
Brunner et al - Low activity variant of MAO-A gene is closely associated with aggressive behaviour - showing that aggression is innate (similar to IRM) + limbic system has shown to trigger aggressive behaviour
ethology = genetically determine + heritable
validity is supported by evidence that demonstrates the genetic and physiological basis of aggression
40
In the evolutionary explanation for aggression what is aggression the result of
Sexual competition (sexual jealousy) to ensure reproductive success
41
What does paternity uncertainty stand for
Men can not be 100% sure if they have fathered a child
Paternity Uncertainty is the result of the very real threat for the male cuckoldry
42
What are the two male retention strategies and what do they mean (Wilson & Daly)
- Direct guarding:
Male vigilance over a partners behaviour - e,g checking who they've been with and where, coming home early and going through personal belongings
- Negative inducement:
Such as issuing threats of dire consequences for infidelity
43
What statistics are there to show a link between mate retention strategies and aggression (Wilson et al)
Women who have suffered from mate retention strategies are also:
- 2 x as likely to have suffered physical violence
- 73% required medical attention
- 53% feared for their lives
44
What is Shacklefords intimate partner violence procedure + findings
Procedure:
- Men and women in 107 married couples completed different questionnaires
- All participants had been married for less than 1 year
- Men = 'Male retention inventory'
- Females = 'Spouse influence report' - measured extent of physical violence
Findings:
- Strong positive correlation between men's confessed male retention behaviours and females reports of their partners physical violence
- Retention behaviours reliably predicted husbands use of violence against their partners
45
Why does bullying occur (explained by the evolutionary explanation)
Occurs due to a power imbalance
46
Why did our evolutionary ancestors use bullying
An adaptive strategy to increase chances of survivals by promoting their own health and creating oppurtunities for reproduction
47
Volk et al's evolutionary explanation for bullying
Characteristics associated with bullying are attractive to potential mates (e.g dominance and strength) and also wards off potential rivals
- These males would have greater reproductive success
- When a female bullies it is to secure their partners fidelity - continue to provide resources for offspring
48
What are 2 (+) weaknesses for the evolutionary explanation for aggression
- If aggression is evolutionary and adaptive why do people react differently? - Buss & Shackleford suggest the evolutionary approach can not account for why different males may respond in different ways to other than violence towards an unfaithful partner
- Issues and debates - gender bias - Women also engage in mate retention strategies and can be violent towards partners - therefore why do studies mainly focus on men?
- Cultural differences - !Kung San people of the Kalahari have very negative attitudes towards the use of aggression, Whereas the Yanomama of Venezueal and Brazil have been described at the 'fierce people'
- Methodological issues - extremely difficult to test hypotheses about the evolution of behaviours - most research is correlation which does not draw cause-and-effect conclusions
49
What are 2 (+) strengths of the evolutionary explanation for aggression
- Many studies demonstrate that mate retention strategies are associated with sexual jealousy and aggression (Shackleford et al) - explains clear link between infidelity, cuckoldry and aggression
- Accounts for gender differences - males engage more often than females in more aggressive acts : Campbell - males are aggressive to secure mates but females aren't because their main concern is to protect their offspring and being aggressive will put themselves and their child in danger - an adaptive strategy is to be verbally aggressive instead
- Understanding of bullying as an adaptive behaviour can help to devise more effective anti-bullying interventions :
Volk et al - bullies bully as they stand to gain advantages
Anti-bullying interventions therefore need to increase the costs of bullying and the rewards of prosocial alternatives
50
What may Volk et al suggest as an anti-bullying intervention tactic (prosocial alternative)
Engaging in aggressive competitive sport but fairly (e.g marital arts, boxing or wrestling)
51
Which psychologist came up with the frustration -aggression hypothesis
Dollard et al
52
What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis
Aggression is the consequence of frustration defined as 'any individual from attaining some goal and its accompanying reinforcing quality'.
