Lessons 06 - 12 Flashcards
Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression
Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis
Social Learning Theory
Deindividuation
The idea that aggression is the result of the interaction between an individual’s characteristics and features of the situation
Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis (F-A)
Dollard et al. (1939), based on the psychodynamic explanation of catharsis.
The drive for aggression is innate and the only way to reduce it is to release it (‘get it off our chests’)
Aggression is the cathartic release of the build-up of frustration
Aggression is not always expressed directly against the source:
- The cause may be abstract
- The cause may be too powerful so we risk punishment
- The cause may be unavailable at the time
Ego defence mechanisms to protect ourselves:
- Sublimation - using aggression in acceptable activities (sport)
- Displacement - directing aggression outwards onto something or someone else
The weapon effect:
Berkowitz (1969) proposed the ‘revised F-A hypothesis), where he said frustration does not always lead to aggression. Aggression only occurs in the presence of certain cues (e.g. weapons)
Evaluation of the F-A hypothesis
(+) Research support. Russell Green (1968) had male participants do a jigsaw puzzle. Three conditions: one unattainable time limit, one impossible to complete, one with a confederate yelling insults. Then they got to fake shock the confederate. Insult group shocked the most, and all groups shocked more than a control group without frustration. Shows how frustration leads to aggression
(+) Practical application. Berkowitz (1967) let participants shock a confederate who had previously angered them. Three conditions: one with a gun (aggressive cue), one with a badminton racket (non-aggressive) and one with no cue. Presence of aggressive cue led to higher levels of shocks. Practical application of gun control debate in USA. Presence of guns leads to high aggression then the implications for gun laws is huge
(-) Research comes from laboratory settings. Issues of ecological validity. Cannot be applied to other settings
(-) Link between frustration and aggression is very complex. Frustration does not always lead to aggression. Someone who is frustrated may release it in a different way. Aggressive people may not be frustrated; MAOA-L gene. F-A hypothesis does not take other factors into account
Social Learning Theory
A01
Children learn through a process of imitation. Aggressive acts carried out by a role model will be internalised by an individual and reproduced in the future. If rewarded it is more likely to be done (vicarious reinforcement).
Five main cognitive factors to mediate control of behaviour (meditational processes):
- Attention: child pays attention to act done by role model
- Retention: child remembers it (places act into LTM)
- Motor Reproduction: child needs to be physically able to do the behaviour (superheroes are less likely to be copied)
- Motivation: child expects positive reinforcement. Happens through vicarious reinforcement
- Self-efficacy: individuals need confidence in their abilities and that it will end up in a positive outcome
Social Learning Theory
Bandura
He believed parents are the primary role models for children. A boy who watched his father attack his mother is more likely to be an abusive spouse
He also said role models in the media can be a source of vicarious reinforcement.
Research:
Using a matched pairs design, he used 3-5 year olds in one of three conditions:
1) a male and female behaving aggressively to a BOBO doll
2) a male and female not behaving aggressively to a BOBO doll
3) Control group with no adult role model
Then the kids were shown attractive toys and were not allowed to play with them (inducing frustration). Then they went to the BOBO doll.
The kids who saw the adult role model behaving aggressively copied that behaviour
Supports SLT
Evaluation of Social Learning Theory
(+) Research. Bandura did multiple studies. Three conditions: one with filmed aggressive role model, one with cartoon aggressive role model, one with live aggressive role model. Also control group with no aggressive role model. Same as BOBO doll experiment. Found the cartoon model produced the highest number of aggressive acts. Shows aggression is due to SLT and modelling, not cathartic release
(+) Practical application about reducing aggression. Need to provide rewarded non-aggressive role models. They can then use SLT to learn to be not aggressive.
(-) Underestimates the influence of biological factors (genes, neural and hormonal factors). Research shows how aggression is instinctual and there might be more important factors than SLT
(-) SLT not as simple. Christianson (2006) studied the Kung San people. Aggression was very rare for them. No cultural norms for aggression. Cultural bias. Shows SLT is complex and questions whether it can be applied to multiple cultures.
(-) Can explain some forms of aggression, but not reactive aggression. It can be better explained with the F-A hypothesis.
Deindividuation
A psychological state in which an individual loses their personal identity and takes on the identity of a social group. Used to explain violence in prisons and other settings
Gustave Le Bon (1985)
In a crowd, we lose restraint, self-awareness and our sense of individual self-identity. Responsibility becomes shared throughout the crowd, so we experience less personal guilt. Anonymity prevents us from being judged negatively. The bigger the crowd, the more anonymous
Zimbardo (1969) distinguished between individuated and de-individuated behaviour.
