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Aggression Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the limbic system?

A

An area of the brain which controls basic emotions and drives

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2
Q

State the two structures of the limbic system associated with aggression

A
  • The amygdala

- The hippocampus

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3
Q

Describe the role of the amygdala in aggression

A
  • The amygdala is responsible with evaluating the emotional importance of sensory information and producing an appropriate response
  • If the amygdala is stimulated electrically the animal responds with aggressive behaviour
  • If it is removed the animal no longer responds aggressively
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4
Q

What did Kluver and Bucy find regarding the amygdala’s role in aggression?

A

The destruction of the amygdala in dominant monkeys causes it to lose its dominant place in the social group

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5
Q

Describe the role of the hippocampus in aggression

A
  • The hippocampus is involved in the formation of long-term memories
  • This allows the animal to compare a current threat to past experiences to produce an appropriate response
  • Impaired hippocampal function prevents the nervous system from putting situations into a meaningful context
  • This may cause the amygdala to respond inappropriately, often with aggression
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6
Q

What did Boccardi find?

A

Habitually violent offenders exhibited abnormalities of hippocampal functioning

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7
Q

What neurotransmitter is associated with aggression?

A

Serotonin

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8
Q

Describe the role of serotonin in aggression

A
  • Known as the serotonin deficiency hypothesis
  • Normal levels of serotonin exerts an inhibitory effect on the firing of the amygdala
  • Low levels of serotonin remove this inhibitory effect
  • This leads to the overfiring of the amygdala
  • Individuals are less able to control impulsive and aggressive behaviour
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9
Q

Which hormone is associated with aggression?

A

Testosterone

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10
Q

What is Testosterone?

A
  • A hormone which produces male characteristics
  • Levels peak in young males
  • Thought to influence aggression from young adulthood
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11
Q

What did Sapolky find with regards to testosterone?

A

That removing the source of testosterone in different species resulted in lower levels of aggression

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12
Q

Describe the effect of testosterone on aggression using research evidence

A
  • Dabbs found that men tend to have testosterone in higher concentrations than women and tend to be more aggressive
  • Davy and Wilson found that at an age when testosterone levels are highest (21-35) there is an increase in male-on male aggressive behaviour
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13
Q

How does testosterone lead to more aggressive behaviour?

A

Changes in testosterone increase amygdala reactivity during the processing of social threat

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14
Q

Evaluate neural/hormonal influences on aggression

A

Evidence for the role of the amygdala- Pardini et al found reduced amygdala volume leads to more aggression. Longitudinal study of male participants. 56 p’s with varying violent histories had MRI scans at age 26 and it was found that those with lower amygdala volumes showed more aggressive and impulsive behaviour. This shows the amygdala is important

Evidence for the role of the hippocampus- Raine et al looked at two groups of violent criminals- some had been caught and some not. The unsuccessful ones were assumed to be acting more impulsively and MRI scans of their brains showed an asymmetrical hippocampus. This could have impaired the ability of the amygdala and hippocampus to work together.

Research support for the serotonin deficiency hypothesis- Raleigh et al fed vervet monkeys on diets high in tryptophan which increases serotonin levels and found reduced aggression. Diets low in tryptophan resulted in more aggression.

Inconsistent evidence for role of testosterone- Positive correlations have been found between levels of testosterone and self-reported levels of aggression among prison inmates but no such relationship has been found between testosterone levels and actual violent behaviour. This suggests the relationship remains unclear

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15
Q

How are twin studies used to investigate genetic influences on aggression?

A
  • Monozygotic twins share 100% of their DNA and dizygotic twins share 50% of their DNA
  • Researchers look for degrees of similarities between twins (concordance rates)
  • If monozygotic twins show high concordance in aggressive traits we can assume its genes rather than the environment
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16
Q

What did Coccaro et al find?

A
  • In adult twins, 50% of the variance in direct aggressive behaviour was due to genes
  • Since this was not 100% it means other factors must be involved
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17
Q

How are adoption studies used when researching genetic influences in aggression?

