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Aggression Flashcards

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1
Q

What is proactive aggresion?

A

a planned method of getting what you want

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2
Q

What is reactive aggression?

A

angry, impulsive behaviour that is often accompanied with physiological arousal

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3
Q

What does the limbic system do?

A

controls a range of emotional behaviours including aggression

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4
Q

What structure of the limbic system is associated with aggression?

A

the amygdala

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5
Q

What is the role of the amygdala?

A

responsible for quickly evaluating the emotional importance of sensory info and prompting appropriate repsonses including aggression

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6
Q

What are the links with aggression and the amygdala?

A

tumour, damage or atypical development makes aggressive behaviour more likely

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7
Q

What did Pardini et al find supporting the amygdala in aggression?

A

smaller amygdala = higher levels of aggression and violence

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8
Q

What did Ervin et al find on the amygdala in aggression?

A

electrical stimulation of a patient’s amygdala lead to facial grimicing and anger

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9
Q

What is the issue with Ervin’s patient study on the amygdala?

A

it was an atypical patient with epilepsy = cannot generalise

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10
Q

What was kluver and Bucy’s study on the amygdala in aggression?

A

destroying the amygdala in aggressive monkeys = less aggressive behaviour
tells us little about human aggression

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11
Q

What other structure of the brain is responsible for aggression?

A

the orbitofrontal cortex - OFC

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12
Q

What is the role of the OFC?

A

regulates the emotional responses driven by the amygdala

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13
Q

What can damage to the OFC lead to?

A

impulsivity and loss of control

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14
Q

What was Coccaro et al’s study for the role of the OFC in aggression?

A

patients with psych disorders that feature aggression = activity in the OFC was reduced

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15
Q

What was Raine et al’s study for the role of the OFC in aggression?

A

brain activity in 41 murderers using PET scans = atypical functioning of the OFC and amygdala

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16
Q

What are the 2 neural explainations of aggression?

A

serotonin
limbic system

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17
Q

What is serotonin?

A

neurotransmitter involved in the communication of impulses between neurons

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18
Q

What effect does serotonin have on the amygdala?

A

inhibits the firing of the amydala

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19
Q

What levels of serotonin are associated with aggression, impulsivity and loss of control?

A

low levels

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20
Q

What was found on the waste product of serotonin in aggression?

A

levels of waste product from serotonin from violent impulsive offenders were significantly lower and they also suffered from sleep irregularities

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21
Q

What did Raleigh find on the influence of tryptophan diets in monkeys?

A

Tryptophan increases serotonin levels = monkeys with a diet with high tryptophan were less aggressive

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22
Q

What is the prac application to manipulating tryptophan in diets?

A

can raise serotonin levels in highly aggressive prisoners and unpredictable psych patients
however there are ethical issues with this

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23
Q

What is the issue with saying serotonin influences aggression?

A

complex = neural and hormonal also involved
high levels of serotonin also found to increase aggression = little significance has been found on the relationship with serotonin and aggression

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24
Q

What hormone influences aggression?

A

testosterone

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25
Q

What is testosterone?

A

an androgen (male sex hormone) secreted by the testes
little sectreted by the ovaries

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26
Q

What is the link between aggression and testosterone?

A

higher levels of aggression = higher levels of testosterone

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27
Q

Between what ages do males produce the most testosterone?

A

15-25 = the group most likely to commit violent crimes

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28
Q

What did Wagner do to mice to study testosterone’s affect on aggression?

A

castrated male mice = aggression reduced
injected testosterone = aggression increased
castration has been used for domestic animal and farm animals

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29
Q

What was Dabbs study on testosterone in male prisoners?

A

measured testosterone in the salia of 692 adult male prisoners
higher levels in more violent offenders = committed unprovoked acts of violence

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30
Q

What was Carre’s dual-hormone hypothesis?

A

high levels of testosterone lead to aggressive behaviour only when cortisol levels are low

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31
Q

What happens when cortisol levels are high?

A

testosterone’s influence on aggression is blocked

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32
Q

What type of behaviours does testosterone increase?

A

status-seeking behaviours = aggression is 1 of them

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33
Q

What is the genetic theory of aggression?

A

genes are the cause of aagressive behaviour and it can be passed on from 1 generation to the next

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34
Q

What gene is found to have an influence on aggression?

A

the MAOA gene

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35
Q

What is the role of the MAOA GENE?

A

responsible for regulating the enzyme MAOA

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36
Q

What is the role of the MAOA enzyme?

A

breaks down neurotransmitters serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine, removing excess amounts and allowing neurons to communicate more effectively

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37
Q

How does the MAOA gene cause aggression?

A

if there is a dsfynction in the MAOA gene, the enzyme doesn’t regulate the levels of serotonin properly = aggressive behaviour

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38
Q

What are the 2 forms of the MAOA gene?

