Aggression

Question 1

Aggression

Answer 1

a set of behaviours between members of the same species that is intended to cause pain or harm. It can be physical, mental or verbal

Question 2

Neural and Hormonal Mechanisms in Aggression

Answer 2

the limbic system, serotonin, testosterone

Question 3

Neural Mechanisms in Aggression: The Limbic System

Answer 3

-connection of structures deep in the brain
-amygdala is linked to fear and perceiving threats this triggers a fight or flight and the fight bit is where aggression is involved, abnormality in structure or function of amygdala could lead to aggressive response more frequently
-hippocampus is linked to memory it allows animals to compare a current threat with past experiences, if an animal has been attacked the next time they encounter their attacker they are likely to respond with fear or aggression, impaired hippocampal function prevents the nervous system putting info into relevant context and so may lead the amygdala to respond inappropriately to stimuli

Question 4

Neural Mechanisms in Aggression: Serotonin

Answer 4

-serotonin is an inhibitory transmitter it slows down and dampens neuronal activity , normal level of serotonin are associated with a greater degree of behavioural self control
-decreased serotonin may disturb this mechanism this could lead to impulsivity and behaving without thinking about it which leads to aggression

Question 5

Hormonal Mechanisms in Aggression: Testosterone

Answer 5

-testosterone peaks in young males and then decline, thought to influence aggression from young childhood
-men seem to be more aggressive than women, when testosterone levels are highest there is an increase in aggression

Question 6

Neural Mechanisms in Aggression: The Limbic System: A03: Charles Whitman

Answer 6

Charles Whitman 25 years old climbed to top of tower on a Texas campus (1966) in full military gear and shot many students before killing himself, he had no prior violent outbursts. He left a diary complaining of irresistible impulses to violence and expressed that he wanted his brain studied post-mortem, a tumour was found pressing against his hypothalamus

Question 7

Neural Mechanisms in Aggression: The Limbic System: A03: Gospie et al (2011) money game

Answer 7

amygdala activity increased in response to an aggressive game in which ppts decide to split money with a confederate who could accept it or refuse the other meaning they both leave with nothing- FMIR scans showed more activity in amygdala if confederate made unfair offer

Question 8

Neural Mechanisms in Aggression: The Limbic System: A03: Dr Vernon and Frank Erwin

Answer 8

they carried out a study on a epileptic girl Julia who had fits of violent behaviour using a brain stimulating device and electrodes, they place the electrodes in the region of the amygdala without telling her, one time when she was playing the guitar she smashed it against the wall (this experiment would not be allowed now)

Question 9

Neural Mechanisms in Aggression: The Limbic System: A03: Dustin Pardini (2014)

Answer 9

University of Pennsylvania experiment is severe and persistent aggression over long period of time, 56 male ppts at age 26 had MRI scan it was found that there was a relationship between amygdala volume and aggressive behaviour, lower amygdala volume compromises ability to evaluate emotional importance of sensory info

Question 10

Neural Mechanisms in Aggression: The Limbic System: A03: Raine (2004) psychopath

Answer 10

group 1 (unsuccessful psychopaths), more impulsive, facing convictions. MRI showed structural asymmetries in hippocampus, Group 2 (successful psychopaths) cold + calculating, not facing conviction, no hippocampus asymmetries. asymmetry may impair ability of hippocampus and amygdala to work together, so emotional info is not processed or remembered correctly leading to aggressive behaviour

Question 11

Neural Mechanisms in Aggression: Serotonin: A03: Berman (2009)

Answer 11

gave ppts either placebo or paroxetine (increases serotonin activity) then played a lab based game in which electric shocks of varying intensity were given and received in response to provocation, the drug ppts gave consistently fewer and less intense shocks than the placebo group, however this was only of ppts who had a prior history of aggressive behaviour

Question 12

Hormonal Mechanisms in Aggression: Testosterone: A03: Albert (1994)

Answer 12

showed positive correlation between levels of testosterone and self reported aggression levels in prison inmates, however no correlation was found between testosterone levels and actual violent behaviour among male inmates in prison, so inconsistent evidence for role of testosterone so unreliable explanation which is dependent on measure used (self report method used this is not actual behaviour so they were feeling angry and reporting aggression)

Question 13

Hormonal Mechanisms in Aggression: Testosterone: A03: Mazur (1975) Aggression or dominance