A
  • If a positive correlation is found between the adopted child and their biological parents, it suggests the role of genetics
  • If a positive correlation is found between the adopted child and their adopted family, it suggests the role of the environment
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18
Q

Describe an adoption study and what it found in regards to genetics in human aggression

A
  • Hutchings and Mednick
  • Found a significant number of criminal adopted boys had (biological) parents with criminal convictions
  • This supports the role of genetics
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19
Q

Describe Rhee and Waldman’s study and findings

A
  • Meta analysis of 51 twin and adoption studies
  • Concluded that aggressive anti-social behaviour was largely a product of genetic contributions
  • However extraneous variables such as age and method of assessment have impacted the influence of aggression
  • This shows that although genetics is important, other factors affect how it is expressed
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20
Q

What is the MAOA gene?

A
  • A gene responsible for producing the enzyme MAOA
  • MAOA is responsible for the metabolism of serotonin in the brain
  • Low levels of serotonin are associated with impulsive and aggressive behaviour
  • Low levels of MAOA has been associated with aggressive behaviour
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21
Q

Describe Brunner et al’s research

A
  • Studied 5 generations of a Dutch family
  • Many male members demonstrated violent and aggressive behaviour
  • These men were found to have had abnormally low levels of MAOA and a defect in the gene
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22
Q

What is the MAOA-L gene?

A
  • Challenge to MAOA
  • Common in populations where there has been a history of warfare
  • Known as the ‘warrior gene’
  • Participants with MAOA-L displayed higher levels of aggression
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23
Q

Evaluate genetic factors in aggression

A

Difficulties in determining the role of genetic factors- more than one gene contributes to a behaviour, there may be environmental influences and these influences may interact with each other

Problems of assessing aggression- many studies of aggression are reliant on self-reports/ parental reports. Findings not consistent with observational ratings

Evidence for the influence of the MAOA gene- Tiihonen studied Finnish prisoners and found the MAOA-L gene and another gene were associated with extremely violent behaviour. No evidence of this in non- violent offenders

MAOA gene explains gender differences- MAOA gene is associated with the X chromosome. When men inherit an X from their mother, it is more likely to affect them than women who are inheriting the same gene so remain unaffected. This could explain why men are more aggressive.

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24
Q

What are ethological explanations?

A
  • State that members within the same species have an innate, unlearned set of behaviours
  • These innate behaviours are called fixed action patterns (FAPs)
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25
Q

What is a FAP?

A

A series or sequence of acts that occur behaviourally in animals

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26
Q

What do FAPs occur in response to?

A

A sign stimulus which is the essential feature of a stimulus necessary to elicit a response

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27
Q

What produces a FAP?

A

A neural network called the innate releasing mechanism which communicates with motor control circuits to release the FAP associated with the sign stimulus

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28
Q

Give an example of a FAP

A
  • Red-bellied stickleback fish
  • Males turn red during mating season
  • They are naturally aggressive towards other red-bellied sticklebacks
  • Anything that is red will bring about this response
  • Once the FAP is initiated it will run until completion
  • The sign stimulus is the presence of a red underbelly rather than another male
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29
Q

Evaluate ethological explanations of aggression

A

Criticisms of the ‘instinctive’ view- Lehrman believed that Lorenz had underestimated the role of environmental factors which interact with innate factors in complex ways. ‘Behavioural pattern’ is a better term for FAP since it reflect that these are not simply innate and can be modified by experience

Human FAPs- Eibl-Eibesfeldt found some universal human FAPs such as smiling. However aggression was suggested to no longer be adaptive due to our ever changing environment. The flexibility of human behaviour has proved more effective than stereotypical, fixed patterns of behaviour.

Benefits of ritualised aggression- prevents conflicts from escalating into dangerous aggression. Chagnon found the Yanonmamo people use chest pounding and club fighting to settle disputes. This reduces actual aggression and prevents serious injury/ death

Killing conspecifics is not rare- ethological explanations suggest that the only way that an animal can kill another animal of the same species is by accident. However it has been found that lions kill off cubs of other lions and chimpanzees will kill off other members of the group which shows its more systematic. This casts doubt on the claim that animal aggression is more ritualistic than real

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30
Q

What is the evolutionary explanation of aggression?

A

Suggests aggression is an adaptive behaviour passed down from our ancestors

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31
Q

What kind of problems did aggression solve for early humans?

A
  • Gaining resources
  • Intimidating or eliminating male rivals for females
  • Deterring mates from sexual infidelity
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32
Q

What are mental modules?

A

Mental modules have formed to tell us what to do to deal with situations faced by ancestral humans.

