ethological explanations of aggression

Question 1

ethological explanation

Answer 1

• seeks to understand the innate behaviour of animals by studying them in their natural environment
• e.g. Lorenz who used the behaviour of geese to explain attachment in humans
• seen as providing an adoptive function
• seen in all animal species = innate behaviour
• beneficial for survival = protection over land + food etc..
• used to establish dominance hierarchies
• aggression is the result of an evolved automatic biological response in the brain
  = built-in neural structure cause the release of an automatic behavioural response (when exposed to specific stimuli)

Question 2

IRM

Answer 2

• innate releasing mechanism
• inbuilt biological structure
• environmental stimulus triggers IRM
• has six main features
• hard-wired brain networks that respond to specific stimuli by initiating a fixed action pattern = set sequence of behaviours

Question 3

six main features of IRM

Answer 3

1) stereotyped or relatively unchanging sequences of behaviours
2) universal = same behaviour is found in every individual of its species
3) unaffected by learning = same for every individual regardless of experience
4) ballistic = once the behaviour stats, it can’t stop until it is completed
5) single-purpose = the behaviour only occurs in a specific situation + not any other
6) a response to an identifiable specific sign stimulus

Question 4

strength

Answer 4

• there is strong research support for the ethological explanation
• psych undertook an experiment with male sticklebacks
  = during mating season they get red spot on underside
• species of fish is very territorial + aggressive
• psych observed that males will attack other males that enter their territory
• theorised that the red spot was acting as an IRM, after observing this they would aggressively attack the trespassing male stickleback = fixed action pattern
• to test this, he presented male sticklebacks w/ a wooden model
  = if the wooden model had a red spot then the stickleback would attack
  = if it didn’t, it didn’t attack –> no aggression displayed
  = study proves support for FAP

Question 5

weaknesses

Answer 5

• cultural differences
• modal action patterns

Question 6

cultural differences - weaknesses

Answer 6

• ethological explanation of aggression assumes that all behaviour is innate
  = therefore should be uniform across all cultures
• however a psych found that in a laboratory experiment
• when South American white males were insulted
  = more likely to respond aggressively than white North American males
  = high variation in aggressive responses
• research demonstrates cultural differences that would be problematic for the explanation to account for

Question 7

modal action patterns - weaknesses

Answer 7

• not all action patterns are fixed
• there is some evidence that learning + environmental factors = create variation within a species
  = may be more appropriate to discuss modal action patterns:
• behaviours that are instinctual but differ from one individual within the species
• e.g. the prey drive (desire to chase in dogs) = some dogs may chase cats but others may not
• the differences in behaviour may be down to training or species differentiation