A

L variant = low activity
H variant = high activity

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39
Q

Which form of the MAOA gene is likely to lead to aggression?

A

L varient

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40
Q

What did Brunner find on a Dutch family in terms of the MAOA gene?

A

the male family members had been particularly aggressive over many generations
there was a rare mutated version o the MAOA gene in the family
researchers discovered the 2 forms of the gene

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41
Q

What was McDermott’s study involving hot sauce and the MAOA gene?

A

the MAOA-L gene was more likely to force someone to eat hot chilli sauce despite having to pay than someone with the MAOA-H gene

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42
Q

What was Caspi’s study on anti-social behaviour in male kids and the MAOA gene?

A

500 male children
looked at their anti-social behaviour when they grew up
L variant support in aggression BUT only if they had been maltreated as children = the right environment causes aggression, genetics simply predispose
an interactionist app should be taken

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43
Q

What was Lagerspetz selective breeding study and the MAOA gene?

A

lab based selective breeding
isolate a group of mice
interbred the aggressive mice so that after 19 generations, the rates of aggression were x10 higher

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44
Q

What other findings did Lagerspetz find on aggressive mice?

A

the aggressive mice had heavier testes and forebrains
altered levels of serotonin and noradrenaline
genes influence both structural and functional aspects of an animal’s biology

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45
Q

What was Coccaro’s study on twins and the MAOA gene?

A

used a questionaire to measure hostility in male ps
concordance rates:
MZ = 50%
DZ = 19%
genetic factors play a part but the environment is important too

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46
Q

What is the evolutionary explaination of aggression?

A

suggests that present day behaviours come from our remote human ancestors because they were adapting and these behaviours proposed an advantage for surviving, reproducing and passing on their genes

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47
Q

What are the 2 ways that aggression can be seen as evolutionary?

A

sexual competition
sexual jealousy

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48
Q

What is sexual competition?

A

competing with other males to win access to females - aggression was needed to eliminate competition

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49
Q

What is sexual jealousy?

A

males feared losing their mate to another male so they need to find and retain their mates is the root of majority of male aggressive behaviour

50
Q

What has sexual jealousy led to in terms of adaptive responses?

A

mate-retention strategies to enhance reproductive fitness and to avoid fear of cuckoldry

51
Q

What is cuckoldry?

A

raising offspring that isnt your own without knowing

52
Q

Why does the evolutionary approach to aggression say females are less aggressive?

A

females are less aggressive = her survival is crucial for the survival of her offspring

53
Q

What is Puts’ findings on physiological features supporting sexual competition?

A

mals have 75% more muscle mass than females = men have evolved as a result of fighting each other
men with the strongest bones and muscles would have been able to fight off competition easier = more likely to pass on genes

54
Q

What was found on women who have been abused and sexual jealousy?

A

women who have been beaten by their male partners recall extreme jealousy on part of their husbands or boyfriends as the key cause of aggression

55
Q

What did Daly and Wilson find on sexual jealousy and violence?

A

men have evolved different stategies to deter their partners from acts of infedility = guarding, spying, threats and violence
sexual jealousy was the underlying factor in 58 out of 214 murder cases

56
Q

What is the practical application of research done on male tactics in sexual jealousy?

A

particular tactics can be early indicators of violence
can be used to alert friends and family to the danger signs that can lead o further violence

57
Q

How is the evolutionary explanation of aggression gender bias?

A

cannot account for female violence towards a male partner
recent family conflict studies show that there are equal rates of assaults by men and women

58
Q

How are gender differences in aggression accounted for by the evolutionary app?

A

women are more likely to engage in verbal violence than physical
verbal aggression is less risky in terms of being hurt = more likely to survive for children

59
Q

How does the evolutionary app to aggression have a deterministic view?

A

sexual jealousy is determined by genetic factors ove which we have no control

60
Q

How does the evolutionary app in aggression support nature AND nurture?

A

genes predispose males to sexual jealousy but other factors such as the culture, childhood experiences influences how this manifests itself

61
Q

What is an issue with the evolutionary app not supporting free will?

A

there is a danger that lack of free will can be used to justify crimes against women

62
Q

What is the role of ethologists?

A

they study animal behaviour in natural environments in the context of evolutionary theory

63
Q

What does Lorenz suggest on aggression (ethological)?

A

aggression is an adaptive instinct which has evolved to aid survival for different reasons

64
Q

What are 3 ways aggression aids survival of animals?

A
  1. ensures only strongest and fittest males pass on genes
  2. disperse members of species more widely so resources are exhasusted less quickly and disease has less impact
  3. maintain hierachy in socially organised animals
65
Q

What are innate releasing mechanisms?

A

built-in structure in the brain that when triggered by environmental stimuli, causes a series of fixed action patterns

66
Q

What are fixed action patterns?