33
Q

How does sexual competition lead to aggression?

A
  • Ancestral males seeking females had to compete with other males
  • One way of eliminating competition was by aggression
  • Those individuals who were successful in using aggression were able to acquire more mates and reproduce, passing on their genes
  • This would lead to a tendency of males being aggressive towards each other
  • This is shown by men having 75% more muscle mass than women and having stronger jawbones and more robust skulls and brow ridges
34
Q

How does sexual jealousy lead to aggression?

A
  • Ancestral males could not be 100% sure that they were the fathers of their children
  • As a result they were at risk of cuckoldry
  • This means that a man might invest resources into a child which isn’t his
  • Aggression was used to deter partners from infidelity and thus reduce the risk of cuckoldry
  • Studies from domestic abuse have shown that women cite sexual jealousy to be the main cause of violence towards them
35
Q

How does aggression in warfare lead to more aggressive behaviour?

A
  • Displays of aggressiveness are seen as attractive by women
  • For example male warriors in history tend to have more children and more sexual partners, showing a reproductive advantage
  • Aggression in combat increases status which increases respect from other warriors and strengthens bonds
36
Q

Evaluate evolutionary explanations of aggression

A

Gender differences can be explained by socialisation- Smetana found that boys are more likely to be punished physically which leads them to display more aggression later on. Girls tend to be more socially aggressive because they tend to be punished verbally

Support for the link between aggression and status- Daly and Wilson found tribal societies honour men who commit murder. Violent gang members often have the highest status among their peers and status is a big reason for male-on-male aggression

Gender bias- Historically women have not been involved in warfare because there is a much greater reproductive cost so they have considerably less to gain. This means that our understanding of aggressive displays in warfare is limited to males

Limitations of evolutionary explanations- Do not explain human-specific forms of aggression such as wide-scale slaughter, genocide and torture. This may be more of a consequence of de-individuation rather than evolutionary adaptations

37
Q

Who proposed the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

A

Dollard et al

38
Q

What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

A

A cause and effect relationship between frustration and aggression. Frustration increases when you are highly motivated to do something but are prevented from achieving it. Reacting to the situation with aggression provides a cathartic relief.

39
Q

Outline Doob and Sears’ study and what they found

A
  • Asked participants to imagine how they would feel in a number of different frustrating situations such as waiting for a bus which goes past without stopping
  • Most participants reported anger in all of the frustrating situations
40
Q

What did Pastore find?

A
  • Pastore distinguished between justified and unjustified anger
  • He produced different versions of the situations used by Doob and Sears
  • For example the bus that went by without stopping had an ‘out of service sign’ on it
  • Pastore found that when frustration is justified, participants displayed lower levels of aggression
41
Q

What is displaced aggression?

A
  • Often it is impossible to act aggressively towards the source of frustration
  • Dollard et al assumed that aggression is sometimes displaced from the source of frustration to someone or something else
  • For example kicking the dog after your boss frustrates you at work
42
Q

Who proposed the revised frustration-aggression hypothesis?

A

Berkowitz

43
Q

What does the revised frustration-aggression hypothesis say?

A
  • Aggression can occur in the absence of frustration
  • Frustration is only one of many unpleasant experiences that can lead to aggression
  • The negative feelings (feelings of anger) are what leads to aggression not the frustration itself
44
Q

Why is the revised frustration-aggression hypothesis a better explanation?

A

It takes into account other reasons for aggression such as the death of a relative which would cause sadness. It offers a more holistic view of aggression.

45
Q

Evaluate the frustration-aggression hypothesis

A
  1. Revised frustration-aggression hypothesis
  2. Support for the revised frustration-aggression hypothesis- Reifman found that when temperature increased so did aggression of the pitchers towards the batters. This is an example of an unpleasant experience other than frustration which causes anger.
  3. Lack of research support for central claims- The concept of catharsis has not been supported by research. Bushman found that behaving aggressively is likely to lead to more aggression as it keeps aggressive thoughts and angry feelings active in memory.
  4. Real life applications- Staub suggests mass killings are often rooted in frustration towards social and economic difficulties. These frustrations lead to scapegoating, discrimination and aggression. For example, the persecution of Jews
46
Q

What did Bandura and Watson believe regarding aggression?

