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Aggression Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the psychological explanations of aggression?

A

SLT
Deindividuation
Frustration aggression hypothesis

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2
Q

Who was SLT developed by

A

Bandura

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3
Q

What does vicarious reinforcement mean

A

Watching others be rewarded or punished

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4
Q

What are the 4 meditational processes of SLT

A

Attention
Retention
Reproduction
Motivation

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5
Q

What needs to occur for someone to imitate an aggressive behaviour

A

A mental representation of any rewards/punishments must be made

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6
Q

What is the likelihood of a person being aggressive determined by?
(3 things)

A

Likelihood of reward/punishment

Environmental factors at the same time

How much the person identifies with the role model

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7
Q

Bandura

A

66 nursery kids
3 conditions
1) video where adult rewarded for hitting doll
2) Adult punished for hitting doll
3) Nothing happened hitting the doll
1. was most aggressive
2. was least aggressive
When 2. were offered a reward to be aggressive, they quickly were

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8
Q

SLT evaluation

A

Opposed by biology

Christianson (2006) studied the Kung San people of the Kalahari Desert and found aggressive behaviour was very rare in this society. Kung San parents do not use physical punishment and there is no value placed on aggressive behaviour. So there are no cultural norms for aggression and children do not display aggressive behaviour. This study shows the case for social learning being complex, and questions whether social learning theory in relation to aggression may only be applied to western cultures. This demonstrates that an issue of cultural bias may be present in the explanation of social learning theory

It is hard to explain reactive aggression using SLT. Reactive aggression is not premediated or planned, and occurs instantly in response to a trigger. This suggests some aggressive actions may be instinctual, and so are not learned, as the theory would predict.

Philips found daily homicides in America always increased the day after a big boxing match - behaviour imitated

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9
Q

What is deindividuation?

A

A psychological state characterised by lower self evaluation and low concerns for others opinions

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10
Q

Upon which theory is deindividuation based

A

Le Bon’s crowd theory - It suggests in a crowd, a collective mind takes over

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11
Q

What factors may increase deindividuation

A

Anonymity
Altered conscious (drugs/alcohol)

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12
Q

What 2 behaviours did Zimbardo distinguish between

A

Individuated behaviour - Rational and conform to social standards

Deindividuated behaviour - Doesn’t conform to society. We become faceless and anonymous

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13
Q

What did Prentice-Dunn and Rogers come up with

A

Private self-awareness - How we pay attention to our own feelings and behaviour (this is reduced in a crowd)

Public self-awareness - How much we care about what other people think of our behaviour. This is also reduced in crowds

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14
Q

Douglas and McGarty

A

Looked into aggressive behaviour in online chat rooms
Strong correlation between anonymity and trolling
Most aggressive messages sent from those with a hidden identity

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15
Q

Mann

Deindividuation

A

21 Cases of suicide in America
10/21 involved crowd baiting
Happened more at night, in a large crowd and when further away

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16
Q

Deindividuation evaluation

A

Dodd (1985) developed a technique to demonstrate deindividuation. He asked 229 undergraduate psychology students: ‘if you could do anything humanly possible with complete assurance that you would not be detected or held responsible, what would you do?’. Three independent raters rated the students’ responses into those that were antisocial or not. The results found that 36% of the responses were antisocial and 26% were criminal (types of responses referring to acts such as ‘robbing a bank’). This research demonstrates the connection between deindividuation as a result of anonymity, and subsequent aggression.

It is, however, very difficult to separate the effects of deindividuation from other explanations of aggression such as social learning. Some sporting events such as football which attracts huge crowds have had a long history of violence and aggression on the pitch and from the fans. Yet sports such as rugby and cricket also attract huge crowds yet have not experienced the problems with anti-social behaviour that football fans have witnessed. This may suggest that rather than deindividuation being responsible for aggressive crowd behaviour, it may be better explained by cultural factors internalised through the process of social learning.