Answer 13

suggested that testosterone could be linked to dominant behaviour, not strictly aggression, individuals act aggressively when they want to inflict injury, but act dominantly if they wish to achieve/maintain status over other individual. Mazur claims aggression is a form of dominance behaviour, in animals high testosterone may lead to dominance behaviour like aggression but humans are more complex and the influence is likely to be more subtle
so high testosterone leads to dominance behaviour which could lead to aggression, status, leadership this criticises the explanation that testosterone always leads to aggression

Question 14

Genetics Factors in Aggression: Twin Studies: A01

Answer 14

several twin studies have suggested that heritability accounts for about 50% of the variance in aggressive behaviour. Emil Coccaro et al (1997) studied adult male ppts, for aggressive behaviour defined as physical assault, researchers found concordance in mz twins at 50% and dz twins and 19%, corresponding figures for verbal aggression were mz = 28% and dz = 7%

Question 15

Genetics Factors in Aggression: Adoption Studies: A01

Answer 15

similarities in aggressive behaviour between an adopted child and their biological parents suggest that genetic influences are operating, similarities with the adopted parents suggest that environmental impulses are operating
Rhee and Waldman (2002) carried out a metal analysis of 51 adoption studies of direct aggression and anti-social behaviour, a prominent feature of which is aggressive behaviour, they found that genetic influence accounted for 41% of the variance in aggression, more or less in line with the findings from the twin studies

Question 16

Genetics Factors in Aggression: The MAOA gene: A01

Answer 16

MAOA (monoamine oxidase A) is an enzyme whose role is to breaking down neurotransmitters in the brain after a nerve impulse has been transmitted from one neuron to another, it breaks down the neurotransmitter into its constituent chemicals to be recycled or excreted

Question 17

Genetics Factors in Aggression: The MAOA gene: A01

Answer 17

caspi Mc Dermot

Question 18

Genetic Factors in Aggression: A03: Issues in determining role of genetics

Answer 18

more than one gene (polygenic) usually contributes to a behaviour, aggression is complicated so cant be just one gene
as well as genetic factors, there is likely to be many non-genetic factors that influence aggressive behaviour like: abuse, trauma, social learning
these influence may interact (diathesis stress)

Question 19

Genetic Factors in Aggression: A03: sampling issues

Answer 19

convictions for violent crimes are relatively low compared to the vast number of violent attacks by individuals that never result in a conviction
they only represent a small minority of people involved in aggressive behaviour, many people don’t get convicted for their crimes
the way the court class violent is also flawed with regards to the research, might not actually be aggressive people
for example someone who was convicted of murder would be dubbed a violent offender and would studied as such even if they had no other influence of violence

Question 20

Genetic Factors in Aggression: A03: problems assessing aggression

Answer 20

many studies rely on self-report or parent reports of aggressive behaviour however due to social desirability bias and wanting to look socially acceptable parents lie about their child’s aggressive behaviour, parents are biased, they could also exaggerate the problem to get them help, it is subjective so hard to judge yourself
miles and carey (1997) conducted a meta-analysis of 24 twin and adoption studies, they found overall, a strong genetic influence which could account for 50% of aggression, however the studies in the meta-analysis that had used observational ratings and not parent/self reports showed significantly less genetic contribution and a greater influence of the environment therefore the studies were inconsistent and therefore unreliable

Question 21

Genetic Factors in Aggression: A03: MAOA could explain gender differences

Answer 21

the MAOA gene is linked to the X chromosome, women have two of these, men only have one
when men inherit an x linked gene from their mothers, they are more likely to be affected by it, whereas women aren’t as they have a second x chromosome with a normal expression of MAOA - essentially a back-up
this could explain the disparity in male and female offenders and observed differences in aggression

Question 22

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: Sexual Jealousy: Evolutionary

Answer 22

an account of the changes in species over millions of years, characteristics that enhance survival and reproduction are naturally selected

Question 23

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: Sexual Jealousy: Paternity Uncertainty

Answer 23

never truly sure if they have truly fathered a child unlike women

Question 24

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: Sexual Jealousy: Cuckoldry

Answer 24

having to raise offspring that are not his own

Question 25

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: Sexual Jealousy: Adaptive

Answer 25

any physical or psychological characteristics that enhances and individuals survival and reproduction and is thus likely to be naturally selected, such characteristics are passed down to future generations

Question 26

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: Sexual Jealousy: Mate Retention Strategy

Answer 26

strategies to prevent partners infidelity created by Margo Wilson and Martin Daily which involve aggression and physical violence

Question 27

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: Sexual Jealousy: Direct Guarding

Answer 27

involves male vigilance over a partner, for example checking who they’ve been seeing, coming home early, keeping tabs on their whereabouts

Question 28

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: Sexual Jealousy: Negative Inducements