A

It is the result of observing others being aggressive and imitating that behaviour

47
Q

What is vicarious reinforcement?

A

Children learn about the consequences of behaviour by watching others be rewarded or punished for it. If the behaviour is rewarded/ not punished it is more likely to be imitated than if it is punished.

48
Q

What is self-efficacy?

A

Self-efficacy is when children develop confidence in their ability to carry out aggressive acts

49
Q

State the mediational factors and apply them to aggression

A

Attention- Seeing someone be aggressive
Retention- Remembering the aggressive behaviour
Reproduction- Being able to copy the aggressive behaviour (self-efficacy)
Motivation- After observing a reward- wanting to copy it

50
Q

Briefly outline Bandura’s Bobo doll study

A
  • Observational lab experiment
  • 36 boys and 36 girls aged 3-6
  • There was an aggressive model, non aggressive model and no model shown
  • Children who observed the aggressive model were far more likely to imitate aggressive behaviour
  • This shows that children learn social behaviours by observing others and imitating behaviour.
51
Q

Evaluate social learning theory of aggression

A
  1. Real life applications- Gee and Leith analysed 200 records from National Hockey League and found that North Americans were much more likely to be penalised for aggressive behaviour than European players. This was thought to be because the North American players were more likely to be exposed to aggressive role models in childhood and less likely to be punished
  2. Can explain cross cultural differences- In the King San community the absence of direct reinforcement of aggressive behaviour and models meant that there was less opportunity or motivation for children to be aggressive
  3. Can be used to predict behaviour across situations-A young male may be more likely to act aggressively around his friends where he may be encouraged than in school where he would be punished. This explains inconsistencies in aggressive behaviour.
  4. Lack of realism in research- Relies on experiments. The bobo doll is not a real person and can’t retaliate so it cannot tell us how someone would behave towards another human being who may retaliate
52
Q

What is deindividuation?

A

A psychological state in which individuals have lowered levels of self-evaluation (e.g. when in a crowd or under the influence of alcohol) and decreased concerns about evaluation by others

53
Q

Why is it that people in crowds who experience deindividuation act aggressively?

A
  • The individual disregards societal norms for behaviour so internal inhibitions are weakened
  • The individual lacks emotions such as guilt, fear and shame
  • The combination of these conditions and internal states climaxes in observable behaviours e.g. aggression
  • Therefore people in crowd situations act impulsive, irrational, emotional and antisocial
54
Q

In a state of deindividuation, where is attention focused?

A

Attention is focused outward, away from the individual, decreasing the salience (importance) of personal identity and decreasing concerns about evaluation by others

55
Q

Outline Zimbardo’s study on deindividuation

A
  • Groups of four female undergraduates were required to deliver electric shocks to another student
  • Half of the participants wore bulky coats and hoods that hid their faces and sat in separate cubicles while half wore their normal clothes and were given large name tags and were able to see each other when seated
  • It was found that the participants in the de-individuation condition were more likely to press a button they believed would give shocks to the other student
56
Q

What are the two factors that increase de-individuation?

A
  • Altered state e.g. drugs, alcohol

- Anonymity e.g. uniforms

57
Q

Give four evaluation points for deindividuation theory

A
  1. Research support- -Diener et al (Halloween study). A Confederate presented a bowl of candy to trick-or-treaters and when the children came to the door he would leave momentarily and tell the children to take one piece of candy. The children were either alone or in a group and they were either forced to make their identity visible or not. It was observed how many children took more than one piece of candy and children who were alone and identified themselves were the least likely to take more than 1 piece of candy compared to children in a group who remained anonymous
  2. Gender differences- Cannavale et al found that male and female p’s responded differently and the increase in aggression was only obtained in the all-male groups. This may be because males tend to respond to provocation in more extreme ways and this is magnified under de-individuation conditions
  3. Link between anonymity and deindividuation- Rehm et al observed 30 games of handball in 3 German schools where one team wore bright orange shirts and the other wore their own different-coloured shirts. The uniformed team showed significantly more aggression
  4. Real life applications- Mann used de-individuation to explain the ‘baiting crowd’ and suicide jumpers. Mann analysed 21 reported suicide leaps and in 10 out of the 21 cases where a crowd had gathered, baiting had occurred. This tended to happen at night and when the crowd was large and there was a distance between the crowd and the person (de-individuation)
58
Q

What is institutional aggression?