Doesn’t take all types of aggression into account e.g. serial killers who act alone

Johnson & Downing (1979) conducted a laboratory experiment with three conditions. In the first, female participants were dressed in a Ku Klux Klan-type outfit which masked their faces entirely; in the second condition they were dressed as nurses; and in the third they wore their normal clothes. The participants then had to give (fake) electric shocks to a confederate. KKK more shocks than control and nurses less

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17
Q

Who proposed the frustration-aggression hypothesis

A

Dollard

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18
Q

What does the frustration-aggression hypothesis (Dollard) say about aggression

A

It is always the result of frustration

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19
Q

What concept is the frustration-aggression hypothesis built on

A

The psychodynamic concept of catharsis

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20
Q

What are the stages of the frustration-aggression hypothesis

A

Goal blocked
This is frustrating
This creates an aggressive drive which leads to a frustration behaviour such as a violent fantasy, a verbal outburst of physical violence
This is cathartic as the aggression is satisfied
We feel better

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21
Q

What does the degree of frustration depend on according to the frustration-aggression hypothesis

A

How much you want to reach the goal
How close you were to achieving it
How far you were set back by the interference

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22
Q

What are the reasons Dollard suggests that aggression may not be directed at the source

A

The source of aggression may be abstract
May be too powerful
May be unavailable

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23
Q

Geen

A

Male uni students to complete jig saw
Condition 1 - impossible puzzle
Condition 2 - impossible time limit to complete the puzzle
Condition 3 - Confederate insults participant as they fail puzzle
Condition 4 - control

In the 2nd part of the study, the participant could give the confederate electric shocks
Cond. 3 gave strongest shock
All gave stronger shocks than control

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24
Q

Berkowitz and LePage

A

Participants given electric shocks creating anger and frustration
Tables turned so participant can shock confederate
Average number of shocks depended on the presence of a weapon
Cons.1 - No weapon - 4.67
Cons.2 - Weapon - 6.07

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25
Q

Frustration-aggression hypothesis evaluation

A

Application of using catharsis to reduce aggression e.g. after a bad days work, going and playing sport

Aggression is not cathartic (punching punching bag made people more aggressive - Bushman said this was like putting petrol on a fire) - doing nothing is better

opposed by SLT

Frustration may lead to upset and not aggression (e.g. doing badly on a test)

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26
Q

What are the biological explanations of aggression?

A

Neural
Hormonal
Genetic

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27
Q

What is the neural explanation for aggression?

A

Faults in the limbic system

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28
Q

What is the limbic system?

A

A network of structures within the brain associated with emotions and aggressive behaviour

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29
Q

Reactive vs Proactive aggression

A

Reactive - Angry and impulsive
Proactive - A planned method for getting what you want

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30
Q

Where is the amygdala located

A

Middle of the brain - between the 2 hemispheres
Above the hippocampus
Below the hypothalamus

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31
Q

What is an amygdalotomy

A

Disconnecting the amygdala from the rest of the brain

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32
Q

Charles Whitman

A

A sniper who killed 15 innocents
Had a temporal lobe tumour pressing on his amygdala

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33
Q

Wong

A

MRI’s of 19 violent male criminals
Compared to 20 innocent suspects
Volume of amygdala was smaller in criminals

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34
Q

Gospic

A

Person A gets $100 which they must split with person B. If person B rejects, no one gets anything. Participants were in an fMRI
If responders rejected an offer, scans showed fast and heightened response by amygdala

In another part of the study, Person B was give a benzodiazepine to reduce the arousal of the autonomic nervous system. Amygdala sensitivity decreased and number of rejections dropped by half

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35
Q

Why do animal studies dispute the limbic systems explanation for aggression

A

Lesions on the amygdala in
Dogs - become more relaxed
Cars - become more aggressive

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36
Q

The limbic system on aggression evaluation

A

Mpakopoulou - meta analysis on people after amygdalotomy. Aggressive behaviour dropped 33-100% with no impact on learning or intelligence. Application of amygdalotomy on very violent criminals - socially sensitive

Deterministic - if you have faulty limbic system, you will be aggressive. Demonstrated clearly by Charles Whitman

