LO11 - Social Psychology 2 Flashcards
Aggression
Behaviour intended to harm another individual. Extreme aggression is violence.
It has an adaptive value but can also have negative/disruptive consequences.
Indirect aggression is not done face-to-face or can be aggression carried out on the behalf of someone else.
Proactive depression has a purpose e.g. defending yourself. Harmful behaviour can still have a purpose.
Hostile aggression
Motivated by hostility. Goal is to cause harm.
It is emotional and impulsive (heat of the moment) aggression. It can also be calm (revenge)
Biological model of aggression - heritability and genetics
Looks at genetics - heritability is around 0.3-0.6 when looking at mono and dizygotic twins.
Specific genes are looked at e.g. MAOA predicts behavioural aggression following provocation. This gene codes for enzymes that catabolise various neurotransmitters.
This has been called the criminal gene
Animals can be bred for aggression which supports a biological approach.
Biological model of depression - hormones
Hormones can also be linked to aggression. Testosterone is associated with aggression in both men and women.
Correlational studies have also shown that cortisol is important in reacting with testosterone.
Brain physiology
The amygdala is a structure involved in emotional processing.
When it is stimulated in animals they show aggressive outbursts.
The prefrontal cortex shows impaired functioning which can disrupt executive functioning (top-down processing). This is one reason people can’t inhibit their impulses.
Environmental factors affecting aggression
heat/hot weather and crowding reliably predicts aggression.
Experimental research done with heat has shown that people in uncomfortably hot rooms tend to do more aggressive acts.
Correlations have been found in sports
Environmental factors causing aggression - Social provocation
Insults or social rejection predicts aggression - negative affect.
Environmental factors causing aggression - social learning
We learn to be aggressive via behaviour modelling (watching other people be aggressive.
Growing up in an aggressive home is likely to make you more aggressive.
We learn to be more/less aggressive through rewards/punishments.
Bandura’s Bobo Doll Studies
He developed a theory of aggression that said kids would act aggressively when they watch models be aggressive.
Children are randomly assigned to different experimental conditions. Those who watched the aggressive adult were far more likely to carry out the same aggressive acts they had seen.
They even carried out new aggressive techniques. When the model was praised for aggression this increased aggressive acts.
When the model was punished this reduced aggression
General Aggression model
Comprehensive model of aggression. It is the idea that there are person factors (traits), biological factors, childhood experiences and locus of control.
There are also situation factors which could increase the likelihood of aggression E.g. being late/hot weather.
The two components interact and can have additive effects.
There is a trigger event and the background info results in the tendency to be aggressive/not.
Pro-social behaviour
Actions intended to benefit others. What motivates people? Egoism, Altruism, Reciprocal altruism or the Reciprocity Norm?
Egoism (pro social behaviour)
We help people to increase our own welfare/self-interest. Perhaps to be seen in a positive light or feel good about yourself.
Altruism (pro social behaviour)
We help others to increase another person’s welfare. We have genuine concern for others.
We want to benefit others without expecting anything in return.
Is true altruism possible? It feels good to help, comfort, share and cooperate.
There is a cost to helping and not helping.
Reciprocal altruism (prosocial behaviour)
Actions that benefits others (despite some immediate risk or cost) are repaid in kind in the long-run.
Evolutionary theory can help us explain why we help people who are related to us. We want our genes to be passed down.
We help those who we don’t know as we expect them to help us in the long run.
We observe this in other species like chimps who share food expecting food will be shared back with them in the future.
Reciprocity norm (prosocial behaviour)
This is a rule of social interactions: if someone helps us, we should help in return. We get dissatisfied when there is no reciprocation.
In short-term relationships, reciprocation is expected right away or soon but in lasting relationships, no score is kept and reciprocation is expected over the long-run.
Even when given something unwanted, we feel indebted which triggers the need to reciprocate.
Bystander effect (Kitty Genovese)
She was murdered outside her building and it was depicted in the media that 37 people saw the murder but didn’t call the police.
She was attacked twice and eventually police were called but it was too late to save her.
Bystander effect is the idea that the more people that there are, the less likely we are to help.
Bystander effect (lab experiments)
Hypothesis - responsibility is diffused among people.
Participants were in a single cubicle where they communicated with another participant through a headset.
The research manipulated whether the participant was alone or if a second true participant was connected.
There was a clear emergency situation and the question was how many people helped and how long it took.
80% of single people helped within in a minute.
In a group of 4, only 30% helped. By 2 1/2 minutes everyone helped by themselves but in the group of 4, only 40% had helped.
They are aware of the others, they are in conflict between helping and not.
Pluralistic ignorance
The tendency to misinterpret social cues and rely on the overt reaction of others in ambiguous situations. This leads to inaction.
E.g. you see someone fall but nobody else reacts so you don’t act.
They don’t perceive it to be an emergency and you misinterpret their cues. In reality they are doing the same as you.
