aggression

Question 1

define aggression?

Answer 1

behaviour with the primary intent of harming another individual of the same species

Question 2

what is important to the definition?

Answer 2

motives, target, context

Question 3

overt attention?

Answer 3

intends to cause physical harm or inflict injury

Question 4

social/relational aggression?

Answer 4

intends to harm emotional well-being, such as gossip/insults

Question 5

multiple definitions of aggression means….

Answer 5

multiple measures of aggression

Question 6

give examples of how to measure aggression?

Answer 6

1) observational learning , 2)verbal expression of willingness to act violently (researchers just asking about your aggressive tendencies) , 3) self reports, teacher reports 5) milgrams obedience study / hot sauce paradigm (modern day equivalent of milgrams study)

Question 7

john Dalton theorised the….

Answer 7

frustration-aggression hypothesis

Question 8

explain the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

Answer 8

the concept that all aggression is the product of frustration and that frustration invariably leads to aggression

Question 9

chronic frustration has what impact on society?

Answer 9

leads to violence

Question 10

when people do not get what they want it leads to

Answer 10

frustration

Question 11

identify problems with the frustration aggression hypotheses?

Answer 11

doesn’t really provide a good explanation of truly spontaneous aggression, fails to explain how aggression can be learned, or explain sex differences in aggression

Question 12

albert bandura developed which theory?

Answer 12

social learning theory

Question 13

social learning theory argues that

Answer 13

behaviour is learned through observation of others and through direct rewards and punishments

Question 14

BOBO doll experiment?

Answer 14

those who had previously seen someone act aggressively towards the doll were more aggressive when they subsequently played with the doll

Question 15

key point of the BOBO doll experiment….

Answer 15

aggressive models elicit aggressive imitations

Question 16

people develop more poisitve attitudes towards aggression after viewing models and develop?

Answer 16

scripts for aggressive reactions, these scripts are then elicited spontaneously in future situations

Question 17

an example of a script?

Answer 17

witnessing parents behave aggressively influences childrens subsequent aggressive behavior

Question 18

is learning restricted to family modelling…

Answer 18

no, learning from witnessing violence on tv ect

Question 19

identify 3 biological approaches to aggression?

Answer 19

psychodynamic theory, ethology and evolutionary psychology

Question 20

briefly explain the psychodynamic theory?

Answer 20

freud argued that humans possess a death instinct (Thanatos) which functions in opposition to the life instinct (eros - survival, reproduction) < argues that aggressive urges are innate and that they build up in the body and must be expressed

Question 21

with reference to psychodynamic theory, how are these aggressive urges expressed

Answer 21

through CATHARSIS < release of pent up aggression through often symbolic acts of aggression

Question 22

identify problems of the psychodynamic theory?

Answer 22

over simple, one track, cannot explain many nuacances of observed behaviour, what are these instincts?

Question 23

ethology is

Answer 23

study of animal behaviour and is a field led by KONRAD LORENZ

Question 24

early ethology focused on certain behaviors such as

Answer 24

imprinting, releaser stimuli

Question 25

basic idea of ethology =

Answer 25

innate behaviours have survival value

Question 26

releasers =

Answer 26

specific stimuli in the social environment

Question 27

fixed action patterns =

Answer 27

releasers elicit specific behaviours

Question 28

innate instinct that is elicited by releasers =

Answer 28

aggression

Question 29

releasers elicit aggression because

Answer 29

aggression in that context provides a survival value

Question 30

aggression is then?

Answer 30

inevitable (fixed action pattern) and controlled biologically by hormones.

Question 31

problems with ethology?

Answer 31

overly simplistic, unclear what the releasers are, behaviour seems more flexible and conditional (eg: linked with social status)

Question 32

fitness is

Answer 32

the ability to survive and reproduce

Question 33

central idea =

Answer 33

context-sensitive solutions to particular adaptive problems of social living

Question 34

evolutionary psychology

Answer 34

the idea that particular aggressive behaviour has evolved because they enhance the fitness of the possesor

Question 35

animals and humans aggress when?