Answer 28

such as issuing threats of dire consequences for infidelity “ill kill myself if you leave”

Question 29

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: Sexual Jealousy: Wilson et al (1995)

Answer 29

found that women who reported mate retention strategies in their partners were twice as likely to have suffered physical violence at the hands of their partners, of these women 73% required medical attention and 53% said they feared for their lives

Question 30

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: Sexual Jealousy: Intimate partner violence

Answer 30

Todd Shackelford et al (2005) studied intimate partner violence in heterosexual couples

Question 31

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: Sexual Jealousy: Shackelford et al (2005)

Answer 31

men and women in 107 married couples completed different questionaries, all of the ppts had been married less than one year, the men completed the mate retention test and the women completed the spouse influence report which measured partners violence, there was a strong positive correlation between men’s reports of their mate retention behaviours and women’s reports of their partners physical violence so men who used guarding and negative inducements were more likely to use physical violence against their partners

Question 32

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: Bullying: Volk (2012)

Answer 32

argued that characteristics of bullying may be attractive to the opposite sex, in males it suggests dominance, acquisition of resources and strength
such behaviour would be naturally selected as these males would have greater reproductive success
according to Volk women are more likely to billy within a relationship to secure their partners fidelity, this would also be naturally selected

Question 33

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: A03: Aggression is viewed differently depending on the culture

Answer 33

!Kung San people of the Kalahari have very negative attitudes towards the use of aggression, aggressive behaviour discouraged from birth. Those who use it find their reputation and social standing diminished. The Yanomamo tribe have been described as fierce people but it appears aggression is an accepted and required behaviour to gain status

Question 34

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: A03: real-life application e.g. anti bullying applications

Answer 34

Rigby in 2010 reviewed bullying interventions based on bullying being a maladaptive behaviour that can be eradicated by addressing bullies defects, however the evolutionary approach says bully’s bully because they gain advantages
Volk et al argue that anti bullying interventions therefore need to increase the cost of bullying and rewards of prosocial alternatives. Therefore one method could be making them compete in sport where their aggression can be used for good purpose

Question 35

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: A03: Aggression not always an adaptive behaviour

Answer 35

aggression would have helped more when we had to fight and hunt for our own food now its better to resolve disputes peacefully, therefore we don’t have to fight to survive so its not an adaptive behaviour anymore. also warriors go to war therefore the aggressive behaviour gene is not passed one because the warriors die and do not reproduce

Question 36

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: A03: gender differences in male and female aggression

Answer 36

Campbell 1999 found that females with offspring were less aggressive because that would put offspring at risk, so more adaptive strategy is verbal aggression meanwhile men use physical aggression. This difference between male and female can be explained by the evolutionary explanation.

Question 37

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: A03: biologically determinist, doesn’t take free will into account

Answer 37

very determinist, oversimplifying. emotions, feelings and free will not taken into account
tells us that it is inevitable that men will be aggressive therefore giving an excuse to men to be aggressive

Question 38

Ethological Explanation of Aggression: Adaptive Functions of Aggression

Answer 38

main function of aggression is adaptive, aggression if beneficial to survival because a defeated animal is rarely killed but rather is forced to establish territory elsewhere. therefore members of a species spread out over an area decreasing competition and increasing food sources
another adaptive function of aggression is to establish dominance hierarchies. Pettit et al (1988) studied play groups of young human children and observed how aggression played an important role in the development of some children’s dominance over others, this would be adaptive because dominance brings benefits

Question 39

Ethological Explanation of Aggression: Ritualistic Aggression

Answer 39

a series of behaviours carried out in a set order, Lorenz found that in fights between animals there was little physical damage and more ritualistic signalling and rarely reached physicality. Lorenz also pointed out the intraspecies aggressive confrontations with ritual appeasement displays which indicated defeat preventing any damage to the loser, this is adaptive because if every confrontation ended in death it would threaten the existence of the species

Question 40

Ethological Explanation of Aggression: Innate Releasing Mechanisms and Fixed Action Patterns

Answer 40

IRM is a built up physiological process or structure e.g. network of neurons, an environmental stimulus triggers the IRM which then release a specific sequence of behaviours, this behavioural pattern is called FAP, FAP’s have 6 main features according to Stephen Lea
stereotyped, or relatively unchanging sequences of behaviour
universal, because the same behaviour is found in every individual of a species
unaffected by learning, the same for every individual regardless of experience
ballistic, once the behaviour is triggered it follows an inevitable course and cannot be altered before its completed
single purpose, the behaviour only occurs in a specific situation and not in any other
a response to an identifiable specific sign stimulus

