Aggression

Question 1

Aggression is split into 2 parts:

Answer 1

Proactive aggression:
Cold blooded
Intended/ planned

Reactive aggression:
Hot blooded
Angry and impulsive
Accompanied by
physical arousal

Question 2

Explanations for Aggressive behaviour is split to 4 parts

Answer 2

Biological
Genetic
Neural
Hormonal

Ethological explanation
Animal studies

Evolutionary explanation
Sexual
jealousy
Bullying

Social Psychological
Frustration- aggression hypothesis
Social learning theory
De-individuation

Question 3

The limbic system

Answer 3

The limbic system is linked to the ANS.

The limbic system responds ‘automatically’ to danger rather than in a planned way

What type of aggression is this?
Reactive aggression

Question 4

The limbic system and aggression - Kluver and Bucy (1939)

Answer 4

Rhesus monkeys- removed the main areas of the limbic
system including the amygdala, hippocampus and
surrounding cortical areas.

Findings:
The monkeys displayed an absence of emotional, motor
and vocal reactions normally associated with stimuli or
situations eliciting fear and anger.
Lesioned monkeys also lost the social understanding of
group hierarchies and would try to fight the more
dominant and larger members of the group.

Question 5

Hypothalamus

Answer 5

Control hormone release, maintains homeostasis. Has a balancing role, which regulates our hunger and thirst as well as our response to pain, anger, aggression and sexual satisfaction. It regulates our blood pressure, pulse, breathing and arousal levels (fight or flight)

Question 6

Amygdala

Answer 6

has a key role in how mammals assess and respond to environmental threats. The reactivity of the amydala in humans and other mammals is an important predictor of aggressive behaviour. i.e the more responsive the amydala, the more aggressive a person is

Question 7

Fornix

Answer 7

Fibre bundle which carries information from the hippocampus to the mammillary bodies, and then on to the thalamus.

Question 8

Cingulate gyrus

Answer 8

Focuses attention on events that are emotional for the individual. Links the thalamus and hippocampus

Question 9

Hippocampus

Answer 9

The hippocampus helps humans process and retreview 2 types of memory, declarative memories and spatial memories.

Question 10

Mammillary body

Answer 10

Extensive connections to the amygdala and the hippocampus

Question 11

Serotonin

Answer 11

is a neurotransmitter that has widespread inhibitory effects in the brain, i.e if slows down and calms neuronal activity. Decreased serotonin (deficiency) disrupts this mechanism, reducing self-control and leading to an increase in impulse behaviour including aggression (Denson et al)

Question 12

Davidson, Putnam and Larson 2000

Answer 12

Studied violent and non-violent criminals and suggested based on their findings that serotonin may provide an inhibitory function. Their findings showed levels of serotonin in violent crimnals was markedly lower.

Question 13

Serotonin supporting evidence

Answer 13

Research on mice where the serotonin 1B receptor was not functioning found an increase in aggressive behaviour, a point further supported by research involving Vervet monkeys. Reducing the serotonin levels of the monkeys resulted in an increase in aggressive behaviour, whereas increasing serotonin levels resulted in a decrease in aggressive occurrences.

Question 14

Serotonin supporting evidence

Answer 14

Reserachers in Russia looked at silver foxes, these animals have been tamed by humans for more than 30 years. They were found to have higher levels of serotonin and 5-IAA (5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid) than would normally be expected. They also had higher levels of tryptophan hydroxylase (an essential enzyme used in the production of serotonin) and a lower level of monoamine oxidase (an enzyme that is essential for removing serotonin from the synapse)

Question 15

Linnoila and Virkkunen 1992

Answer 15

reported low levels of serotonin are linked to ‘impulsivity and explosive acts of violence’.

Question 16

Katarina Gospic et al 2011- Amydala

Answer 16

This amydala activity where some participants were subjected to mild provocation. When participants reacted aggressively fMRI scans showed a fast and heightened response by the amygdala.

Question 17

Hormonal Mechanisms and Aggression

Answer 17

The main hormone which decides whether an embryo develops into a male or female is testosterone.

Observations of non-human and human species have
demonstrated that aggression is more evident in males than
in females.

Animal studies have led to the explanation that male
hormones are implicated in aggression.

Testosterone peaks in young adolescent males before
gradually declining with age. It also promotes muscle
strength and is responsible for the sex drive.

However, testosterone is also implicated in aggression.

Question 18

Hormonal mechanism and aggression
Testosterone

Answer 18

is an androgen responsible for the development of masculine featurers, it’s mainly produced in the male testes (and in small amounts in the female ovaries) - it’s linked to aggressive behaviour.