R.S. of Wong - Small sample size in Wong et al and gender bias

Amygdala doesnt work alone when determining aggression - it works along side the orbitofrontal cortex which isn’t part of the limbic system. Reduced activity in orbitofrontal cortex has been found in aggressive patients

Disputed by animal studies

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37
Q

What is serotonin

A

A neurotransmitter which helps neurones communicate with each other
Has an inhibitory effect on the brain

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38
Q

Mann

A

35 adults dexenfluramine - lowers serotonin levels
A questionnaire was used to test participant aggression levels
The drug led to increased aggression

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39
Q

Scerbo and Raine

A

Meta analysis showed low serotonin leads to increased aggression

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40
Q

Virkkunen

A

Compared serotonin levels in violent impulsive criminals with violent non-impulsive criminals
Levels were much lower in the impulsive group

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41
Q

Serotonin on aggression evaluation

A

SSRI’s can be used to increase serotonin levels which would reduce aggression in violent criminals. Bond found antidepressants that elevate serotonin reduce irritability and reactive aggression

Research support from Raleigh who fed 2 groups of monkeys 2 different diets - 1 high in tryptophan (increases serotonin levels) and one not. Group 2 more aggressive than Group 1

Deterministic therefore Biologically reductionist

Research such as Virkkunens only takes into account reactive aggression suggesting proactive aggression may have a different cause

Man used a self report technique - subject to social desirability as aggression in socially sensitive. Also unethical to make one of the group more aggressive using drugs

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42
Q

What is testosterone?

A

The male sex hormone (an androgen responsible for the development of masculine features) thought to be the primary biochemical influence on aggression

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43
Q

Giammanco

A

Increases in testosterone are related to greater aggressive behaviour in several species

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44
Q

Dabbs el at (1987)

A

Measured testosterone levels in saliva of violent and non violent criminals
Higher levels in those with a history of violence

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45
Q

Dabbs et al (1995)

A

692 male prisoners
Measured levels of testosterone in saliva of criminals
Those who committed crimes to do with sex or violence had higher levels than those who had burgled etc
Those with higher levels violated more prison rules

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46
Q

Testosterone on aggression evaluation

A

Correlation which means there could be confounding variables - however all measures are scientific e.g. testosterone in saliva making findings less subjective. Also primarily based on animal research

Scientists can produce drugs that reduce testosterone levels e.g. LHRH agonists

Very deterministic

Opposed by the frustration aggression hypothesis which says aggression is always the result of frustration

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47
Q

How do we do genetic studies

A

Twin studies
Adoption studies
Looking for the candidate gene

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48
Q

Coccaro

A

examined concordance rates between pairs of twins
Physical assault - 50% MZ - 19% DZ
Verbal assault - 27% MZ - 07% DZ

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49
Q

Hutchings and Mednick

A

14000 adoptions in denmark
A significant number of convicted adopted boys also had a biological parent with convicted parents
This was higher if biological and adopted parents both had criminal convictions

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50
Q

What is MAOA

A

An enzyme that breakdown serotonin

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51
Q

What is the process of low MAOA causing aggression

A

Low MAOA activity
Serotonin isn’t broken down
Brain flooded with serotonin
Brain desensitised to serotonin
Serotonin no longer has an inhibitor effect
Aggression

52
Q

Brunner

A

Studied a family in the netherlands where all the males had a history of violent crime (Rape/arson)
Men had abnormally low levels of MAOA - a fault in the gene was later found

53
Q

What is a knock-out study

A

animals are bred to remove a specific gene

54
Q

Cases

A

Male mice who were missing their MAOA gene showed aggressive behaviour

55
Q

Caspi

A

500 male children
Those with low MAOA were more antisocial but only if they were maltreated as children

gene - environment interaction

56
Q

Genetic factors in aggression evaluation

A

Opposed by the interactionist approach - caspi found kids with low MAOA were more antisocial but only if maltreated as kids

Used to perform gene therapy on individual with low MAOA to replace it with a healthy gene - this is socially sensitive

Biologically reductionist

The biggest effect of genetics has been found to be on non - violent crime. Mednick found genetic influences to be significant un property crime but not violent crime suggesting genetics plays more of a role in criminal behaviour

