Aggression Flashcards
1st paragraph (SLT)
Theory suggests children learn to be aggressive by observing the behaviour of others around them (particularly the behaviour of parents).
An example of this would be when children see others being rewarded or punished for their aggressive behaviour, the child experiences vicarious reinforcement.
Children therefore learn from these models about aggressive behaviour, the situations in which to use aggression and the consequences of such aggression.
Evidence to support (SLT)
Banduras Bobo Doll: experiment involved children watching either an aggressive adult or non- aggressive adult towards a bobo doll, and the child would then be tested for their imitative behaviour.
He found that children exposed to the aggressive model displayed more verbal and physical aggression towards the bobo doll than the non-aggressive.
Supports the theory as it suggests that children learn aggressive behaviour by observing the behaviour of adults in the experiment.
Evaluation (SLT)
Strength - can explain cultural differences in aggressive behaviour. Research found that among the !Kung San people, aggressive behaviour is rare. As a result, the absence of cultural models means there is little opportunity for !Kung San children to learn aggressive behaviour.
Weakness - reductionist. Reduces aggression down to one explanation, however there are other explanations. Eg. Biological explanations of aggression have stressed factors that have nothing to do with social learning, but more to do with biological influences such as the role of hormonal mechanisms. In the biological explanation it suggests that high levels of testosterone have been linked to aggressive behaviour.
This theory only takes into account the nurture side of the nature vs nurture debate.
Intro (deindividuation)
Suggests that aggression occurs when people are in large groups and feel anonymous, and lose their sense of individuality and responsibility, which therefore leads to aggressive behaviour.
1st paragraph (deindividuation)
People usually refrain from behaving aggressively because they are easily identified and belong to societies where the social norms are against aggressive behaviour. Therefore people are usually in an individuated state.
However, when people become faceless and anonymous (large crowd) they may enter a deindividuated state where their behaviour is based on primitive urges and do not conform to social norms. Eg football hooligan
Evidence to support (deindividuation)
Zimbardo: where participants were either deindividuated (couldn’t see each other; wore lab coats) or individuated (could see each other; wore own clothes). It was found that participants who were deindividuated shocked the learners for twice as long as those in the individuated state.
Evaluation ( deindividuation)
Weakness - lack of research support. Many have failed to support the link and many have reported contrary results. For example, postmes and spears conducted a meta analysis of 60 studies of deindividuation and found insufficient support for the main claim that anti social and aggressive behaviour is more common in large groups.
There is evidence that deindividuation can produce increases in pro social behaviour rather than anti social behaviour. Some findings show an increase in prosocial behaviour when people are in a deindividuated state (expressions of collective good will at religious rallies).
Issues/debates (deindividuation)
Doesn’t take into account gender differences. Research has suggested that males and females may not respond in the same way when deindividuated. For example, cannavale et Al found that males and females tend to respond differently when under conditions of anonymity. An increase in aggression under such conditions was evident in the behaviour of males but not in females.
Suggests that males may be more prone to losing inhibitions concerning aggressive behaviour when in a deindividuated state than females.
Intro (slt)
According to the SLT human aggression is a consequence of our interactions with others in our social world and learned either through direct experiences or by vicarious experience.
Intro (role of n)
In contrast to the social psychological explanations of aggression, which suggests that aggression is a result of aspects in our environment, biological approaches assume that aggression is located within the biological make up of an individual themselves, rather than in the environment around them.
1st paragraph (role of N)
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that enable impulses within the brain to be transmitted from one area of the brain to another. One neurotransmitter that has been linked to aggression is Serotonin which is thought to reduce aggression by inhibiting responses to emotional stimuli that might otherwise lead to an aggressive response. Low levels of serotonin in the brain have been associated with an increased susceptibility to impulsive behaviour, aggression and even violent suicide.
2nd paragraph (role of N)
Evidence to support: Raleigh et Al provided support for the importance of serotonin in aggressive behaviour in a study of vervet monkeys. They found that individuals fed on experimental diets high in tryptophan (increases serotonin) exhibited decreased levels of aggression. VV
- can’t generalise to humans and ethically wrong to experiment on animals (pain)
3rd paragraph (role of N)
Another neurotransmitter which has been linked to aggression is dopamine; high levels of dopamine have been associated with aggressive behaviour. There is evidence to support this theory. For example, increases in dopamine activity via the usage of amphetamines have been associated with aggressive behaviour. Antipsychotics (reduce dopamine) shown to reduce aggression.
4th paragraph (role of N)
The link between neurotransmitters and aggression is reductionist as it ignores the important role played by social factors in aggression. An alternative approach for explaining aggression is social psychological approaches. For example, Bandura has shown that social learning can be a powerful influence on the aggressive behaviour of children and suggests that aggression is learnt.
5th paragraph (role of N)
Biological approaches of explaining aggression are purely naturist theories and don’t take into account nurture explanations, such as social psychological approaches which suggest..
Deterministic and overlook the concept of free will. For example, we as human beings have the ability to think and act autonomously, and we have control over what we do. Therefore even though we may feel angry and aggressive as a result of neural mechanisms, our free will allows us to choose whether to act upon these urges.