Question 19

Hormonal mechanism and aggression
Testosterone supporting evidence

Answer 19

Nelson 1995 found that there was a positive correlation between the level of testosterone circulating in the body and aggressive behaviour in female and male prisoners.

Animal research has supported the suggestion that aggression increases during puberty, when androgen levels are higher(especially in males as androgens have masculinising effects.

Wagner, Beuving and Hutchinson 1979 show that if a male mouse is castrated, overall levels of aggression tend to reduce. If the castrated mouse receives testosterone aggression levels increase.

Question 20

Allan Mazur (1985)

Answer 20

formulated the biosocial model of status (BMoS) to
explain the link between
testosterone and aggression in
humans

Testosterone levels change rapidly during the day especially in response to social interactions related to status/ competition

Question 21

Ethologist claim that aggression is:

Answer 21

An instinct
Adaptive – beneficial to that species
Innate
Genetically determined

Question 22

Ethological explanation of aggression has 3 key areas

Answer 22

1. Adaptive function
   - Discovering resources
   Establishing dominance hierarchies
2. Ritualistic aggression
3. Innate releasing mechanism and fixed action pattern.

Question 23

Lorenz - Adaptive functions of aggressive

Answer 23

Establishing dominance hierarchy
Pettit et al (1988)
Aggression in humans is an adaptive response. Observed young children in playgroups
Findings:
Aggression played an important role in dominance over others
Conclusion:
This is adaptive as dominance brings power to get your own way and resources

Conrad Lorenz also believed that aggression was an innate adaptive response – something which had evolved in humans and animals to help them survive
See of predators
To get resources
‘… the fighting instinct in beast and man which is directed against members of the same species’

Question 24

Ritualistic aggression

Answer 24

Ritual: Series of behaviours carried out in a set order

Intra-species violence:
aggression aimed at members of the same species

Inter-species violence:
aggression aimed at other species

Intra-species violence is mainly ritualistic in the form of threat display = Displaying claws/ Showing teeth / Facial expressions

Intra- species violence which leads to death- is maladaptive (wolves and doves) and accidental

They end with ritual appeasement displays, acceptance of defeat

Question 25

Ritualistic Aggression supporting evidence

Answer 25

Chagnon (1992)
Among the Yanomamo people of South America, chest pounding and club fighting contests can settle a conflict short or more extreme violence

Hoebel (1967)
Inuit Eskimos, song duels are used to settle grudges and disputes

Question 26

Adaptive – beneficial to that species/ Innate

Answer 26

All members of the same species (conspecifics) have a collection of stereotyped behaviours which occur in specific conditions and which do not require learning

These innate behaviours are fixed action patterns (FAP)

Question 27

Innate releasing mechanism and fixed action patterns

Answer 27

Biological structure or process (the brain) - these are internal releasing mechanims.
Activated by external. stimulus/sign stimulus
Triggers fixed action pattern
according to stephen Lea 1984, FAPs have 6 main features :

1. sterotyped or relatively unchanging sequences of behaviour
2. Universal, because the same behaviour is found in every individual of a species
3. Unaffected by learning, the same for every individual regardless of experience.
4. ‘ballistic’ once the behaviour only occurs in a specific situation and not in any other way
5. An response to an individual specific sign stimulus (or, if it involves communication between members of the same species, it is known as releaser.

Question 28

Ethology/ Extrapolation

Answer 28

1. is the study of animals behaviour in a natural setting
2. is generalising the behaviour of individuals animals to the behaviour of humans.
   Darwin - we are all subjects of the same forces of natural selection.

Question 29

Tinbergan

Answer 29

Tinbergan studied stickleback fishes and demonstrated how they produced a fixed sequence of aggressive behaviours when another male stickleback fish entered its territory.

This species of fish is very territorial and aggressive. In the mating season they develop a red spot on their underside.

Question 30

Evolutionary explanation of Human Aggression is split into 2 parts

Answer 30

sexual jealousy
Bullying as an adaptive response

Question 31

Sexual jealousy as an adaptive response

Answer 31

Paternity certainity - Men can never be sure whether or not they have fathered a child
Cuckoldry - Raising an offspring that are not his own.
Investment in another mans offspring is waste of resources. Psychological mechanism have evolved to increase anti-cuckoldry in males. Sexual jealousy is a key motivator of aggressive behaviour in males such as domestic violence/ Rape / Murder.

