Aggression Flashcards
four meditational responses proposed by bandura
Attention: The extent to which we are exposed/notice the behaviour. For a behaviour to be imitated, it has to grab our attention. We observe many behaviours on a daily basis, and many of these are not noteworthy.
Retention: How well the behaviour is remembered.
Reproduction: This is the ability to perform the behaviour that the model has just demonstrated. We see much behaviour on a daily basis that we would like to be able to imitate but that this not always possible. We are limited by our physical ability and for that reason, even if we wish to reproduce the behaviour, we cannot.
Imagine the scenario of a 90-year-old-lady who struggles to walk watching Dancing on Ice. She may appreciate that the skill is a desirable one, but she will not attempt to imitate it because she physically cannot do it.
Motivation: The will to perform the behaviour. The rewards and punishment that follow a behaviour will be considered by the observer. If the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived costs then the behaviour will be more likely to be imitated by the observer. If the vicarious reinforcement is not seen to be important enough to the observer, then they will not imitate the behaviour.
Main assumptions of
Modelling occurs, this is where we copy or a behaviour we have seen from either a live model; parents, friend or teacher or a symbolic model for example a TV show character. The person that we copy acts as a model
Imitation – this is when we copy the behaviour of the model whether or not we copy the behaviour depends on the likelihood of us being able to repeat the behaviour or the consequences of copying it
Identification occurs which is measured by the extent to which the observer sees themselves as the model. We usually model ourselves on someone who is similar to us. For example gender
Vicarious reinforcement occurs when children observe a model who is rewarded for aggressive behaviour when compared to one who was punished. We learn about the consequences of behaviour and adjust our own accordingly
Mediational processes occurs when the observer forms mental representations of behaviour and the expected outcome of repeating the behaviour
instittutional aggression
Interpersonal aggression involves direct actions against a specific individual and is restricted to a specific place and time
Institutional aggression occurs within groups such as the armed forces, in prisons or mental institutions or between different groups
research support for institulionalised aggression
Harer and Steffensmeier 1996
Collected data from 58 US prisons
Found that black inmates had higher rates of violent behaviour but lower rates of drug related misconduct than white inmates.
These patterns parallel US society
situational factors the aggression model
Situational factors – the deprivation model
Aggression occurs due to the harsh and oppressive conditions of the situation the prisoners are in, these influencing factors include overcrowding which causes fear in the inmates and leads to frustration and secondly the level of staff experience.
Due to the loss of liberty, loss of security and loss of autonomy inmates may cope with the pains of imprisonment in several ways - Social withdrawal or rebellion
Violence in prison also acts a means to survive and earning respect
In a hospital less experienced nurses were more likely to suffer from violent assaults and the same was true with less experienced prison guards
A02 – McCorkle 1995 – overcrowding, lack of privacy and lack of meaningful activity all contribute to peer violence
Nijman 1999 – increased space in a psychiatric ward did not reduce aggressive behaviour - why was this?
the role of prison characteristics
Cooke 2008 – prisoners are only violent in certain circumstances
gangs
Members of gangs engage in higher rates of prison violence and those in non gang groups
Huff found that gang members were 10x more likely to commit murder and 3x more likely to assault someone than non gang members of a similar age and background
A study of over 1000 inmates in prisons in the SW of the USA found that those who had been members of gangs prior to imprisonment were far more likely to commit various types of misconduct while in prison including murder, hostage taking and assault with a deadly weapon
A02 - Di Lisi challenges this idea and states that inmates with prior gang involvement were no more likely than other inmates of engage in prison violence
Isolation from other inmates might provide an answer to this. Research has shown than isolation reduces violence by 50%
dispostitional factors
Anger, anti social personality and impulsivity – anger was the best predictor of aggression in prisons. All three were stronger indicators of aggression when compared to ethnicity and type of offence committed
Low self control – if you are quick to lose your temper you are more likely to be aggressive both prior to and during incarceration
what are some examples of real life institutuonal aggression
nazis germany- treatment of the jews
rwandan genocide