Question 41

Ethological Explanation of Aggression: key study for IRMS and FAP’s

Answer 41

procedure: male sticklebacks are highly territorial during mating, they also develop a red spot on their underbelly if another male enters their territory, a sequence of highly stereotyped aggressive behaviour is initiated (FAP), the sign stimulus that triggers FAP is the sight of the red spot
findings: Tinbergen presented sticklebacks with series of wooden models of different shapes and regardless of shape if there was a red spot stickleback would show aggression, but if no red spot no aggression, also FAP’s were unchanging from one encounter to another

Question 42

Ethological Explanation of Aggression: A03: criticisms of instinctive view

Answer 42

Lehrman (1953) believed that Lorenz underestimate the role of environment factors, FAP tends not to be used within ecology now and rather is referred to as behaviour patterns to acknowledge the fact that these are not simply innate and can be modified by experience
there are also subtle variations between aggression behaviours of the same species suggesting its not as fixed an Lorenz stated

Question 43

Ethological Explanation of Aggression: A03: do humans have FAP’s for aggression

Answer 43

Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1972) suggests that we have FAP’s like smiling and the eyebrow flash but believes that FAP’s such as aggression are not adaptive in modern times
flexibility of human behaviour and the ability to respond to an ever-changing environment has shown to be more effective than the production of stereotypical, fixed patterns of behaviour
so although non-human species may respond aggressively to certain stimuli, human behaviour is far more varied and less predictable

Question 44

Ethological Explanation of Aggression: A03: benefits of ritualised aggression

Answer 44

in non-human species, the main advantage of ritualised aggression is that it prevents conflicts from escalating into potentially dangerous physical aggression
anthropological evidence suggests that ritualised aggression was also useful in humans to prevent physical aggression
the yanomamo of south america use chest pounding and club fighting to settle conflicts, each opponent must take a blow to the head from an opponents club before delivering their own hit in return
this suggests that even in aggressive cultures rituals may be used to prevent injury or death
Its important that it doesn’t fully escalate or else we could see the loss of a species.

Question 45

Ethological Explanation of Aggression: A03: genetics vs nisbett, cultural differences in aggression

Answer 45

found that there was a north-south divide in the us for homicide rates
killings are more common among white males in the southern that northern
only true for reactive aggression triggered by arguments - response to an impulsive aggression was a social norm
this was caused by a “culture of honour” in other words the response to impulsive aggression was a learned social norm

Question 46

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis: Dollard 1939

Answer 46

frustration always leads to aggression and aggression is always the result of frustration, based on the psychodynamic concept of catharsis, and views aggression as a biological drive
if our attempt to achieve a goal is blocked by external factors we experience frustration, which creates an aggressive drive leading to aggressive behaviour this is cathartic because the aggression created by frustration is satisfied thereby reducing the drive and making aggression less likely
aggression not always expressed directly against the source of frustration because it may be abstract or powerful therefore risking punishment or simply unavailable at that time, so our aggression is deflected onto the alternative one that it not abstract is weaker and is available

Question 47

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis: research Russel Green (1968)

Answer 47

male university students were told to complete a jigsaw puzzle, group 1 had an impossible puzzle, group 2 ran out of time because a confederate kept interfering, group 3 confederate insulted ppt as they failed to solve the puzzle
after that the ppts gave electric shocks to confederate when they made a mistake on another task
insulted ppts gave the strongest shocks on average followed by the interfere group then the impossible task group, all three groups selected higher shocks then the control group

Question 48

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis: the role of environmental cues

Answer 48

Leonard Berkowitz (1989)
students ppts given electric shocks in a laboratory situation creating anger and frustration, the individual who gave shocks was confederate then tables were turned and ppts now gave shocks
two conditions, one where guns were present on table and one where they weren’t when guns where present 6.07 shocks were given on average, no guns 4.67 on average
weapons effect, presence of aggressive environmental cues stimulate aggression

Question 49

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis: A03: different kinds of frustration

Answer 49

Joy Dill and Craig Anderson (1995) said that different kinds of frustration have different effects, an experimenter showed ppts how to perform a paper folding task he made it difficult to follow by going too quickly
in unjustified condition he had to hurry because his girlfriends was waiting for him in justified condition his boss told him to finish quickly. the unjustified condition produced more aggression than the control condition

Question 50

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis: A03: does frustration always lead to aggression

Answer 50

social learning theorists claim that frustration produces only generalised arousal in the individual and that social learning determines how that arousal will influence an individuals behaviour, an individual may respond to frustration by engaging in aggressive behaviour if it has been effective for them before or if they have observed it being effective for others