A

sequence of pre-programmed, ritualistic behaviours carried out in a set order, triggered by an innate releasing mechanism

67
Q

What is the role of fixed action patterns in animals?

A

deter another male away to prevent their genes from being passed on due to access to females and teritory

68
Q

What did Lorenz state about fixed action patterns?

A

not designed to start physical fights = animals do not want to kill each other as it would cause the species to die
animals show appeasement displays

69
Q

What is an appeasement display?

A

an action from an animal that signals to another animal that they surrender

70
Q

What is Lorenz’s action specific energy?

A

ritualistic signals can only occur for a certain amount of time as fixed action paterns only have a certain amount of energy dedicated to them

71
Q

What is Lorenz’s hydraulic model?

A

ritualistic signals can occur in the absence of a sign stimuli if too much action specific energy builds up

72
Q

What was Tinbergen’s research involving stickleback fish and fixed action patterns?

A

when presented with an object that was partially red, they will attack it, regardless whether it is fish-shaped or not
animals are innately programmed to respond aggressively

73
Q

How do genetic and neural explainations support the ethological approach to aggression?

A

genetic = aggression is innate, the MAOA gene
neural = the amygdala’s response supports innate releasing mechanism

provides ethological app more credibility and validity

74
Q

How did Lehrman critisise Lorenz’s instinctual explaination of aggression?

A

it underestimates the role of envrionmental factors in the development of species-typical aggressive behaviour patterns
fixed action patterns are not completly innate = learning and experience interact with genetics
cannot make assumptions as variation has been seen within members of the same species

75
Q

Why was Lorenz’s hydraulic model critisised?

A

research has shown that the performance of aggressive behaviour could provide further stimulus which actually makes further aggressive behaviour more likely instead of a reduced likelihood of aggression because of reduced energy

76
Q

What did Goodall find on Chipanzees killing members of their own species?

A

male chipanzees worked together to kill another group of male chipanzees even when appeasement displays were shown
aggression is not always adaptive = contradicts
invalid explaination = based on lower order species like fish and birds not higher order species like chipanzees

77
Q

Who developed the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

A

Dollard

78
Q

What does the FAH state causes aggression?

A

all aggression is the result of frutration and the greater the frustration the greater the aggressive response

79
Q

What is frustration?

A

when you are prevented from acheiving a goal

80
Q

How does frustration cause aggression?

A

frustration causes an arousal of an aggressive drive that leads to aggressive behaviour - acting aggressively provides a cathartic effect

81
Q

What is the cathartic effect?

A

pleasent feelings after releasing a strong emotion - acting aggressivly leads to a reduction in aggressive behaviour

82
Q

What prevents us from acting aggressively according to FAH?

A

fear of punishment

83
Q

What factors increase frustration?

A
  • strong motivation to acheive a goal
  • closer proximity to the goal
  • expectations of acheiving the goal
  • if being aggressive is likely to remove a barrier to the goal
84
Q

How can people learn that being aggressive is helpful to acheiving goals?

A

being aggressive may help them to acheive their goals by removing obstacles and if the aggression doesnt lead to punishment

85
Q

What is displacement for aggression?

A

taking your anger out on something or someone else that is seen as a scapegoat who didnt cause the frustration

86
Q

Why do people displace anger?

A

the source that caused frustration is not availabe
or
fear of punishment if taken out on source of frustration

87
Q

What was Geen’s lab study using puzzles to support the FAH?

A

cause and effect established - lab
ps were deliberately frustrated by a confed while completing a jigsaw
they gave stronger shocks to the confed when he failed a task compared to the non-frustrated control group

88
Q

What was Marcus-Newall et al meta-analysis on displacement supporting FAH?

A

valid - proves theory predictions
49 studies on displacement
ps who were more provoked were more likely to aggress an innocent person than those unprovoked

89
Q

What was Priks study involving football supporters supporting the FAH?

A

real-world app
football supporters were more likely to throw missiles on the pitch and fight with opposition supporters when they were frustrated with the poor performance from their team
the fans good expectations were proved wrong - caused frustration

90
Q

How can the FAH explain mass killings in WW1?

A

real world app
germans blamed jews for loss of war
widespread frustration cause manipulation by propaganda
shows aggression towards a scapegoated group

91
Q

What is an issue with research on catharsis?

A

has little research support = more studies disprove it

92
Q

What was bushman’s study disproving the catharsis effect?

A

unvalid
ps who repeatedly hit a punch bag became more angry, doing nothing reduced aggression
FAH - should be reduced aggression

93
Q

What did Berkowitz state on frustration causing aggression?

A

frustration doesnt always cause aggression and aggression can occur without frustration
unpleasent experiences, one is frustration, triggers negative feelings that lead to aggression

94
Q

What was Berkowitz’s revised FAH theory?