57
Q

What is ethology

A

The study of innate animal behaviour

58
Q

Who was the ethological explanation of aggression proposed by

A

Lorenz

59
Q

How is the ethological explanation investigated

A

Based on animal studies
Applied to humans

60
Q

How did lorenz define aggression

A

“fighting instinct”
It is innate, tied to biology and effected by evolution

61
Q

What are the adaptive functions of aggression

A

It promotes survival - members of species spread out reducing competition for resources
Establishes dominate hierarchies - Status over females

62
Q

What is the hydraulic model?

A

Proposed by Lorenz
Aggression builds up until it spills over and triggers an event

63
Q

What are the 2 parts of the hydraulic model?

A

Innate releasing mechanism - A built in physiological process which is activated by a specific (sign) stimulus that activates a FAP

A fixed action pattern is a set of pre-programmed behavioural sequences

64
Q

What are the stages of the hydraulic model?

A

Urge to be aggressive builds up over time
Eventually a sign stimulus activates the aggression
(As internal pressure increases, the strength of the sign stimulus needed to activate decreases)
The stimulus activates an innate releasing mechanism which activates a fixed action pattern

65
Q

Tinbergen

A

Presented sticklebacks with:
Realistic sticklebacks without red bellies
Unrealistic sticklebacks without red bellies
The IRM and FAP were activated by the unrealistic red bellies
If there was no red belly, no aggression

66
Q

What are 3 features of a fixed action pattern

A

Universal - Same in every individual of the species
Ballistic - once started, they can’t be stopped
Stereotyped - the sequence of behaviour is always the same

67
Q

What did Lorenz believe about aggression

A

It is ritualised - sets of behaviours carried out in a set order

68
Q

Why do animals have appeasement behaviour

A

To stop members of their species being killed in every fight which could lead to extinction

69
Q

What are appeasement displays

A

Behaviours that signal submission - admitting they lost the fight

70
Q

Ethological explanation of aggression evaluation

A

An ethological explanation assumes that behaviour is innate; therefore, it should be uniform across all cultures. However, Nisbett (1996) found that in a laboratory experiment when South American white males were insulted they were more likely to respond aggressively than white North American males under the same conditions. This research demonstrates cultural differences that would be problematic for the ethological explanation to account for, as there was a high variation in aggressive responses.

Opposed by SLT which says we learn to be aggressive but Lorenz says its innate

Intelligent animals don’t show ritualised aggression.
Goodall observed groups of chimpanzees that waged a brutal war against neighbouring groups of chimpanzees, slaughtering all members of the group. Goodall (2010) referred to this type of gang behaviour as the systematic slaughtering of one group by another stronger group. This aggression is hard to explain from an ethological standpoint as the risk of injury to the attacking group is high and thus does not appear to be an adaptive behaviour.

Not all fixed action patterns are fixed. There is some evidence that learning and environmental factors can create variation within a species. Therefore, it may be more appropriate to discuss modal action patterns rather than fixed action patterns. Modal action patterns are behaviours that are instinctual such as the desire to chase in dogs (the prey drive), but that differ from one individual within the species compared to others. For example, some dogs may chase cats but some dogs do not. The differences in behaviour may be down to training, or may be down to species differentiation as a result of selective breeding of characteristics.

71
Q

Why do evolutionary psychologists believe aggression is an adaptive response?

A

It helps us survive an pass on genes

72
Q

How is aggression used

A

Territory
Kill of mate competitors
Assert dominance

73
Q

What is infidelity?

A

Unfaithfulness of partners

74
Q

What is jealousy

A

An emotional response to anticipated infidelity

75
Q

Why do women get jealous

A

If a male is unfaithful, a female risks losing his protection and commitment to her children

Women can always guarantee their offspring are their own so compete for quality of men over availability

76
Q

What are the jealous behaviours of women

A

Aggressive women are not preferred as mates

Women must use indirect strategies like gossiping/rumour spreading

Women will only use direct aggression to aid survival

77
Q

Why do men get jealous?