Question 51

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis: A03: negative effect theory

Answer 51

Berkowitz’s reformulation frustration does not always lead to aggression and aggression can occur without frustration, frustration is one of many aggressive stimuli that created negative feelings generally furthermore the outcome of frustration can be a range of responses, this new theory arose because the old was inadequate and could only explain aggression in some scenarios

Question 52

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis: A03: evidence for displacement

Answer 52

Amy Marcus Newhall et al (2000) conducted a meta-analysis of 49 studies of displaced aggression, these studies investigated situations in which aggressive behaviour had to be aimed against a target other than the one that caused the frustration, ppts who were provoked but unable to retaliate against source of frustration were more likely to aggress against an innocent party than the people who were not provoked

Question 53

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis: real life application

Answer 53

open carry of firearms in america, presence of weapon acts as a cue for aggression

Question 54

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Social Learning Theory: Direct and Indirect Learning

Answer 54

Bandura acknowledged that behaviour can be learned through operant conditiong including positive and negative reinforcement and punishment, these direct reinforcements mean that the child will do this again in a similar situation, however Bandura realised behaviour often cannot be explained by such direct forms of learning, especially in humans, so he argued that an indirect mechanisms - observational learning - accounts for social learning of most aggressive behaviours

Question 55

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Social Learning Theory: Observational Learning and Vicarious Reinforcement

Answer 55

children acquire specific aggressive behaviours through observing aggressive models such as siblings, parents, media characters, the child works out how an aggressive behaviour is performed this does not mean that they will perform it themselves, children also observe the consequences of the behaviour, if behaviour is rewarded then the child learns that aggression can be effective in getting what it wants this is vicarious reinforcement makes it more likely child will imitate behaviour

Question 56

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Social Learning Theory: Cognitive Control of Aggressive Behaviour

Answer 56

attention - observer must pay attention to the model’s aggressive actions
retention - observer must remember model’s aggressive actions, to form symbolic mental representation of how the behaviour is performed
motivation - reason to imitate the behaviour
motor reproduction - transform the mental representation into actual physical action

Question 57

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Social Learning Theory: Self-efficacy

Answer 57

the extent to which we believe our actions will achieve a desired goal, a child’s confidence in their ability to be aggressive grows as they learn that aggression can bring rewards, self-efficacy develops with each successful outcome, it has been effective in the past and will continue to be effective

Question 58

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Social Learning Theory: Research into social learning of aggression, Bandura, BoBo doll

Answer 58

two groups, one group saw an adult acting aggressively towards the bobo doll and the other group saw the adult acting no aggressively towards the bobo doll, the children in the violent group were also violent towards the bobo doll and were a copy of what the adult had done, from specific phrases and use of specific objects in the non violent group aggressive behaviour towards the bobo doll was almost non existent

Question 59

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Social Learning Theory: A03: bobo dolls

Answer 59

bobo dolls were meant to be hit, the way the children acted was to be expected, children weren’t imitating but doing what they thought was right
took place in a lab therefore lab conditions, children wont come across this in real life therefore low ecological validity
also bandura didn’t account for differences in testosterone, boys hit bobo doll more than girls
children watched videos of adults being aggressive towards doll and then left alone with doll, the kids who observed aggressive behaviour acted aggressively, SLT predicts this, therefore gives SLT support

Question 60

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Social Learning Theory: A03: differences in aggression in different places

Answer 60

role models can vary depending where you are, SLT can explain why someone might show different levels of aggression in different places

Question 61

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Social Learning Theory: A03: cultural differences

Answer 61

can explain cultural differences, traits passed down through generations
Kung San people - least likely to show aggression as could diminish social standing
Yanomamo tribe - more likely because it increases social standing

Question 62

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: Social Learning Theory: A03: implications

Answer 62

children will learn to be aggressive through media, particularly true if children identify with, child is vicariously reinforced - has real life implications for what media is aimed at younger children, does the media bear responsibility for children learning violence

Question 63

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: De-individuation: Crowd Behaviour

Answer 63

when people become part of a group, they lose their sense of individual identity and responsibility for their behaviour, so they act ways that they would never normally consider, they have greater disregard for norms and laws, responsibility becomes shared throughout crowd, so less personal guilt is felt for harmful aggression

Question 64

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: De-individuation: How does it lead to aggression

Answer 64

-big groups
-alcohol/drugs
-uniform
-anonymity - masks
-darkness
-strong group feelings
-increased arousal

Question 65

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: De-individuation: role of self-awareness

