Aggression Flashcards
Social Learning Theory
- Bandura and Wilson believed that aggression could nt be explained by traditional learning theory where only direct experience is neccisary. SLT does not ignore the role of biology, it states a persons biological makeup creates a potential for aggression.
- Children primarily learn their aggressive behaviour through observation; watching and imitating others. Children also learn through vicarious learning, in which watching other behaviour, actions and punishments.
- Bandua claimed in order for SL to take place, the child must form a mental representation of the world around them. The child must represent possible rewards and punishments in terms of future outcomes. A child will display the behaviour if the expectation of reward is greater than the expectation on punishment.
- If a child is rewarded for a behaviour they are likely to repeat the behaviour in similar situations. this is called maintenance through direct experience.
- children will develop confidence through the outcomes of their actions, children who received bad consequences will not repeat the behaviour.
Evaluate Social Learning Theory
- Bandura found ppts performed a similar number of aggressive tasks with or without reinforcement. This suggests learning takes place regardless of reinforcements.
- Philips (1986) daily homicide rates doubled after a national televised boxing match
- Bandura found ppts acted more aggressively after watching a model. this supports vicarious learning
- Ethics
- Nobel (1975) “look mummy there is the doll we are supposed to hit”
Institutional Aggression
-The importation model (Irwin and Cressey) states that prisoners bring there own social histories and traits with them. this influences their adaption to the environment. Prisoners are not blank slates and many systems developed outside will be ‘imported in’ e.g. gang membership.
-The Deprivation model argues that prisoner aggression is the product of stressful and oppressive conditions for example crowding, increased fear, frustration and staff experience.
Sykes (1958) described specific deprivations that inmates experience inside prisons. these include loss of liberty, loss of autonomy and loss of security. Sykes found that the potential threat to security increased anxiety levels in inmates. Aggression is simply one form of inmate expression of these deprivations.
-violence may occur when one institutions relationship with another is characterised by hatred and hostility.
-Staubs 5 stages of genocide.
1] difficult social conditions
2] scapegoating
3] negative evaluation and dehumanisation of the target group.
4] moral values and rules become inapplicable.
5] passivity of bystanders enhances the process
-Dehumanisation is when moral inhibitions about killing are reduced. The target group are no onger ‘humans’, so killing is acceptable e.g. Hutu referred to the Tutsi as ‘cockroaches’ in Rwanda
Evaluate Institutional Aggression
- DeLisi (2004): those in gangs before prison were more likely to show aggressive behaviour in prison.
- MCCorkle (1995): found that overcrowding, lack of privacy and lack of ‘meaning’ increased aggression.
- Jiang (2002): suggests the D model explains aggression to staff and I to peers.
- RLA of Staub - EU/ UN?
- O’Brain (2003): explains violence against immagrants and racism. -social dominance.
Neural and Hormonal mechanisms in aggression
- Neurotransmitters are chemicals that enable impulses within the brain to be transmitted from one to another. Low levels of serotonin and high levels of dopamine have been linked to aggression.
- Serotonin is thought to reduce aggression by inhibiting response to emotional stimuli. Therefore low levels increased suseptibilty to impulse behaviour.
- Dopamines’ link is not as well established, but high levels have been linked to aggression.
- The male sex hormone testosterone is thought to influence aggression. It also helps explain why males are thought to be the more aggressive gender. Dabbs measured salivary testosterone in criminals and found those who had committed the most violent crimes had the most testosterone.
- Cortisol appears to have a mediating effect on other aggression related hormones such as testosterone. This could be because it increases anxiety and the likelihood of social withdrawal.
Evaluate Neural and Hormonal mechanisms in aggression
- Raleigh (1991): monkeys fed on diets high in tryptophan (high serotonin) exhibited less aggressive behaviour.
- is dopamine the cause or affect? Kennedey found in mice the reward section of the brain engaged as a response to an aggressive event.
- Mazur (1985): states we should differenciate between aggression and dominance. aggression is with an intent to injur and dominance to to achieve or maintain status. Testosterone may influence dominance more.
- gender bias: focus on men. women with higher testoserone were occupationally higher.
- reductionist
Genetic Factors
-Twins share 100% or 50% of their DNA. in research into aggression the degree of similarity between particular traits can be studied through twins e.g. if Mz twins are similar in their aggressive traits it suggests a genetic cause.