A

Aggressive behaviour occurring within an institution that is motivated by social forces rather than anger or frustration. The processes at work are more complex than aggression at an impersonal level

59
Q

What are the two explanations for institutional aggression within prisons?

A
  • The deprivation model

- The importation model

60
Q

What is the importation model?

A

It is a dispositional explanation which states that behaviour is the result of personal characteristics as opposed to the situation

61
Q

What is the deprivation model?

A

It is a situational explanation which states that behaviour is a result of the context an individual is in as opposed to personal characteristics

62
Q

How does the importation explain institutional aggression in prisons?

A
  • Prisoners don’t enter prisons as blank slates
  • Many of them have acquired respect from street culture which they ‘import’ into prison with them
  • Individuals may act more aggressive in prison because they have respect and status
  • Drury and Delisi found that US gang members were siginifcantly more likely to commit murders and acts of assaults than non-gang members whilst incarcerated
63
Q

What are the situational factors found to explain likelihood of aggression?

A
  • Overcrowding: Government report attributed record rates of murder, suicide and assault to increased overcrowding in British prisons
  • Heat and noise: Griffitt and Veitch found that a combination of high temperature and high population density produced more negative emotions compared to comfortable temperatures and lower population density
  • Job burnout: leads to a deterioration in relationships with inmates and overall functioning of the prison
64
Q

Give four evaluation points for institutional aggression in prisons

A
  1. Research support for deprivation model: There is evidence to support the idea that peer violence is used to relieve deprivation experienced in institutions. McCorkle found factors such as overcrowding, lack of privacy and lack of activity influenced inmate-on-inmate assaults and inmate-on-staff assaults
  2. Research support for the importation model: Mears et al tested the view that inmate behaviour stems from the cultural belief systems that they import into prison which impact inmate violence. This is particularly pronounced among inmates who lack family support and are involved in gangs
  3. Challenges to the importation model: DeLisi found that inmates with prior street gang involvement were no more likely than other inmates to engage in prison violence. This can be explained by the fact that violent gang members tend to be isolated from the general prison population which restricts their opportunity
  4. Challenges to the deprivation model: Harer and Steffensmeier collected data from 24,000 inmates from 58 prisons. They included importation variables (e.g. criminal history) and deprivation variables (e.g. staff-to-prisoner ratio) and tested which variable predicted the individual likelihood of aggressive behaviour. They found only importation variables such as age, race and criminal history had an effect and none of the deprivation factors were significant
65
Q

What are the two media influences on aggression

A
  • Violent films and TV

- Violent computer games

66
Q

What have lab and field studies found about the effect of violent films and TV?

A
  • Participants assigned to either an experimental condition (where they view violent film scenes) or a control condition (where they watch non-violent scenes)
  • Researchers observe to see how they interact with others
  • Consistent findings from both lab and field studies show that those who watch violent scenes displayed more aggressive behaviour
  • Bjorkqvist exposed 5-6 year old Finnish children to either violent or non-violent films and found those who watched violent films displayed higher physical aggression
67
Q

What have longitudinal studies found about the effect of violent films and TV?

A
  • Bushman and Huesmann et al
  • Studied 557 children between the ages of 6-10 growing up in Chicago in 1977, and then 329 of these 15 years later in 1992
  • They found early exposure of TV violence was predictive of adult aggression later in life to both girls and boys
68
Q

What have meta-analyses found about the effect of violent films and TV?

A
  • Bushman and Huesmann carried out a meta-analysis of 421 studies, involving over 68,000 participants
  • 264 studies involved children and 167 studies involved adults
  • Most studies looked at the impact of violent TV, but others looked at the effects of video games, music and comic books
  • They found a significant effect size for exposure of media violence on aggressive behaviour
69
Q

What have lab and field studies found about the effect of violent computer games?

A
  • Lab experiments have found short-term increases in physiological arousal, hostile feelings and aggression after participants played a violent game compared to a non-violent game (Gentile and Stone)
  • Anderson and Dill found participants blasted opponents with white noise longer and rated themselves higher on the State Hostility Scale after playing a violent game compared to a puzzle game
70
Q

What have longitudinal studies found about the effect of violent computer games?