Answer 65

private self-awareness
we pay attention to our own feelings and behaviour, reduced when part of a crowd, attention on outward events, less focused on ourselves, less self-critical, less thoughtful and evaluative of our actions all these contribute to a deindividuated state
public self-awareness
how much we acre about what other people think of our behaviour, reduced in crowds, realisation of anonymity within crowd an all behaviour less likely to be judged by others, no longer care how others see us, so we think we are less accountable for aggressive actions

Question 66

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: De-individuation: research David Dodd (1985)

Answer 66

asked 229 undergraduate psychology students in 13 classes the question ‘if you could do anything humanly possible with complete assurance that you wouldn’t not be held responsible, what would you do?’, students were aware that their answers were anonymous, three independent raters who did not know the hypotheses decided which categories of antisocial behaviour the responses belonged to
dodd found that 36% of response involved some form of antisocial behaviour, 26% were actual criminal acts only 9% were prosocial behaviours

Question 67

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: De-individuation: A03: supporting research dodd

Answer 67

look at other one

Question 68

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: De-individuation: A03: real life application

Answer 68

Deindividuation theory has been applied to real-world situations and seems to explain observed behaviours such as the ‘baiting crowd’. Mann analysed 21 suicide leaps reported in US papers in the 1960s and 70s. In 10 of those cases, the crows that had gathered had ‘baited’ the jumper (i.e. they had urged the person to jump). These incidents mostly occurred at night, when the crowd was large and some distance from the jumper. It’s thought that all of these features were likely to have produced a deindividuated state in the members of the crowd, which is why they were able to call such things to the jumper without fear of consequence. (Urging someone to jump off a building is a type of verbal aggression.) This study supports the notion of the anonymous crowd as a deindividuated ‘mob’, meaning they were capable and more likely to be aggressive than smaller, well-lit crowds. Since these were real-life incidences, it also gives the study external validity as the findings are applicable beyond the field of research.

Question 69

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: De-individuation: A03: research support

Answer 69

Zimbardo’s own research (1969) supports the theory of deindividuation as an explanation for aggression. Groups of four undergraduates were required to give electric shocks to another student to ‘aid learning’. Half the participants wore bulky lab coats and hoods that hid their faces while the other half wore their normal clothes and large name tags. They were also able to see each other when sat at the shock machine. The findings showed the participants in the deindividuated condition (hooded) were more likely to press a button they believed would shock someone in the other room. They held the shock button down twice as long as the identifiable participants. This study gives validity to the concept of deindividuation as it was highly controlled and the only difference between the two conditions were how anonymous the participants were.

Question 70

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: De-individuation: A03: mixed research

Answer 70

However, the research support for deindividuation theory does not consistently show increased aggression. A meta-analysis of 60 studies (Postmes and Spears, 1998) found antisocial behaviour is not more common in large groups and anonymous settings. Instead, the found that deindividuation increases a person’s responsiveness to situational norms (what most people consider ‘appropriate’ behaviour in a given situation). This may lead to increased aggressive behaviour, but could also lead to prosocial behaviours, depending on the situation. Furthermore, research has also shown when prosocial environmental cues are present (like a prosocial model), deindividuated participants performed significantly more altruistic acts like giving money than a control group. This evidence suggests that the research support for deindividuation is mixed and therefore it seems that deindividuation does not reliably cause increased aggression. This is likely due to other factors involved (like the situational context).

Question 71

Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression: De-individuation: A03: determinist

Answer 71

This means that anyone in a large group setting or a march or even everyone at a football match should behave aggressively and lose their self awareness. However not everyone behaves this way, so the theory is overly determinist.

Question 72

Institutional Aggression in the Context of Prisons: Dispositional Explanations

Answer 72

the importation model, factors to do with people in the institution
because its the people, it doesn’t matter where you will put them, they will be violent
Irwin and Cressey (1962) claim inmates bring their violent pasts with them to prison. they “import” a subculture of criminality this includes beliefs, norms, attitudes, history of violence
the dispositional explanation is based on the individual nature (inherited temperament) and nurture (social environment), therefore aggression in prison is the result of the disposition of the inmates, not the prison environment

Question 73

Institutional Aggression in the Context of Prisons: Dispositional Explanations Research DeLisi et al (2011)

Answer 73

studied 813 juvenile delinquents confined in institutions in California, these were inmates who brought into confinement several negative dispositional features such as experiences of childhood trauma, high levels of anger, irritability, history of violent behaviour and substances abuse
these inmates were more likely to engage in suicidal activity and sexual misconduct and committed more acts of physical violence compared to the control group however study is culturally bound