A

Men need to compete with other men for access to women

If the female is unfaithful to the male, he faces paternity uncertainty

78
Q

What are the jealous behaviours of men

A

Men cannot waste time and energy on children who are not their own so they show more violent aggressive jealousy towards their mate to reduce chance of infidelity

79
Q

Daly & Wilson

A

Most murders in Detroit of 1972 was because of status
Victims and offenders were often unemployed and unmarried men

80
Q

What is the process by which low status men get offspring

A

High status males monopolise females
Low status males at risk of no offspring
Low status males must use high risk strategies to compete for status (greater risk with aggression)
Success enhances reproductive success

81
Q

What is a cuckold

A

The husband of an adulterous wife

82
Q

What is the consequence of cuckoldry?

A

Men may invest in a parental effort in offspring that are not genetically their own

83
Q

Why are men always at risk of cuckoldry?

A

You can never be sure that they are the father of the children

84
Q

What are mate retention strategies?

A

Strategies employed by men to deter females from infidelity

85
Q

What are the 2 types of mate retention strategy

A

Benefits - gifts/holidays
Costs - threats/violence

86
Q

What are 2 examples of mate retention strategies (costs found by Daly and Wilson)

A

Direct guarding - checking on her/coming home early/controlling social media
Negative inducements - threats of violence

87
Q

Shackelford

A

107 married couples
Females did mate retention index (MRI) which assessed behaviour like direct guarding
Males did spouse influence report (SIR)
Measured violence with partners
Strong correlate between MRI and women’s threats of violence
Men who used behaviour like direct guarding were more likely to use violence

88
Q

Evolutionary explanation for aggression evaluation

A

MRI can be used to predict violence against women and help them before it happens - 53% of the women who had been directly guarded said they feared for their lives

Opposed by SLT which can provide better cultural support - the evolutionary explanation doesn’t explain why the Kung San people frown upon violence

Evolutionary explanation no longer applies in the modern day as we no longer face paternity uncertainty due to DNA tests

Studies use self report techniques which is problematic in terms of social desirability bias

89
Q

What are institutions?

A

Structures of social order governing the behaviour of individuals

90
Q

What are the 2 ways aggression in prison can be explained

A

Importation - disposition (a factor which someone brings into the prison)
Deprivation - situational (a factor within the prison)

91
Q

Who proposed the deprivation model
What did he say?

A

Clemmer
Social context influences a persons willingness to harm another

92
Q

What are factors within a prison that may cause aggression

A

Crowding, fear, frustration, strict regimes

93
Q

Sykes

A

5 deprivations:
Libery
Autonomy
Goods and services
Heterosexual relations
Security

Cause stress and frustration

94
Q

McCorkle

A

Natural study of 371 US prisons
Examined: crowding, security, officer:inmate, prisoner programme involvement, prison size, unemployment rates where prisons located

Poor prison management leads to violence
Interfering with privileges led to violence
Prisons where inmates had more to do with education dealt with less violence
Overcrowding wasn’t a big factor

95
Q

Deprivation model of institutional aggression evaluation

A

Can be used to help real prisons and reduce aggression by improving conditions e.g. playing the radio and having AC virtually eradicated assaults on prison staff and inmates wilson

Most research just done in the US and so can’t be generalised to prisons around the world. Therefore ethnocentric

Reductionist - assumes people are blank slates as they enter the prison and ignores all life experiences up to this point and biology

Conjugal visits doesn’t affect aggression (sykes deprivations). Hensley et al. (2002) found that when prisoners were allowed heterosexual intimacy with their partners on a prison visit it did not result in a reduction in their aggressive behaviour

96
Q

Who proposed the importation model

A

Irwin and Cressey

97
Q

What does the importation model suggest?

A

Aggressive behaviour in prisons is due to the personality of the inmates rather than their situation

98
Q

Thomas and McMaminon

A

People who prey on others in the streets will prey on others in prison

99
Q

Why do prisoners import their aggressive behaviours?