53
What is the step to step guide of the frustration - aggression hypothesis
Drive to goal - obstacle to goal - frustration - anger - aggression - catharsis
54
What is catharsism
The process of releasing and thereby providing relief from strong or repressed emotions
55
What 3 things may increase somebodys frustration
- Our motivation to achieve a goal is very strong
- We expect gratification
- There is nothing we can do about it
56
What is displaced aggression and what are 3 reasons why we may displace our aggression
We take out aggression out on something other than the source of frustration
- Cause of frustration may be abstract (e.g government)
- Cause may be too powerful and we risk punishment
- Cause unavailable at the time
57
Russel Green experiment - procedure and findings (effects of frustration on aggression)
Procedure:
- Male university students given the task of completing a jigsaw puzzle
- Levels of frustration was experimentally manipulated
Condition 1:
Unattainable time limit to complete the jigsaw (because confederate kept interfering)
Condition 2:
Jigsaw impossible to solve
Condition 3:
Confederate issued derogatory remarks to the students as they failed to complete the puzzle
Second part of the study
Involved the participants giving electric shocks to the confederate when they made a mistake on another task
Findings:
- Insulted participants gave the highest level of shock on average
- Interfered group gave the second highest
- Impossible jigsaw condition gave the least
- All 3 groups gave higher shocks than a control group
58
Which psychologist suggested that frustration was not necessary and that there were more environmental cues
Berkowitz
59
Berkowitz's study - procedure and findings (environment cues and aggression)
Procedure:
- Lab experiment
- Student participants given oppurtunity to shock a confederate who had previously angered them
3 different condition
1- aggressive cue - a gun (present on table next to shock machine)
2 - non- aggressive cue - badminton racket
3 - No cue
Findings:
- Number of shocks given depended on presence or absence of weapons in the lab
- Aggressive cue - average number of shocks - 6.07
- Non - aggressive cue / no cue - average number of shocks - 4.67
60
What may explain Berkowitz environmental cue study findings
Those in the aggressive cue group had the presence of a weapon which led to weapon focus / effect
61
What are 2 (+) weaknesses of the frustration - aggression hypothesis
- Berkowitz experiment is a lab experiment - issues of ecological validity and lacks mundane realism
- Aggression is not an automatic consequence of frustration - SLT theorists argue aggression is only one possible response
- SLT determines how that arousal will influence individuals - may resort to aggression if it has been effective for them before (direct conditioning) or have observed it being effective
- Is aggression cathartic? - Bushman found that participants who venter their anger by repeatedly hitting a punchbag became more aggressive rather than less
- Berkowitz reformulation - negative effect theory - not all aggression arises from frustration - frustration is one of many adverse stimuli that create negative feelings (e,g jealousy, pain and loneliness)
62
What is one strength of the frustration - aggression hypothesis
Real world application - explanation for mass killings (e.g frustration at social and economical difficulties within society) - lead to scapegoating (displacement)
63
What is direct reinforcement when it comes to aggression
Learning that aggressive behaviour brings results
64
What does vicarious reinforcement mean
As well as observing actions they will also observe the consequences of others (so if someone else gets rewarded for aggressive behaviour the person watching is more likely to imitate).
65
What are the mediation processes (ARMM)
Attention
Retention
Motor reproduction
Motivation
66
What does self - efficacy mean and how does it relate to aggression
The extent to which we belive our actions will achieve a desired goal.
A childs confidence in their ability to be aggressive grows as they learn aggression can bring rewards - develops with each successful outcome
67
Bandura - Bobo doll experiment - procedure and findings (Link into aggression)
Procedure:
- Young children individually observed an adult model assaulting an inflatable plastic toy
- Aggressive behaviours included throwing,kicking and verbal outbursts
- There was a short period where the children where not allowed to play with some attractive toys (created a degree of frustration)
Findings:
- Many children imitated the behaviour they had seen
- Control group - (Non-violent model) : showed nearly no aggression
68
What are 2 weaknesses of Banduras bobo doll experiment
- Artificial - hitting a doll is not the same as hitting a person - low mundane realism
- Demand characteristics - children may have imitated behaviour as they assumed it was expected of them
69
What are 2 weaknesses of Social learning theory as an explanation for aggression
- SLT does not acknowledge biological factors - e.g high levels of testosterone
- SLT does not account for the role of emotional factors
70
What are 2 (+) strengths of the Social learning theory as an explanation for aggression
- Can explain inconsistencies in aggressive behaviour - e,g being aggressive with friends and not work (due to differences in consequences)
- SLT does explain both individual and cultural differences
- Practical applications - one way to reduce aggression is to break the cycle in which individuals become yet more aggressive by choosing situations which reward aggressive behaviours - encouraging aggressive children to form friendships with children who do not habitually behave aggressively (act as non- aggressive positive role models)
71
What are the 3 social psychological explanations for aggression
- SLT (social learning theory)
- Deindividuation
- Frustration - aggression hypothesis
72
Which psychologist put forward the idea of de-individuation as explanation for aggression
Gustave Le Bon
73
When in a crowd what may an individual lose
Sense of self , responsibility and morality
74
What does the crowd create that allows for responsibility to be shared and a person to feel less guilt
Group mentality / Collective mind
75
What factors may increase de-individuation (Bandura)
- Uniforms
- Clothing - e,g a football shirt
- Masks
- Alcohol / drugs
- Tinted windows on cars
- Strong group membership
76
What two types of self-awareness are there and what do each mean (Dunn and Rogers)
Private self-awareness : concerns how we pay attention to own thoughts and feelings - reduced when part of a crowd because attention is focused on surroundings
Public self-awareness : How much we care about what other people think of our behaviour - reduced in crowds - less likely to be judged by others
77
Dodd's procedure and findings (de-individuation)
Procedure:
- Asked 229 psychology students from 13 classes - 'If you could do anything humanly possible with complete assurance that you would not be detected or held responsible, what would you do?