Question 74

Institutional Aggression in the Context of Prisons: Situational Explanations

Answer 74

the deprivation model, factors to do with the institution itself, because its the place, put anyone there and they’ll be violent
Clemmer (1958) claimed the cause of institutional aggression is the prison environment itself, harsh prison conditions are stressful for inmates, who cope by resorting to aggressive/violent behaviour. these harsh conditions include psychological factors, deprived of freedom, intimacy and physical factors, good and services
Cooke (2008) identified several situation characteristics that promote aggression - overcrowding, heat, noise, job burnout in staff

Question 75

Institutional Aggression in the Context of Prisons: Situational Explanations Research Benjamin Steiner (2009)

Answer 75

investigated the factors that predicted inmate aggression in 512 prisons in the USA
he found that inmate on inmate violence was more common in prisons where there were higher proportions pf female staff, African-American inmates, Hispanic inmates, and inmates in protective custody of their own safety

Question 76

Institutional Aggression in the Context of Prisons: Dispositional Explanations: A03: Kane and Janus (1981)

Answer 76

found if a prisoner had a lower level of education, a more serious criminal record and more time unemployed in their life then they were more likely to be aggressive and violent when put in prison. this is a clear indication of how the violence may have been imported due to the offenders previous experiences

Question 77

Institutional Aggression in the Context of Prisons: Dispositional Explanations: A03: uniqueness of individual

Answer 77

a strength of this idea is that it looks at prisoner in a more idiographic was rather than saying they are all the same. the theory is essentially arguing the effects of experiences and predisposition are individual and therefore can explain why some offenders are violent and some are not

Question 78

Institutional Aggression in the Context of Prisons: Situational Explanations: A03: lack of autonomy contributing

Answer 78

Bloomberg and Lucken (2000) found evidence to support the idea of lack of autonomy contributing to aggression. They found prisoners had to seek permission to perform acts such as eating and washing which are key civil liberties, this lead to frustration and therefore could be a key factor in increasing aggression

Question 79

Institutional Aggression in the Context of Prisons: Situational Explanations: A03: contradictory research

Answer 79

the model predicts that a lack of freedom and sexual contact should lead to high levels of aggression in prisoners. But research by Hensley (2002) studied 256 male and female prisoners in Mississippi from prisons that allowed conjugal visits (visits from partners specifically for sex), there was no link between involvement in these visits and reduced aggressive behaviour

Question 80

Media Influences on Aggression: The effects of computer games

Answer 80

mode of mass communication, books, tv shows, video games, songs, films, new radio
changes in aggressive behaviour that are attributed to media such as TV or computer games

Question 81

Media Influences on Aggression: The effects of computer games: Experimental studies

Answer 81

Bartholow and Anderson (2002) students played violent computer games and a non violent computer games for 10 mins
they all carried out the Taylor Competitive Reaction Time Task (TCRTT) which blasts white noise at chosen volumes to punish opponent, those who played the violent game selected significantly higher noise levels (82 decibels) compared with nonviolent (75 decibels)

Question 82

Media Influences on Aggression: The effects of computer games: Correlational studies

Answer 82

DeLisi et al (2013) studied 277 offenders with serious aggressive behaviours such as hitting a teacher/parent/gang fighting
using unstructured interviews, they gathered data on several measures of aggression and violent computer game-playing
they found that the offenders aggressive behaviour was significantly correlated with how often they played violent computer games and how much they enjoyed them
they argued that aggression should be considered a public health issue

Question 83

Media Influences on Aggression: The effects of computer games: Longitudinal studies

Answer 83

Robertson et al (2013) see if there was link between excessive TV viewing in childhood and aggression in adulthood
1037 people born in NZ in 1972, 1973 and measured their TV viewing hours at regular intervals up to age of 26
findings was that time spent TV watching was a reliable predictor of aggressive behaviour in adulthood (e.g. crimes)
those who watch TV the most were more likely to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder

Question 84

Media Influences on Aggression: The effects of computer games: Meta-analyses

Answer 84

Anderson et al (2010) conduced a metal-analysis of 136 studies which included 3 types of methodology (experimental, correlational, longitudinal)
findings, exposure to violent computer games was associated with increased in aggressive behaviour, thoughts and feelings
true for males and females in collectivist and individualist studies
higher quality since the effect of video gaming on aggression is more than the effect of second hand on someone

Question 85

Media Influences on Aggression: The effects of computer games: Experimental studies: A03: causal link and realism

