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A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (AQA) ADVANCED INFO > PAPER 3 - Aggression > Flashcards

PAPER 3 - Aggression Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the two NEURAL mechanisms in aggression ?

A
  • limbic system

- serotonin

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2
Q

What are the two components of the LIMBIC SYSTEM ?

A
  • amygdala

- hippocampus

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3
Q

What is the role of the AMYGDALA ?

A

evaluating the EMOTIONAL IMPORTANCE of SENSORY INFORMATION and promoting an APPROPRIATE RESPONSE

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4
Q

What research was done into the amygdala ?

A
  • Narabayashi 43 / 51 patients received operations destroying amygdala and showed more normal social behaviours after and reduced aggression
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5
Q

What is the STRENGTH for the amygdala ?

A

PARDINI- longitudinal study of male pp, received MRI scans at age 26, discovered lower amygdala volumes associated with higher levels aggression
shows amygdala plays an important role in evaluating importance of sensory information

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6
Q

What are the WEAKNESSES for the amygdala ?

A

EXACT ROLE IS UNKNOWN

  • Muller = 6 male psychopaths / 6 non-psychopaths
  • psychopaths = increased amygdala activity
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7
Q

What is the role of the HIPPOCAMPUS ?

A
  • formation of long-term memories
  • compare current situations/threat to past experiences
  • impaired hippocampal functioning prevents nervous system putting things into relevant context so amygdala responds inappropriately
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8
Q

What research has been done in to the hippocampus ?

A
  • boccardi = HABITUALLY VIOLENT offenders exhibited abnormalities of hippocampus functioning
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9
Q

What are the STRENGTHS for the hippocampus ?

A

RESEARCH
- raine = successful and unsuccessful psychopaths = MRI showed abnormalities/asymmetries in unsuccessful criminals as they were impulsive so got caught

  • summer = 14yr old with tumour - epileptic seizures and aggressive manner
  • treated with drugs - returned to normal
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10
Q

What are the WEAKNESSES for the hippocampus ?

A

NOT CLEAR CUT
- many components in limbic system - not sure which part causes what behaviour
may be interaction between the components

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11
Q

What is the role of SEROTONIN ?

and support for it

A
  • communication of impulses between neurons
  • normal levels have calming, inhibitory effect
  • low levels in PFC remove inhibitory effect so individuals less likely to control their impulses or aggressive responses

-support from research showing major waste product of serotonin is low in people who display aggression

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12
Q

What research has been done in to SEROTONIN ?

A

mann et al - drug that depletes (use up) serotonin - questionnaire to assess hostility - those with drugs had increased hostility so lower serotonin = more aggression

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13
Q

strengths of neural mechanisms (serotonin)

A
  • supportive evidence by crockett, studied pp in game playing scenario, half pp received SSRIs to increase serotonin, half had reduced serotonin through diet manipulation, those with lowered levels showed more retaliation against opponents
  • practical applications= increasing serotonin levels may be beneficial for juvenile delinquents or institutionalised patients to reduce aggression
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14
Q

weaknesses of neural mechanisms (serotonin)

A
  • supportive study by crockett has low validity as game playing is not a direct physical aggressive response
  • deterministic, does not account for free will so problems may arise in law and order system
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15
Q

what are the two hormones in the hormonal mechanism

A

testosterone

cortisol

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16
Q

testosterone

A

hormone involved in development of masculine features, influences aggression in young adulthood

changes in testosterone levels influence aggressive behaviour by increasing amygdala reactivity in social threat

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17
Q

what is cortisol

A

hormone produced by adrenal medulla, reaction to stress
inverse correlation between cortisol and aggression
lower cortisol=higher aggression
when cortisol is high it blocks the influence of aggression

(carre and mehta suggest high testosterone only leads to aggression when cortisol levels are low)

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18
Q

strengths of hormonal mechanisms

A

TESTOSTERONE

  • wagner el al
  • when mouse is castrated aggression lowers
  • when mouse injected with testosterone aggression increases

CORTISOL

  • McBurnett
  • longitudinal study on 38 boys referred to clinic because of problem behaviours
  • boys with lower cortisol levels (saliva tests) were 3 times more aggressive than boys with high levels
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19
Q

weaknesses of hormonal mechanisms

A

-supportive research e.g wagner uses animals so the findings cannot be generalised to humans