A

To deal with the hostile prison

100
Q

Delisi (2011)

A

813 juvenile delinquents
All experienced childhood trauma and had history of violence and drugs
The more of these factors they had, the more likely they were to engage in physical/sexual violence or commit suicide

101
Q

Importation model of institutional aggression evaluation

A

R.S - Wang found that prison violence is more likely to occur in facilities holding more troublesome inmates e.g. maximum security inmates had the highest levels of violence

Ignores all situational factors

Almost all research done on male prisoners so we don’t know the cause of female violence in prisons. It would be androcentric to assume it’s the same as for men. Therefore most research displays a beta bias

Can’t accurately predict which inmates will be aggressive e.g. the model would suggest those who were in gangs before prison would be more aggressive but this is not true

102
Q

What are the different media affects on aggression?

A

Effects of computer games
Desensitisation
Disinhibition
Cognitive priming

103
Q

What is the difference between gaming and watching violent tv

A

Whilst gaming, you are making decisions of violence

104
Q

Bartholow and Anderson (experimental study)

A

Students played non/violent computer games for 10 minutes
Did Taylors competitive reaction time task ( a measure of aggression) where students blast white noise at a chosen volume to punish opponent
Violent video gamers selected a higher volume

105
Q

Delisi (2013) (Correlational study)

A

227 juvenile offenders with histories of aggression
Using structured interviews, found aggressive behaviour to be strongly correlated with how often they played violent computer games

Aggression should be public health issue like aids and violent computer games are a significant res factor such as non-condom use

106
Q

Willoughby (Longitudinal study)

A

Examined sustained violent game play and teenage behaviour in high school children.

Adolescents were surveyed about their video game play and aggressive behaviours.

The researchers controlled for previous levels of aggression so that they could be sure that any changes in aggressive behaviour were caused by playing computer games.

Sustained violent game play was significantly related to increases in aggressive behaviour over time, and concluded that violent game play can predict aggression over time.

Non-violent game play was not linked with aggressive behaviour.

They did not find that aggressive behaviour predicted violent game play over time, suggesting a strong cause and effect relationship between violent computer games and aggressive behaviour.

107
Q

Anderson (Meta-analysis)

A

Meta analysis of 136 studies.
They found exposure to t violent video games was associated with an increases in aggressive behaviours, thoughts and feelings
Same for males/females/individualist/collectivist

Effects of computer games on aggression worse than second hand smoking on cancer

108
Q

Effects of computer games on aggression evaluation

A

Make computer games less aggressive

The bi-directional model (Gentile) suggests people with more aggressive personality traits are more likely to select violent games to play (creates a positive feedback loop)

Video games have some positives - they can improve reaction times and Tetris has been found to reduce memory flash backs after traumatic events (Holmes)

Deterministic - if you play violent games, you will become aggressive

109
Q

What is desensitisation

A

With increased exposure to a stimulus, our responses to that stimulus decrease

110
Q

What happens when we see violence (desensitisation)

A

We experience physiological arousal associated with the sympathetic nervous system
Fight or flight activated
Over time we becomes accustomed to it

111
Q

How does desensitisation lead to aggression

A

We see violence in the media a lot so we become desensitised to it
We no longer respond to real world aggression with physiological arousal
We are more likely to accept violence and aggression and so are more like to respond aggressively

112
Q

Weisz and Earls

A

86 M / 106 F uni student
Watched 1 of 4 films

Sexual violence against male - deliverance
… female - straw dogs
Physical violence - Die hard 2
Neutral film - days of thunder

After the film, 252 item questionnaire measuring acceptance of violence
acceptance of rape myths
empathy levels
attraction to aggression

Participants then watched a rape trial re-enactment and then did a 23 part questionnaire
Those who watched straw dogs were more accepting of violence and rape myths, more attracted to sexual aggression, less sympathetic to the victim and less likely to find the offender guilty

113
Q

Krahe

A

Showed participants non/violent film clips whilst measuring physiological arousal using skin conductance. Participants who were frequent viewers of violence showed lower levels of anxious arousal and higher levels of pleasurable arousal

114
Q

Desensitisation evaluation

A

Deterministic - if a person watches a to of tv violence, they will go on to be more violent themselves. Ignores role of free will

Boys who watched a lot of TV violence showed reduced physiological arrousal to new scenes of violence - **Huesmann)

Watching tv can make us more aroused, not less - the excitation-transfer model suggests arousal creates a readiness to aggress

Lots of evidence fails to support this e.g. a research found that immediately after viewing violence, men were more concerned about murder and felt more strongly about punishments for those who committed it Goldstein - found across 4 countries

115
Q

What is an inhibition?

