P3 Section D (Aggression) Flashcards
Who created frustration-aggression hypothesis
Dollard and Miller
What does frustration aggression hypothesis state
frustration aggression hypothesis states environmental stimuli causes aggression
How does FA hypothesis link to psychodynamic approach
FA hypothesis links to psychodynamic approach as it is the idea aggression is innate, and frustration will instinctually cause aggression
What is Brown’s evidence of FA Hypothesis
Brown’s evidence of FA Hypothesis is that British holidayers increased hostility towards French when they found French fisherman were blocking the ferry to France
What is the only way to reduce aggression according to psychodynamic approach.
The only way to reduce aggression according to psychodynamic approach is to do an activity which releases it
What are cathartic actions
Cathartic actions are activity which release aggression
What are the two types of cathartic responses
Displacement and sublimation
What is displacement
Displacement is directing aggression towards someone or something else
What is sublimation
Sublimation is directing aggression in acceptable activities like sport
Green method to support frustration causing aggression (jigsaw puzzle)
Green method to support frustration causing aggression was getting male students to complete jigsaw puzzle in 3 different conditions and then afterwards giving electric shocks to confederates if they incorrectly answered a question
What were Green’s 3 conditions to support FA Hypothesis
Green’s 3 conditions to support FA hypothesis were: completing puzzle in unattainable time limit, completing puzzle that was impossible, and completing puzzle whilst being insulted and then a control condition completing puzzle normally
Green findings to support frustration causing aggression
Green findings to support frustration causing aggression that insulted participants would give the strongest average shock and non-frustrated participants giving lowest shock
Bushman method to oppose frustration aggression hypothesis
Bushman method to oppose frustration aggression hypothesis was asking 700 students to complete essays, a confederate wrote reactionary essays and ppts and confederates then swapped. Confederate would write insults on ppts essays and then students would either take anger on boxing bag or not do anything and then played videogame where winners send losers a burst of white noise
Bushman findings to oppose FA Hypothesis
Bushman findings to oppose FA Hypothesis were that students who vented anger on boxing bag would display 2x more aggression as they sent the highest level of white noise sound to losers
What did Bushman conclude to oppose FA hypothesis
Bushman concluded to oppose FA hypothesis that catharsis had no scientific evidence to prove it reduces aggression as found sublimation in his own study would actually increase aggression and so FA hypothesis has low validity
How did Berkowitz criticise FA hypothesis
Berkowitz criticised FA hypothesis as it is too reductionist as it only accounts for frustration causing aggression
How is aggression caused according to Berkowitz
Aggression is caused by unpleasant experiences which cause negative effects that lead to aggression (not the unpleasant experience itself causing aggression)
Berkowitz says unpleasant experiences are caused by what?
Berkowitz says upleasant experiences are caused by anything that restricts a person from reaching their goals
What is Berkowitz revised FA hypothesis
Berkowitz revised FA hypothesis is:
Unpleasant experience —
Increased arousal —
Presence of aggressive cues (like weapons) lead to greater likelihood of aggression
Presence of non-aggressive cues lead to lesser likelihood of aggression
How is Berkowitz revised FA hypothesis better
Berkowitz revised FA hypothesis is better as it is less deterministic since it accounts for free will in the sense that cues can affect how angry someone becomes
What did Doob and Sears find about justified frustration
Doob and Sears found that participants would feel angry in all justified frustration scenarios
How did Pastore support Doob and Sears
Pastore supported Doob and Sears by finding that aggression would be higher when frustration is justified (like when bus doesn’t stop) compared to when frustration is unjustified (like if bus doesn’t stop cos it has out of service message)
What is disadvantage of FA hypothesis
A disadvantage of FA hypothesis is that it only looks at role of environmental stimuli which causes aggression, not biological theories
How does Catharsis lack research
Catharsis lacks research as no studies have been done to support, bushman found the opposite of catharsis - that aggressive behaviours keep aggressive thoughts active in the memory which contradicts catharsis that says aggression should lower
How did Reifman support Berkowitz