A
  • Anderson et al surveyed 430 children aged 7-9 at 2 points during the school year
  • Children who had high exposure to violent video games were more verbally and physically aggressive and less prosocial
  • This was rated by themselves, peers and teachers
71
Q

Outline Greitemeyer and Mugge’s study on media influences on aggression

A

Procedure:

  • Meta-analysis of 98 studies since 2009 which involved a total of 37,000 participants
  • Tested the effects of violent games in which the goal was to harm people and pro-social games in which the goal was to benefit another character
  • Measured how playing the game influenced aggressive and prosocial behaviour, cognitions and emotions

Findings:

  • Found a small average effect size
  • Violent video game use was liked to an increase in aggressive outcomes and a decrease in prosocial outcomes
  • Prosocial games were linked to a reduction in aggressive behaviour and an increase in prosocial, cooperative behaviour
  • These were evident regardless of the type of study
72
Q

Give four evaluation points for media influences on aggression

A

Weakness: Methodology- Most studies are American so can’t be generalised to other countries with different media. Samples tend to only include males but findings are generalised to all viewers. There is a need for better methodologies in more natural viewing conditions.

Weakness: Failure to consider other causal variables- Many studies fail to account for other variables such as trait aggression, family violence and mental health. Researchers suggest that these risk factors are the primary cause of aggressive and violent behaviour

Weakness: Problems with research on the effect of computer games- Researchers cannot measure ‘real-life’ aggression, and must use measures of aggressive behaviour that have no relationship to real life aggression and only measure short term effects. Longitudinal studies can measure long-term effects but the issue is that the participants might be exposed to other forms of media violence e.g. television

Weakness: Game difficulty rather than content may lead to aggression- Przybylski et al suggested that aggressive behaviour is linked to failure and frustration during a game rather than the violence. Lack of mastery and difficulty led to aggression in both violent and non-violent games

73
Q

State the three explanations for media influences on aggression

A
  • Desensitisation
  • Disinhibition
  • Cognitive priming
74
Q

How does desensitisation work?

A
  • The more televised violence a child watches, the more acceptable aggressive behaviour becomes for that child
  • This is because it causes children to be less anxious about violence
  • Someone who is desensitised to violence may perceive it as more normal
  • Desensitisation leads to a reduction in physiological arousal and a change in cognitive and affective reactions
75
Q

What did Mullen and Linz find about desensitised individuals?

A
  • They are less likely to notice violence in real life
  • They feel less sympathy for victims of violence
  • They have less negative attitudes towards violence
76
Q

How does disinhibition work?

A
  • Disinhibition may change the standards of what is considered acceptable behaviour
  • Short term effects: Physiological arousal triggered by the temporarily suppression on inhibitions which leads to an increase in aggressive behaviour
  • Long term effects: Prolonged exposure gives the message that violence is a normal part of everyday life. When violence is left unpunished, guilt and concern decrease
77
Q

How does cognitive priming work?

A
  • Suggested by Berkowitz
  • Explains short term effects of media violence
  • Refers to the temporary increase in the accessibility of thoughts and ideas e.g. when you play a video game in which the player kills other characters which primes your thoughts to be more aggressive
  • If frequently exposed to violent media, this lowers your activation threshold
  • This means you are more likely to access those thoughts and act more aggressively
  • The more accessible a thought or idea, the more likely it is to interrupt social information
78
Q

Give four evaluation points for explanations of media influences

A

STRENGTH: Research support for desensitisation- Carnagey et al conducted a study where participants either played a violent or non-violent game for 20 minutes. They then watched a 10 minute clip of real-life violence while their heart rate and skin conductance response were monitored. The participants who had played the violent game had a lower heart rate and skin conductance response

WEAKNESS: Priming is less likely with less realistic media- Atkin suggested realism is an important factor. Higher levels of aggression resulted from the viewing of more realistic or realistically perceived violence.

WEAKNESS: Disinhibition effect depends on other factors- young children are more likely to be affected because they are drawn to high-action without considering consequences and children who grow up with strong norms against disinhibition are unlikely to experience it sufficiently to act aggressively compared to childen who experience physical punishment

STRENGTH/ WEAKNESS: The good and bad of desensitisation- Desensitisation can be adaptive for troops as it would make them more effective in their role. However, Bushman and Anderson have found there to be worrying consequences such as a reduction in helping behaviour

Psychology A Level (11 decks)

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