-Adoption is similar to twin studies. They help differenciate between nature and nurture e.g. is it genes or is it environment? If a positive correlation is found between children and natural parents, a genetic link is implied. If a positive correlation between children and adopted parents, environmental link is implied.
-The gene MAOA has been linked to aggression. although no gene has been identified that causes aggression, MAOA is believed to produce proteins associated with aggressive behaviour. MAOA also regulates serotonin.
Caspi studied the link between MAOA and aggressive behaviour. They discovered a variant of the gene that contained high levels of MAOA and one that contained low levels. Those with low levels of MAOA were more likely to display antisocial and aggressive behaviour.
Evaluate Genetic Factors
- difficulty with the link.
- Plomin (1981): found no difference between Mz and Dz twins in the bobo doll study. This could suggest environment not genes.
- methodology: do not distinguish between violent and non violent crimes. this means violence isnt specifically investigated.
- Young (2002): claim to have found a genetic mutation in mice which makes them aggressive.
- sampling issue: violent criminals may not be the most violent. they could have committed a crime of passion rather than being pathological aggressive constantly.
Evolutionary Explanations
Jealosy
-Cuckoldry and sexual jealosy: unlike women, men cannot be sure that a child is theirs. The consequence of cuckoldry is that the man might invest his resources in children that are not his own. This means men have evolved to minimise the risk of cuckoldry.
-Mate retention: They do this by having a number of strategies to keep their mates. This includes direct guarding and negative inducements in the form of violence or threats of violence to prevent straying. In the majority of battered women, they cite extreme jealosy.
Extreme violence: Dell (1984) states that sexual jealosy causes 17% of all murders in the UK
Infidelity
- Sexual Coercion: A consequence of men perceptions/ suspicions of their wives sexual infidelity is sexual coercion or partner rape. Sexual Assults on women by husbands has been directly linked with a percieved risk of infidelity.
- Violence against pregnant partners: Sexual infidelity can cause pregnancy. for the perspective of her husband, if the child is born he will risk investing resources in the child, which is not his. This means that when a woman becomes pregnant and is suspected of infidelity, her chance of abuse increase. This is because the male may be to terminate the pregnancy.
- Uroxide: Men can guard against sexual infidelity by confering benefits or inflicting costs. Daly (1988) suggested the death of a partner may be a result of control.
Evaluate Evolutionary Explanations
- Buss and Shackleford found that men who suspected their wives may cheat enacted greater punishment than those who did not. this supports retention strategies
- RLA: particular retention strategies can be used as an early indicator against partner violence.
- Takahasi (2006): the aggression region of the male brain lit up to imaged scenes of sexual jealosy.
- gender bias: women x2 more likely to kill for jealosy
- Brownridge (2010) found women abused when pregnant were more likely to be pregnant with another mans baby.
Group Display
Warfare
- the evolutionary explanation would lead us to expect that the behaviour has adapted to increase the benefits for the individual and their offspring.
- In societies that experience frequent warfare, males are far more likely to escape infanticide than females because of their potential usefulness in battle. As a result, since there are relitively few females in these societies, men must compete with each other for mates. Those who do well in battle will be ‘rewarded’ by access to better female mates. Therefore displays of aggression and bravery are to attract females.
- Displays of ferocity and aggressivness also lead to peer respect, so strengthens the bond between them. similarly, they are more likely to share the benefits from the association of status.
- Anthropologists suggest that one of the primary functions of ritual displays is the promotion of group solidarity. Irons (2004) claims that the costlyness of permanent displays such as scars and mutilation means that they serve as signals of commitment to the group. By engaging in such displays, individuals demonstrate their commitment and loyalty to the group and so can benefit from the profits of war.
Sport
-xenophobia has been demonstrated in ‘virtually every group of animals displaying higher forms of social organisation’. Natural selection has favoured those genes that caused humans to be altruistic towards members of their own group and intolerant towards others.
This is shown through sports teams.
-Territorality, the protective response to the invasion of ones territoy, is another explanation.
Evaluate Group Display
- Leunissen and Van Vugt (2010): military men have more sex appeal if they have been seen showing bravery n combat.
- Watson (1973): does not explain the astonishing levels of cruelty seen in warfare between humans e.g.torture
- gender bais
- RLA- police etc at games AND positive campaigns e.g. bhoys against biggotry in Celtic football team
- Cassidy (2007): Hindu festival of Mela- 50 million crowd showd no agg and prosocial behaviour. groups do not always have to be violent.