Reifman supported Berkowitz by finding as temperature increased, so did aggression in baseball pitchers - showing that there needs to be a negative experience (like high temperatures) which increases arousal and then increases aggression
How did Staub show real-world application of FA hypothesis
Staub showed real-world application of FA hypothesis by suggesting mass killings are often caused by social and economic difficulties which frustration leads to scapegoating and then aggression against a particular group like Germans blaming Jews for loss of war and poor economy
What did Wagner’s find to show testosterone affecting aggression
Wagner’s found to show testosterone affecting aggression that when castrating mice, aggression would decrease as the testes can’t control testosterone production
How did Dolan show link between testosterone levels and aggression in sample of 60 male offenders
Dolan showed link between testosterone levels and aggression in sample of 60 male offenders as he found the worst crimes were performed by those who had highest testosterone levels
What is a negative of Dolan’s research in correlation between testosterone and aggression
A negative of Dolan’s research in correlation between testosterone and aggression is that the male offenders have mental health issues which is a confounding variable as psychopathy elicits aggression often
How does serotonin affect aggression (amygdala)
Serotonin affects aggression as low levels of serotonin can’t calm the amygdala so people become impulsive and aggressive
How does serotonin affect aggression (prefrontal cortex)
Serotonin affects aggression as low levels of serotonin can’t regulate the prefrontal cortex so a person becomes aggressive easily as they can’t anticipate risks or control their responses
What was Mann’s method to show serotonin affecting aggression
Mann’s method to show serotonin affecting aggression was administering a serotonin depleter to 35 healthy adults and giving questionnaire to assess hostility and aggression
What was Mann’s findings to show serotonin affecting aggression
Mann’s findings to show serotonin affecting aggression was that aggression levels rose in males but not amongst females
How was serotonin linked to suicide attempts
serotonin was linked to suicide attempts as lowest levels of serotonin were found in suicide attempt survivors suggesting impulsive behaviour is linked to low serotonin levels
What is limbic system
Limbic system is part of the brain including hippocampus and amygdala which triggers aggressive responses to types of threats
How does research in Greece support limbic system involvement in aggression
research in Greece supports limbic system involvement in aggression as in sample of 13 patients, removing the amygdala reduced aggressive incidents by 33-100%
How did Higley criticise hormonal explanation of aggression
Higley criticised hormonal explanation of aggression by finding those with high testosterone levels would exhibit more signs of aggression, but committed very few aggressive acts - suggesting there must be cognitive and social factors that play a mediating role
How is the hormonal explanation of aggression biologically reductionist
hormonal explanation of aggression is biologically reductionist as it doesn’t account for factors like the role of learning in creating aggression
How is the hormonal explanation of aggression deterministic
hormonal explanation of aggression is deterministic as blaming a person’s biochemistry is immoral as it removes responsibility for actions
How does mutated MAOA gene lead to aggression
mutated MAOA gene leads to aggression as there becomes a dysfunction in the MAOA enzyme so serotonin remains in the synapse for longer which causing brain dysfunction and aggression
How did Brunner support MAOA gene explanation of aggression
Brunner supported MAOA gene explanation of aggression by finding there was low levels of MAOA in the brains of a family of 28 Dutch murderers and rapists
How did McDermott criticise the MAOA gene explanation of aggression
McDermott criticised the MAOA gene explanation of aggression by finding those with low MAOA activity only behaved aggressively when provoked by a lab-based game
How did Caspi support McDermott’s criticism of the MAOA gene explanation of aggression
Caspi supported McDermott’s criticism of the MAOA gene explanation of aggression by finding boys with the MAOA gene who had experienced childhood abuse were 3 times more likely to be aggressive in adulthood compared to those who hadn’t experienced childhood abuse
How is testosterone implicated in aggression
Testosterone is implicated in aggression as increased levels will increase aggression as seen in prisoners who committed most violent crimes would also have most testosterone
How does case of Charles Whitman support limbic system in aggression
case of Charles Whitman supports limbic system in aggression as he was a murderer and had large tumour pressing on amygdala