Question 32

Direct Guarding

Answer 32

involves male vigilance over a partner’s behaviour, for eg. checking who they’ve been seeing, coming home early, keeping tabs on their whereabouts, installing tracking apps on their mobile

Question 33

Negative involvements

Answer 33

such as issuing threats of dire consequence for infidelity

Question 34

Buss and Shackelford 1997

Answer 34

Examined male retention in 214 married couples, it was seen that men claimed to see debasement techniques (i.e giving into her every wish) more oftem than intra-sexual threats (i.e threatening to beat up the other man). While women reported higher use of verbal signals and threats of punishing infidelity (i.e leaving the male if he cheated). It was also seen in men married to younger women used more retention techniques and devoted more time to their partner than males married to older women.

Question 35

Wilson et al 1995

Answer 35

In a questionnaire, women who indicated
that their partners were jealous and did not
like them talking to other men were twice as likely to have experienced violence from
their partners (72% of these needing
medical attention).

Question 36

Shackleford et al 2005

Answer 36

studied intimate partner violence in
heterosexual couples

107 married couples completed a different
questionnaires

All couples married for less than a year

Male-Mate Retention Inventory

Females- Spouse Influence Report

Question 37

Bullying as an adaptive response

Answer 37

Bullying occurs because of a power
imbalance. Bullying also has the benefit of warding off potential rivals. Therefore such bullying behaviour would be naturally selected because these males would have greater reproductive success.

Volk et al 2012
argue that the Characteristics associated with bullying behaviour are attractive to the opposite sex, in males, it suggests dominance, strength and acquisition of resources. Bullying gives access to more females with minimal threat from competing males. Bullying is naturally selected because males will have reproductive success.

Female bullying is used to secure
their partner’s fidelity (usually
happens within a relationship) and is
a method of controlling partner to
secure resources for offspring

Question 38

Social Psychological explanations of aggression is split into

Answer 38

Social learning theory
Deindividuation
Frustration hypothesis

Question 39

Social learning theory

Answer 39

Aggression can be learnt directly through mechanisms of operant conditioning involving positive, and negative reinforcement and punishment

Question 40

Direct and indirect learning

Answer 40

This direct reinforcement makes it more likely that the child will behave again in the same situation.
Observational learning (indirect learning)
accounts for the social learning theory of the most aggressive behaviours.

Question 41

Observational learning and vicarious reinforcement

Answer 41

Children acquire specific aggressive behaviours through observing aggressive models such as siblings, parents, peers and characters in the media. As well as observing the behavioural models, they also observe the consequences of their behaviour.

If the model’s aggressive behaviour is rewarded (or not punished), then the child learns that aggression can effectively get what they want - vicarious reinforcement. If a model’s use of aggression to achieve a goal is punished, an observing child is less likely to imitate that specific behaviour.

Question 42

Control of cognitive behaviour

Answer 42

Attention - a basic cognitive requirement is that the observer must pay attention to the model’s aggressive actions.

Retention - the observer also needs to be able to remember the model’s aggressive actions, to form a symbolic mental representation of how the behaviour is performed.

Reproduction - The observer must be able to transform the mental representation of the aggressive behaviour into actual physical action. This involves the individual mentally appraising their ability to do this.

Motivation - The observer needs a reason to imitate behaviour, which will depend on their expectations that behaving aggressively in a specific situation is rewarding.

Question 43

Self -efficacy

Answer 43

is 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. The child’s sense of self-efficacy develops with such a successful outcome. He or she is confident that, because their aggression has become effective in the past, it will continue to be so in the future.

Question 44

Deindividuation

Answer 44

A psychological state in which an individual loses their identity and takes on the identity of a social group.

Question 45

Deindividuation - Zimbardo

Answer 45

distinguished between individuated and de-individuated behaviour.
Individuated state - our behaviour is rational and normative
De-individuated state - emotional,impulsive, irrational, disinhibited and anti-normative.

The conditions of de-individuation which promotes aggressive behaviour Darkness, drugs, alcohol, uniforms, mask and disguises.

Question 46

Dodd (1985)

Answer 46

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?’.

The results found that:
36% of the responses were antisocial and 26% were criminal

This research demonstrates the connection between deindividuation as a result of anonymity, and subsequent aggression

Question 47

Le Bon (1895)

Answer 47

de-individuation is the behaviour of individuals in crowds

Question 48

Hogg and Vaughan (2008)

Answer 48

‘ The loss of a sense of individual identity, and a loosening of normal inhibitions against engaging in behaviour that is inconsistent with internal standards.’