A

the negative affect theory = negative experiences (one being frustration) lead to negative feelings that causes aggression

95
Q

What was Reifman et al’s baseball players study supporting Berkowitz’s negative affect theory?

A

baseball players were more aggressive when the temp was higher rather than they were frustrated

96
Q

What does the SLT state how aggression occurs?

A

aggression is learnt through observation of role models in a social context, people imitate behaviour depending on mediational factors

97
Q

What did Bandura state increases imitating aggression?

A

is the role model is someone we strongly identify with - same sex, same age

and if you see them being rewarded = vicarious reinforcement

self-efficacy

98
Q

What reduced imitation according to bandura?

A

vicarious punishment = watched role model being punished for a behaviour - aggression

99
Q

What is self-efficacy?

A

confidence in your own ability to carry out an action

100
Q

How is self-efficacy developed?

A

if they imitate a behaviour and it was successful - more confident to repeat it

101
Q

How does bandura bobo doll support SLT of aggression?

A

empirical support - valid
children learn through observation and imitation of models

102
Q

What is the issue with Bandura’s bobo doll study?

A

artificial and lacks realism—-> low eco valid and non- applicable
bobo doll does not hit back like a human would - tells us little about everyday aggression

103
Q

What was Gee and Leith’s hocky players study supporting SLT in aggression?

A

North american hockey players were more aggressive than european players
NA players exposed to aggressive role models and less likely punished for aggressive behaviour
aggressive behaviour is acquired through seeing the consequences of other peoples behaviour

104
Q

How can SLT of aggression be useful for explaining aggression in different situations?

A

explains why someone can be aggressive in 1 situation but not another = mediational processes involved like motivation
can predict behaviours by considering consequences

105
Q

How does the SLT explain cultural differences in aggression?

A

valid theory
aggression not valued in some cultures - punished and not observed
if children exposed to an aggressive role model- aggression is more likely

106
Q

Why is any social psychological explaination of aggression not a complete explaination?

A

they ignore bio factors and focus on nurture
biology creates potential for aggression but expression of aggression is learned

107
Q

What are the 3 social psychological explanations of aggression?

A

social learning theory
frustration-aggression hypothesis theory
de-individuation

108
Q

What is de-individuation?

A

the loss of personal identity and personal responsibility characterised by a reduction in self evaluation and less concern for others

109
Q

When does de-individuation occur?

A

in a large group

110
Q

Who developed de-individuation?

A

Zimbardo

111
Q

How does being in a large group lead to aggression?

A

gives people ‘a cloak of anonymity’ that diminishes any personal consequences for their actions
less concern about negative evalution from others and therefore a reduction in guilt or shame

112
Q

What are the 2 factors affecting deindividuation?

A

anonymity - uniforms
altered consciousness due to drugs or alcohol

113
Q

How do uniforms increase aggression through individuation?

A

its more difficult to identify an individual - anonymity
reduces inner restraints for personal and social norms = they behave in a way they wouldnt normally

114
Q

How does Zimbardo’s prison experiment support deindividuation?

A

guards were individuated and acted aggressively towards the prisoners

115
Q

What are the issues with zimbardo’s prison expt, for de-individuation?

A

artificial setting = low ecological valid, doesnt reflect deindividuated behaviour in real life
ps behaving to stereotypes of guards being aggressive towards prisoners

116
Q

What was zimbardos study using female ps to support de-individuation?

A

4 female undergrads
gave another student electric shocks to aid learning
condition 1 = bulky lab coats, as a group given instructions, not introduced
condition 2 = own clothes, individually given instructions, name tags and introduced

deindividuated condition 1 have shocks x2 as long

117
Q

What was Johnson and downing study on uniforms and de-individuation?

A

dressed ps in a mask and overalls like the KKK
or dressed as nurses

ps with masks and overalls gave higher shocks than control group
nurses gave lower shocks
other factors involved like the social roles we play as the rates should be equal if only uniform was a factor

118
Q

What was Watson’s cross cultural study on de-individuation?

A

warriors in 23 societies changed their appearance for conflict
those who changed their appearance with war paint and tribal costumes were more aggressive = hard to distinguish people

119
Q

What is the practical app of de-individuation?

A

more street lighting and CCTV in areas known for anti-social behaviour
people are aware they are being watched and identified = less likely to commit anti-social acts
useful theory

120
Q

How does the de-individuation theory have a narrow application?

A

aggression occurs in situations where the perpetrators are not deindividuared = eg road rage - identified by a number plate
only applies to certain situations

121
Q

What was Spivey and Prentice-Dunn findings on pro-social behaviour and deindividuation?

A

deindividuation can lead to pro-social behaviour when prosocial environmental cues were present like a prosocial model
not a valid theory
eg protests and religious gatherings

122
Q

How is de-individuation gender biased?

A

deindividuation is more likely the cause of aggression in males than females

Psychology A level (10 decks)

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