Cognitive approach: Aggression

Question 1

what are the 3 cognitive explanations of aggression?

Answer 1

1. cognitive priming for aggression
2. hostile attribution bias (HAB)
3. cognitive scripts and schemas

Question 2

COGNITIVE PRIMING FOR AGGRESSION: aggression

Answer 2

simply being exposed to aggressive behaviour can cue aggression in the observer and this exposure can be via direct experience or via media platforms. the cognitive approach would argue that watching aggression in others enables cognitive schema and scripts to develop which are then used in similar situations. priming occurs without the person even being aware of it. for example, watching a violent tv programme or playing a violent game following this we can make a wrong interpretation of someone else’s behaviour in a related situation.

Question 3

HOSTILE ATTRIBUTION BIAS (HAB): aggression

Answer 3

according to HAB, aggression can be explained in terms of an individuals thinking style. their automatic reaction to other peoples behaviour is to become aggressive, even if that behaviour is neutral or unclear. for example, if someone knocks into you in a supermarket, most people understand that this was a stumble and wasn’t anyone’s fault. however, for an individual with HAB, they would process this information differently and see it as a deliberate act directed personally at them. this can then worsen if the reaction from the other person in the situation is also aggressive, as this then confirms and justifies their HAB. it can be argued that those with HAB pay special attention to cues in a social situation that might be aggression related ie, they are biased in their thinking

Question 4

COGNITIVE SCRIPTS AND SCHEMAS: aggression

Answer 4

cognitive scripts are a special schema which tells us what to expect, how to behave and what the consequences might be. we have cognitive scripts for aggressive situations developed from experience which are then used in situations that are similar. aggressive scripts are stored in memory and are triggered when we encounter cues that we perceive to be aggressive

Question 5

name 1 strength to support cognitive priming for aggression

Answer 5

there is research to support cognitive priming for aggression

one strength is that there is research to support the role of cognitive factors in aggression. for example, Fischer investigated cognitive priming. they asked one group of men to listen to music with derogatory lyrics about women. another group of men listened to neutral music. they found that the men in the first group were more likely to be aggressive towards a female confederate and recalled more negative views about women compared to the neutral group. this suggests cognitive priming can influence (aggressive) behaviour

Question 6

name 1 strength to support hostile attribution bias (HAB)

Answer 6

there is research to support HAB

one strength is that there is research to support the role of cognitive factors in aggression. for example, Schonenberg presented 55 violent offenders and a control group with images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions. they found that violent offenders were more likely than participants in the control group to perceive the images as angry/hostile, suggesting that the violent offenders had a HAB

Question 7

name 1 limitation of the cognitive approach to explaining aggression

Answer 7

one limitation of cognitive explanations for aggression is that they do not consider alternative explanations. for example, the biological approach assumes that aggression is caused by too much or too little of a particular neurotransmitter or hormone. therefore, cognitive explanations of aggression are incomplete