Answer 85

these studies are done in a lab, therefore can establish cause-effect
in the lab study played only 10 min of video games, normally logging in for many hours, the comparison games was not good comparison as players will normally not play it and will be less engaged
TCRTT unrealistic as white noise is not normally aggressive also there will normally be a reaction to the aggressive behaviour from the counter party

Question 86

Media Influences on Aggression: The effects of computer games: Correlational studies: A03: 3rd factors

Answer 86

only indicates a relationship not a cause and effect
aggressive people could be drawn to these types of games which would explain correlation between violent video games and aggressive behaviour

Question 87

Media Influences on Aggression: The effects of computer games: Longitudinal studies: A03: confounding variables

Answer 87

dynamic nature of media influences in the long term can be studied, people are active consumers rather than passive recipients
see changes over time more reflective of real life
confounding variables, many other sources of aggression interact with media influence over a period of time, such as role models in the from of friends and family members, it becomes difficult to separate them all and assess their contributions, and quite unethical to remove them from family and friends a long time

Question 88

Media Influences on Aggression: The effects of computer games: Meta-analyses: A03: publication bias

Answer 88

in scientific research, only findings that are statistically significant get published, this a problem for meta-analyses, because they generally only include published studies
however the meta-analyses we wrote down was check for publication bias having an effect and it did not so this a strength of our research

Question 89

Media Influences on Aggression:

Answer 89

Desensitisation, Disinhibition and Cognitive Priming

Question 90

Media Influences on Aggression: Desensitisation

Answer 90

when we witness violent actions we experience physiological arousal associated with the sympathetic nervous system: increases hr, sweating, dilated pupils, higher bp
when children are repeatedly presented with violence in games/on tv they become habituated to its effects
a stimulus that is usually aversive has a diminishing impact, resulting in a reduction of anxiety and physiological arousal
it is psychological as well as physiological
negative attitudes towards violence weaken, less empathy is felt for victims and their injuries are minimised and dismissed

Question 91

Media Influences on Aggression: Disinhibition

Answer 91

these are powerful social and psychological inhibitions against using aggression to solve conflict
these inhibitions are learned through SLRT, because mots people hold the view that aggression is antisocial and harmful
according to disinhibition, these restraints are loosened after exposure to violent media like TV shows or video games, because this media involves aggression and violence seen more normal
this shifts the social norms of the viewer so they think this kind of behaviour is acceptable

Question 92

Media Influences on Aggression: Cognitive Priming

Answer 92

repeatedly watching violence can provide us with a script about how violent situations might play out
this script is stored in our memory and so we become ‘primed’ to be aggressive in response to different scenarios
this process is automatic not conscious
cues in a situation trigger the aggressive script

Question 93

Media Influences on Aggression: Cognitive Priming Research

Answer 93

Fischer and Greitemeyer (2006) looked at priming of aggressive scripts in memory by investigating song lyrics
male ppts listened to song lyrics featuring aggressive lyrics about women compared with when they listened to neutral lyrics and found that they were more negative about women and behaved more aggressive to a female confederate
when women were played songs with negative lyrics about men similar results were observed

Question 94

Media Influences on Aggression: Cognitive Priming: A03: less likely with less realistic media

Answer 94

level of realism in video games is an important factor in whether aggressive behaviour is primed or not, because Atkin (1983) found that higher levels of aggression arose from ppts viewing more realistic violence in the games they played, this study was conducted in 1983 when technology was much less developed therefore realism in video games was also less developed now video games are much more realistic so this point holds even greater impact

Question 95

Media Influences on Aggression: Cognitive Priming: A03: confounding variables

Answer 95

playing violent video games primes violent behaviour more than non-violent video games do, the problem is that violent video games ten to be much more complex in their gameplay than non-violent video games and this complexity is the confounding variable, complexity causes priming not violence
David Zenale et al (2018) found that when complexity was controlled, the priming effects of violent video games disappeared

Question 96

Media Influences on Aggression: Disinhibition: A03: can explain the effect of cartoon violence

Answer 96

children do not learn specific aggressive behaviours from cartoon models for example it is not possible to punch someone so their head spins around 360 degrees
instead they learnt that aggression in general is acceptable, this is especially true if the cartoon model is not punished this disinhibits aggressive behaviour

Question 97

Media Influences on Aggression: Desensitisation: A03: research support

Answer 97

Barbara Krahe et al (2011) showed ppts violent and non-violent films while measuring physiological arousal using skin conductance
the physiological arousal levels being lower in the group of habitual-violence viewers supports the concept of desensitisation, as this is what the explanation would predict. The study also links this to aggressive behaviour in the form of the louder white noise bursts - which suggests the desensitised group are also more aggressive when given the opportunity