A

A feeling we have that makes us self-conscious and stops us behaving in a certain way

116
Q

Why do most people have inhibitions about aggression

How do we learn this?

A

We agree it is harmful - we learn this through SLT

117
Q

How can our inhibitions be reduced (3 things)

A

Aggressive behaviour is shown to be normal
Minimal consequences
Aggression may be “justified”

118
Q

What happens to our behaviour once we are disinhibited to violence

A

The norms governing our behaviour altered from non-acceptance of violence to acceptable.
Aggression is seen as a normal response in certain situations

119
Q

How does SLT affect disinhibition
(Role models)

A

Superheroes and other characters like James Bond become role models that children look up to and imitate

When aggression is normalised in these role models, the child grows up with norms that violence is acceptable

This process is even more powerful if violence is rewarded

120
Q

Berkowitz and Alioto

A

Lab experiment
Participants who saw a film depicting aggression as revenge gave more electric shock and of a longer duration to confederates
Aggression is more lily to occur if seen as and acceptable reponse

121
Q

Disinhibition evaluation

A

American Army uses games as a recruiting tool - those who are desensitised to violence are useful in war as they are ready to respond aggressively

Opposed by desensitisation - suggests frequency of viewing is what makes it seem normal

Deterministic - however Noble found only 5% of his child participants repeated aggressive behaviours after viewing violence. Just because behaviour is learnt, doesn’t then it will be displayed - there must be motivation according to meditational processes

Steur et al (1971) found that children who had watched violent TV were more acgressive at playtime than those who hadnt watched violent TV
They had lost their inhibitions for violence due to watching the violent media, which had created new ‘social norms’ of behaviour.

122
Q

How many acts of violence has a 10 year old been exposed to

A

100000

123
Q

What is cognitive priming

A

Proposes that aggression in the media provides us with scripts for our own behaviour when we see something aggressive
Media images can activate aggressive memories making it more likely

124
Q

Cognitive priming process

A

Aggressive ideas in the media may activate other aggressive ideas

We store violence from tv and games as scripts

Scripts stored in memory so we are primed for aggression later

125
Q

Fischer and Greitmeyer

A

Male participants listened to misogynistic song lyrics songs were likely to give higher levels of hot chilli sauce to female confederates than male confederates.

This didnt happen with neutral lyrics. The same participants recalled more negative characteristics of women and reported higher levels of aggression against them

The same thing was found with women and men hating lyrics
The participants were primed to be aggressive

126
Q

Josephson

A

396 male junior ice hockey players watched a non/violent film where an actor wore a walking talkie
They were deliberately frustrated before or after the viewing
There was more aggression from those who watched the violent film and the referee was holding a walkie talkie - only in the boys who were already aggressive
The walkie talkie was the cue

127
Q

Cognitive priming evaluation

A

More scientific as highly controlled brain scans (fmri) are used to compare active brain regions in studies which are largely objective

Comstock & Paik (1991) put forward the third variable theory which suggests the link between watching violence and acting aggressively is correlational. They believe that other factors such as family background and personality also correlate with watching violence and acting aggressively. E.g. Children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds or lower intelligence tend to watch more TV This may be due to the dislike. of more cognitively demanding activities or costs of alternative forms of entertainment

Very deterministic as we have no free will over forming scrips and then acting upon them

When fmri scans compared brain areas that were active in eight children when they watched both violent and non-violent tv. In the violent condition, the area used to regulate emotions were activated as were the areas to store long term memories

Psychology (14 decks)

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