Answer 35

it is benefitical to their survival and reproduction ( including inclusive fitness)

Question 36

these approaches share in common the arguments that?

Answer 36

aggression is linked to a clear evolutionary benefit and aggressiveness can be heritable ( NOT DETERMINISTIC, NOT A PRECONDITION FOR THE APPROACH)

Question 37

these approaches vary in the way they are expressed:

Answer 37

ethological = fixed action pattern in response to releaser (limited evidence) evolutionary psychology = context-sensitive, flexible (humans, most animals)

Question 38

genetic evidence, aggression is

Answer 38

heritable, REFER TO NOTES

Question 39

Humans rely on what to study heritability?

Answer 39

twin studies

Question 40

what hormone is directly linked to aggression

Answer 40

testosterone

Question 41

testosterone increases

Answer 41

prior to competition, change after competition depends on the outcome

Question 42

do hormones/genes cause behaviour?

Answer 42

no, they predispose us to aggression

Question 43

aggression is elicited by

Answer 43

social and environmental triggers, shaped by both our upbringing (social learning) and social context.

Question 44

girls tend to be

Answer 44

less aggressive than boys but tend to divulge more in relational aggression compared to boys

Question 45

what perpetuates sex differences in aggression?

Answer 45

different rewards and punishments for aggressive behaviours between the sexes

Question 46

direct aggression may be an important way for boys to achieve

Answer 46

status - but also likely underpinned by differences in T ( especially after puberty)

Question 47

narcissim and high self esteem positively related to

Answer 47

aggression

Question 48

Type A personality Is strongly linked with

Answer 48

aggressive behavior

Question 49

the tendency to aggress develops

Answer 49

from a young age and tends to be stable over time

Question 50

how alcohol triggers aggression?

Answer 50

Alcohol interacts with testosterone levels and inhibits higher order cognitive function Promotes changes that result in threatening situations appearing less dangerous, through disinhibition: the breakdown of learned controls (eg: to behave impulsively, how to behave in a particular context) BUT: there is a placebo effect too. If people think they drink alcohol they also behave more aggressively. This suggests a SOCIAL LEARNING EFFECT (IE: CULTURAL AND PERSONAL BELIEFS ABOUT ALCOHOL MAY CONTRIBUTE TO AGGRESSION EFFECTS)

Question 51

statistics for crimes commited under the influence of alcohol?

Answer 51

a least a half of sexual offences 2/3 of murders ½ of offences against spouses

Question 52

how situation triggers aggression?

Answer 52

aspects of our environment influence how we aggress Two aspects of the physical environment that trigger aggression are HEAT/TEMPERATURE and CROWDING. Two aspects of the social environment that contribute to aggression are CULTURAL VARIATION and MASS MEDIA.

Question 53

temperature and aggression?

Answer 53

Assaults are more common in the summer/warmer months People report more negative moods on very hot days, even in places that are generally warm Ethological experiment about road rage/honking.

Question 54

crowding and aggression?

Answer 54

Crowding in animals is associated with fighting In prisons and psychiatric settings crowing has been shown to increase aggressive behaviour Personal space, also more opportunity Crowding due to competition for limited resource?

Question 55

cultural influences and aggression?

Answer 55

Norms differ between cultural groups, these differences have been shaped from unique histories. The result is groups who differ in aggressive expression and tendency. Culture of honor = some cultures endorse male violence as a way to address threats to social or economic position.

Question 56

media exposure and aggression?

Answer 56

Desensitization > reduction in responsiveness to material that would normally elicit a strong emotional reaction. Long term changes in proclivity to aggression Short and long term effects.

Question 57

key final comments?

Answer 57

SOCIAL AND BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS FOR AGGRESSIVE (OR ANY) BEHAVIOUR ARE RARELY MUTALLY EXCLUSIVE. in other words, both social learning and condition-dependent fitness benefits may be important in shaping how people behave. Beware that if aggression (or any behaviour) is shaped by hormones and genes, this DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY CAUSE THE BEHAVIOUR, though they likely do PREDISPOSE us to it.