- Responses recorded anonymously
- Three independent raters who did not know the hypothesis decided which categories of antisocial behaviours the responses belonged to
Findings:
- 36% of the responses involved some form of antisocial behaviour
- 26% were actual criminal acts - most common 'rob a bank'
- A few students opted for murder,rape and assasination of a political figure
- Only 9% of responses were prosocial behaviours (e.g helping people)
78
What is one weakness of the explanation of de - individuation for aggression
- De-individuation does not always lead to aggression - 'Deviance in the dark' study by Gergen et al - selected a group of 8 strangers to one another, placed in a completely dark room for an hour with no rules and given guarantee they would never meet them again : not long into the experiment they stopped talking and started kissing and touching eachother intimately
Another study was repeated where they were told before they would meet face to face after the hour had finished - touching and kissing declined
Although deindividuation changed behaviour it did not illicit aggression
79
What are 2 (+) strengths of the explanation of de-individuaition for aggression
- Research support - Douglas and Mcgarty - Aggressive online behaviour in chatrooms and uses of instant messaging - strong correlation between anonymity and 'flaming' (threatening or hostile messages) : most aggressive messages sent by those hiding their identity
- De-individuation & Pro- social behaviour - Johnson & Downing - Females had to give fake electric shocks to confederates - In one condition they were dresses similiar to the KKK in the other dressed similar to nurses (control - normal) : 'KKK' dressed participants gave more + more intense shocks than 'nurses' , 'nurses' also acted more compassionate
- Cross - cultural evidence - Watson (23 cultures) - warriors in face and body paint more likely to kill,mutilate and torture captured prisoners
80
What are the two explanations of institutional aggression
- Dispositional (Importation model)
- Situational (Deprivation model)
81
Which psychologists identified the importation model and what does it mean
Irwin & Cressey:
Aggression in prisons is due to the characteristics of the prisoners before they enter the prison
- This includes things such as characteristics, beliefs, values, norms, attitude and a history of learning experiences as well as other personal characteristics such as gender,race and class
- Inmates import behaviours as a means of negotiating their way through the unfamiliar and frightening prison environment
82
What is Matt Delisi's study and findings
Procedure:
Studied 813 juvenile delinquents confined in institutions in California
These inmates brought into confinement several negative dispositional features such as experiences of childhood trauma, high levels of anger and irritability, history of substance abuse and history of violent behaviour
Findings:
These inmates were more likely to engage in suicidal activity and sexual misconduct and commited more acts of physical violence that were brought to the attention of the parole board
83
What is one strength and one weakness of the dispositional explanation for aggression in prisons
Strength:
Camp and Gaes - Studied 561 male inmates with similar criminal histories and predispositions to aggression
1/2 placed in low security Californian prisons
Other 1/2 placed in high security Californian prisons
- 33% of prisoners in low security prison were involved in aggressive misconduct within the 2 years
- 36% of prisoners in higher security prison were involved in aggressive misconduct within 2 years
- The two are not statistically significant : shows that due to them being so close it is less about the prison and more about the type of person
Weakness:
Dilulio - Importation model is inadequate as it ignores the roles of prison officials/ factors in running of prisons
- Proposed an 'Administrative Control Model' (ACM) - states that poorly managed prisons are more likely to experience the most serious forms of inmate violence (including homocides and rioting)
84
Which psychologist proposed the Deprivation model and what does it mean (situational explanation)
Clemmer:
Aggression occurs as a result of the environment and has been deprived of basic needs or needs the prisoner feels needs to be fulfilled but aren't
85
What are the 5 deprivations in prisons (Clemmer - deprivation model)
- Liberty : civil rights are lost as inmates need permission for everyday things
- Autonomy : No independence and few choices
- Goods / services : Forced to live in near poverty conditions
- Heterosexual relationships : Losing female / male company - lowered self validation and esteem
- Security : Report fears of safety and security
86
What is one strength and two weaknesses of the deprivation model / situation explanation for aggression in prisons
Strength:
Cunningham et al - Analysed 35 inmates in Texas prisons and found that motivations for the behaviours were some of the deprivations identified by Clemmer - particularly important were arguments over drugs, homosexual relationships and personal posessions
Weaknesses:
- Cannot explain prison riots - levels of deprivation remains fairly constant - aggression will occur randomly (cannot explain for all instituational aggression)
- Interactionist model may be a better explanation for aggression - deprivation does not necessarily lead to violence unless it combines with individual characteristics
87
What are two weaknesses of the deprivation model / situational explanation for aggression in prisons
- Cannot explain for prison riots - levels of deprivation remain fairly constant - aggression will occur randomly (cannot explain all insitutional aggression)
- Interactionist model may be a better explanation - deprivation does not necessarily lead to violence unless it combines with individual characterisitcs
88
What are the 3 types of studies related to the media influences - computer games explanation
- Experimental
- Longitudinal
- Correlation
89
What was the experimental study for the media influences and computer games explanation (Bartholow and Anderson)
Procedure:
Students either played a violent game (Mortal Kombat) or a non violent game (PGA tournament)
They then carried out the Taylor Competitive Reaction Time Task (TCRTT) - a standard lab measure of aggression in which students delivered blasts of white noise at chosen volumes to punish a (non-existent) opponent
Findings:
Those who played the violent game selected significantly higher noise levels compared with non-violent players - 5.97 and 4.60 decibels
90
What was the correlation study for the media influences and computer games explanation (DeLisi et al)
Procedure:
Studied 227 juvenile offenders all with histories of serious aggressive behaviours such as hitting a teacher or parent or gang fighting
Using structured interviews they gathered data on several measures of aggression and violent computer game playing
Findings:
Offenders aggressive was significantly correlated with how often they played violent games and how much they enjoyed them
Researchers argued that the link is so well-established that aggresion should be considered a public health issue and computer game violence a significant risk factor
91
What was the longitudinal study for the media influences explanations (Robertson et al)
Procedure:
- Wanted to see if there was a link between what they called 'excessive television viewing' in childhood and aggressive behaviour in adulthood
- They studied 1037 people born in New Zealand in 1972 and 1973 and measured their TV viewing hour at regular intervals up to the age of 26
Findings:
- Time spent watching TV was a reliable predictor for aggression in adulthood measure in terms of convictions for aggressive and violent crimes
- Those who watched the most TV were also most likely to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and have aggressive personality traits
- The more important factor is amount of TV watched rather than the content being violent or not
92
What was the meta-analysis study for media influences and computer games explanation (Anderson et al)
Procedure:
Performed a meta-analysis of 136 studies which included all 3 methodology (experiment,longitudinal,correlation)
Findings:
Exposure to violent computer games were associated with increases in aggressive behaviours, thoughts and feelings: True for both male and females across collectivitst and individualist cultures
- The higher quality studies showed an even greater significant effect
- To put the outcocme in perspective the researchers claim that effect of violent game playing on aggressive behaviour is greater than the effect of second-hand smoke on cancer
- The analysis showed no indication that public bias had influenced the results
93
What is one weakness and strength of experimental studies (media influences and computer games)
Weakness -
Measures of aggression in lab situations are often accused of being artificial and unrealistic - because the person does not fear retaliation unlike in the real world the experimenter gives the participant implied permission to be 'safely aggressive'
Strength:
Could be unethical to allow realistic forms of aggression in an experiment
94
What is one weakness of correlation studies (media influence and computer games)
Inability to draw cause and effect relationships/conclusions - no variables manipulated or controlled and there is no random allocation of participants
2 hypotheses of media effects:
Socialisation hypothesis: Aggressive media causes people to become more aggressive
Selection hypothesis: people who are already select more aggressive media
Direction of causality cannot be settled by correlational studies
95
What is one weakness and one strength of longitudinal studies (media influence and computer games)
Strength:
Approach views people as active consumers rather than passive recipients - more realistic view of the media
Weakness:
Change over time leaves longitudinal studies vulnerable to the effects of confounding variables (becomes difficult to seperate them all and assess their contributors)
96
What are 2 general weaknesses of media influences - computer games
- Publication bias - publishing only findings that are statistically significant
- Frustration aggression hypothesis may be a better explanation - Przybylski - aggressive behaviour may be due to failure and frustration during the game rather than because of the content
97
What are the 3 media explanations for aggression (clue - D,D,CP)
- Desensitisation
- Disinhibition
- Cognitive priming
98
What is desensitisation in relevance to media and aggression
When we observe violent or aggressive acts the sympathetic nervous system is activated (heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, we sweat more etc) but when we are repeatedly exposed to such images we become habituated, we experience less physiological arousal and become less anxious
- Desensitisation is both psychological and physiological
- Repeated exposure to violent media promotes a belief that using aggression as method of resolving conflict is socially acceptable
- Negative attitudeds towards violence weaken - less sympath for victims
99
What was Weisz and Earls lab study on desensitisation
Procedure:
Participants watched feature film 'Straw Dogs' - contains a prolonged and graphic rape scene
Control - non-sexually violent film
Participants then watched a re-enactment of a rape trial
Findings:
Male viewers of 'Straw Dogs' showed greater acceptance of rape myths and sexual aggression + less sympathy towards victim
Effects not found in females
100
What is disinhibition in relevance to media and aggression
Most people generally hold the view that violence and aggression are antisocial and harmful - consequently there are powerful social and psychological inhibitions against using aggression to resolve interpersonal conflicts
These are learned directly and indirectly by processes explained by social learning theory
- According to disinhibition these usual restraints are loosened after exposure to violent media
- Aggressive behaviour is often made to appear normative and socially sanctioned in the media - e.g not unusual for a video game to show violence being rewarded
- This helps for the person to create new social norms
101
What is cognitive priming in relevance to media and aggression
- Repeated viewing of aggressive media, especially game play can provide us with a 'script' about how violent situations may 'play out'
102
What did Huesmann say about cognitive priming
The script is stored in memory and so we become 'ready' or primed to be aggressive
Process is mostly automatic (can direct our behaviour without us being aware of it)
The script is triggered when we encounter cues in situations that we perceive as aggressive
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What is Fischer and Greitemeyers experiment on cognitive priming
Procedure:
Male participants listened to songs featuring derogatory lyrics about women
Control - listening to neutral lyrics
Findings:
- Listening to derogatory lyrics = recalled more negative qualities about women and behaved more aggressively towards a female confederate
- Study replicated with females and man-hating lyrics and got similar results
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What is a strength fot desensitisation (research support)
Krahe : showed participants violent (and non-violent) film clips while measuring physiological arousal using skin conductors
Participants who regularly viewed violent media showed lower levels of anxious and physiological arousal and higher levels of pleasant arousal
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What is a strength for disinhibition (research support)
Berkowitz et al : Participants who watched an aggressive film depicting aggression as vengeance gave more (fake) electric shocks to a confederate
Media may disinhibit aggressive behaviour especially if shown to be justified
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What is a strength for cognitive priming (Practical application)
Bushman and Anderson - someone who habitually watches violent media are more likely to access stored aggressive scripts quicker and more likely to interpret cues as aggressive and resort to a violent situation
*Effective interventions could possibly reduce aggressive behaviour by challenging hostile cognitive biases and encourage habitual violent media users to considers alternatives to aggression such as comedy or negotiation
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What is one weakness of lab experiments when trying to measure aggression (E.g Weisz and Earls)
Lab experiments cannot measure 'real-life' aggression - only measures short-term effects
Longitudinal studies can observe real life patterns of behaviours and observe both short and long-term effect
Cannot control for participants exposure to other forms of media