Question 49

Zimbardo 1963 repeated milgrams 1963

Answer 49

obedience experiment with participants either wearing a name tag (deindividuated). The latter gave more shocks

Four female undergraduate participants were required to deliver electric shocks to another student to aid learning

Condition 1:
Wore bulky lab coats and hoods that hid their faces, sat in separate cubicles and never referred to by name

Condition 2:
Wore normal clothes, were given large name tags to wear and introduced by name. They were able to see each other when seated at the shock machines

Findings:
Female participants who wore hoods covering their faces, which created a sense of anonymity, were more likely to press a button that they believed would administer electric shocks to their “victims” who were in another room

Question 50

Watson (1973)

Answer 50

Studied 24 cultures

Findings:
In conflict situations warriors who concealed their identity by wearing face/ body paint were more aggressive than those who were identifiable.

Anonymous warriors were more likely to kill, mutilate and torture captured prisoners.

Question 51

Malmouth and Check (1981)

Answer 51

conducted a piece of research in North America and they posed the question: ‘Would you rape if you could not be caught?’ 35% of the university students said yes, supporting the theory that deindividuation can increase aggressive behaviour.

Question 52

Diener et al 1976

Answer 52

observed the behaviour of over 1000 children on Halloween; the house owner asked some of the children to give their names. Those who remained anonymous were more likely to steal some money and/or extra chocolate when briefly left alone e.g behave anti-socially

Question 53

Prentice-Dunn and Rogers (1982)

Answer 53

Group aggression is not due to anonymity directly but the consequence of anonymity is important in determining the likelihood of aggression

Private self-awareness
We pay attention to our feelings and behaviour
We become less self-critical, less thoughtful and less evaluative

Public self-awareness
How much we care about what people think of our behaviour
Just another individual, anonymous, behaviour less likely to be judged by others
Less accountable for our behaviour, we no longer care how others see us

Question 54

Institutional aggression is split into 2 areas

Answer 54

Environmental
Situational Factors
Deprivation model

Innate
Dispositional factors
Importation model

Question 55

Institutional aggression
Deprivation model

Answer 55

The characteristics of the institution account for violence. The experience of being imprisoned causes stress and frustration which leads to violence and aggression.

Donald Clemmer’s 1958 deprivation model places the causes of institutional aggression within the prison environment, i.e a situational explanation.

Harsh prison conditions are stressful for inmates, who cope by resorting to aggressive and violent behaviour.

Deprivation of material goods is closely linked to aggression because it increases competition among inmates.

The nature of the prison regime also influences aggression. If it is unpredictable, and regularly uses lock up to control behaviour, then this creates frustration, reduces stimulation by barring other more interesting activities and reduces even further access to ‘goods’ (such as television)

This is a recipe for violence, which becomes an adaptive solution to the problem of deprivation.

Question 56

Pains of imprisonment
1. Deprivation of liberty
2. Deprivation of autonomy
3. Deprivation of goods/services
4. Deprivation of heterosexual intimacy
5. Deprivation of security

Answer 56

1. Deprivation of liberty
   The deprivation of liberty describes how inmates lose many personal freedoms when imprisoned, such as choosing when to eat, bathe, sleep and wake up.
2. Deprivation of autonomy
   The deprivation of autonomy describes how prisoners are given scarce choices in their day-to-day lives. Prison staff almost entirely control their lives, leading to feelings of helplessness.
3. Deprivation of goods/services
   The deprivation of goods and services describes how inmates cannot access many of the goods and services they would enjoy in the outside world, such as their favourite food or smoking.
4. Deprivation of heterosexual intimacy
   The deprivation of heterosexual intimacy describes how heterosexual inmates mostly cannot continue or begin relationships or experience intimacy with their preferred gendered partner, leading to feelings of low self-worth, especially in male inmates.
5. Deprivation of security
   The deprivation of security describes how inmates may feel unsafe or that their safety is threatened whilst in prison.

Question 57

Institutional aggression
Importation model

Answer 57

Irwin and Cressey 1962 suggest that institutional aggression occurs as a result of individual characteristics that the prison brings into the prison. For example, inmates with values, attributes, experiences and social norms that tend towards violent behaviour towards other people will be more likely to engage in interpersonal violence than inmates with less violent personalities and experiences.

Question 58

Importation model
A02 analysis

Answer 58

statistics suggest that young inmates have a more difficult time adjusting to prison, therefore they are more likely to have confrontations with other inmates and with the prison stuff and are more likely to view violence as an appropriate way to deal with conflicts within the prison.