Individuated = normal, rational
De-individuated = emotional, impulsive, irrational. We lose self-awareness, ignore social norms
Prentice-Dunn and Rogers (1982) said there are two types of self-awareness
Private: how we pay attention to our own feelings, reduced when in a crowd, less critical and less thoughtful
Public: how much we care about what other people think, reduced in crowds, we are anonymous so we care less
Dodd (1985) asked 229 students if they could something without being caught what would they do? 36% of responses were antisocial and 26% were criminal. Shows the connection between deindividuation and anonymity
Evaluation of deindividuation
(+) Studies. Diener (1976) used 1300 trick-or-treaters in different conditions: one of anonymity, one of non-anonymity and then either alone or in a group. They were given the opportunity to steal. 57% of anonymous kids in a group stole. 21% in a non-anonymous group. When anonymous and in a group, children are more likely to behave badly
(+) Malmouth and Check (1981) asked ‘would you rape if you could not get caught?’ and 35% said yes
(+) Johnson and Downing (1979) did a lab experiment. One condition with a Ku-Klux-Klan type outfit, one with nurses outfit, one with normal clothes. They the had to fake shock a confederate. The KKK outfit group gave much higher levels of shocks
(-) Difficult to separate the effects of deindividuation from other explanations (e.g. SLT). Sporting events like football have a history of violence, but cricket does not. Internalised cultural factors may be a better explanation
(-) Deindividuated behaviour can be normative. Spears and Lea (1992) argue that behaviour that conforms to a group can be pro-social (helping) as well as anti-social (aggression). Suggests people in a deindividuated state can remain sensitive to norms
Institutional aggression in the context of prisons:
Dispositional explanations
Irwin and Cresset (1962) put forward the Importation Model, that suggests that people import characteristics (their disposition) into a prison setting. If they come from a subculture where violence is prominent, then they will be violent in prison. Can explain higher levels of aggression in people with certain personal characteristics (gender, race, social class).
Often the younger inmates are violent (more likely to find it hard to fit in)
DeLisi et al. (2011) studied juvenile offenders in California. They had negative backgrounds (trauma, history of substance abuse and violent behaviour), and found that they had a higher level of aggression than a control group
Gang membership is also related to violence. Drury and DeLisi (2011) found that people who had been in a gang prior to prison were significantly more likely to commit misconduct (murder, assault), supporting the importation model
Evaluation of dispositional explanations of aggression
(+) Adams (1981) found that in American prisons, black inmates were more likely to be associated with violent acts compared to white inmates. They tended to come from poorer backgrounds with higher rates of crime, so they imported the behaviour into the prison
(+) Camp and Goes (2005) studied 561 male inmates. Put half in low security prison, half in high. Within two years, there was no significant difference in levels of aggression (33% in low, 36% in high). Concluded that situational features are less important that an inmate’s disposition.
(-) Ignores other key factors. Dilulio (1991) claims the importation model does not look at how the prison is run. He proposed the Administrative Control Model (ACM) which states that poorly managed prisons have higher violence levels.
(-) Most research is done on male prisoners. Androcentric to assume the same for females. Females may have other factors involved. Beta bias
Institutional aggression in the context of prisons:
Situational explanations
Propose that aggression in prisons is due to environmental factors. Prisons are stressful places. Skyes (1958) put forward the deprivation model, which proposed that aggression results from environmental deprivations
Deprivation of LIBERTY - deprived of freedom, need permission to eat, sleep, shower etc.
Deprivation of AUTONOMY -no power and very few choices, feeling of helplessness
Deprivation of GOODS - e.g. smartphones are restricted or denied completely
Deprivation of HETEROSEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS - men feel emasculated (less of a man), also the greater opportunity for homosexual relationships increase anxiety
Deprivation of SECURITY - live in fear of aggression from other inmates and of physical threats
Overcrowding: the government attributed record violence rates to overcrowding. A Japanese study found that prison population density had a significant affect on violence rates
Heat and noise: high temp and noise may predispose inmates to aggression. Griffitt and Veitch (1971) found that high temp and population density led to more negative emotions
Job burnout: staff being psychologically worn out leads to a gradual loss of caring. Linked to the development of violence because of a deterioration in relationships with inmates
Evaluation of situational explanations of aggression
(+) Study by Gaes et al. (1985) found that overcrowding can cause ill health, general misconduct and aggression. It can heighten stress and result in an overreaction to other factors.
(+) Practical applications. Wilson (2005) set up two units where the overcrowding was reduced, music was introduced (to reduce noisy conditions) and temperature was carefully controlled. This was a successful way to lower aggression
(-) Camp and Gaes (2005) studied 561 male inmates. Put half in low security prison, half in high. Within two years, there was no significant difference in levels of aggression (33% in low, 36% in high). Low security should have had less stress and less violence. Concluded that situational features are less important that an inmate’s disposition.
(-) McCorkle et al. (1995) investigated 371 state prisons and found little evidence to support the link between violence and overcrowding. Many people feel stress in a prison but they don’t all resort to violence, so this is a flawed presumption
Media influences on aggression and the effect of computer games
We live in a media saturated world (tv, radio, books, internet etc.). Psychologists are interested in whether media influences can affect aggression.
Computer games are a game played on a screen, using a mouse, keyboard or handheld controller.
Reasons for effects:
- Player takes a more active role compared to a passive viewer
- Game playing is more directly rewarding via operant conditioning
Taylor competitive reaction time task (TCRTT) is a lab measure for aggression. Participants deliver blasts of white noise at chosen volumes to punish an opponent. Bartholow and Anderson (2002) found violent games (Mortal Kombat) leads to significantly higher volumes compared to a non violent game (golf)
Evaluation of computer games
(+) Supported by Social Learning Theory. BOBO doll study shows when a role model acts aggressively, so does a child, so when they play games with violence (e.g. killing the villain), they may copy the aggression
(-) Aggression is defined in many ways, difficult to measure objectively. Violence and aggression are not the same thing (all violence is aggression, but not aggression is violence). Questions validity of studies
Effects of media influences (3 of them)
Desensitisation
Disinhibition
Cognitive priming