  • inconsistent evidence, some show positive relationship between aggression and testosterone but others don’t, e.g no correlation found between testosterone and actual violent behaviour in prisons
  • correlations also do not show cause and effect, is the aggression causing high testosterone/low cortisol?
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20
Q

ways of studying genetic factors of aggression

A

twin and adoption studies

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21
Q

what is the gene involved in aggression

A

MAOA gene

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22
Q

twin studies and supportive study

A

-researchers compare degree of similarity for a particular trait for MZ and DZ twins
concordance must be higher for MZ for genetics to play a part

  • coccaro: studied male MZ and DZ twins
  • for physical assault 50% concordance for MZ and 19% for DZ
  • for verbal assault 28% for MZ and 19% for DZ
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23
Q

adoption studies and supportive study

A
  • untangle contribution of environment and genetics
  • Hutchings and mednick studied 14,000 adoptions in denmark and found significant no. of boys with criminal convictions had biological parents with similar convictions, so supports genetic influence
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24
Q

support for twin and adoption studies

A
  • miles and carey meta analysis of 24 twin and adoption studies showing genetic basis
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25
Q

weaknesses of twin and adoption studies

A

-supportive study by miles and carey show there may be other variables at play e.g age, assessment method may influence other factors that do influence aggression

-supportive studies use parental or self reports which can be bias e.g miles and carey used self report
these self report method studies show different findings to those of observations

  • difficult to isolate genetic factors from environment e.g aggressive tendencies may only be expressed if the environmental conditions warrant it
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26
Q

MAOA

A
  • Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) is an enzyme which mops up neurotransmitters after nerve impulse has been transmitted
  • breaks down neurotransmitter, specifically serotonin to be recycled or excreted
  • production of enzyme controlled by MAOA gene, dysfunction of gene leads to abnormal activity of MAOA enzyme, affecting serotonin levels in brain
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27
Q

warrior gene and supportive study

A
  • one variant of MAOA gene is known as the warrior gene which leads to low MAOA activity in areas of brain and has been associated with aggression
  • Brunner studied 28 members of a large dutch family involved in aggressive and violent behaviors like rape murder and assault. it was found the men had abnormally low levels of MAOA(-L) in their brains and low activity version of the MAOA gene
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28
Q

support for MAOA and aggression

A
  • Caspi et al studied 500 male children and found those with the low variant of MAOA were more likely to grow up and exhibit anti social behaviour
  • practical applications as findings have uses in offender treatment and rehab. this info can help develop treatments
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29
Q

limitations of MAOA and aggression

A
  • supportive studies show importance for genes and environment e.g Caspi found those with MAOA would only exhibit antisocial behaviours if they were maltreated as children
  • problems with law and order system if genes cause aggression, people may be deemed biologically determined to commit aggressive acts, ignores freewill
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30
Q

what is the ethological explanation

A
  • function of aggression is adaptive
  • aggression establishes dominance hierarchies
  • aims to understand innate behaviour of animals and humans by studying their natural environment
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31
Q

what is an innate releasing mechanism

A

ETHOLOGICAL
-innate releasing mechanism (IRM) is built in physiological process triggered by environmental stimulus which releases a specific sequence of behaviours called fixed action patterns (FAPs)

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32
Q

according to Lea, what are the 6 features of fixed action patterns

A
  1. stereotyped (unchanging sequence)
  2. universal (same for each individual in a species)
  3. unaffected by learning
  4. ‘ballistic’ (if triggered it follows an inevitable cause)
  5. single purpose
  6. response to specific identifiable sign/stimulus
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33
Q

what study demonstrated FAPs

A

TINBERGEN

  • research stickleback fish
  • male sticklebacks produce fixed sequence of aggression when another male enters territory
  • the sign/stimulus is not another male but the sight of its distinctive red underbelly
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34
Q

ritualistic aggression (ethological)

A
  • not all aggression involves fighting, rather threat displays
  • e.g male gorillas beat their chest to intimidate an opponent without physical contact
    e. g in some african cultures they jump to show who can jump the highest
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35
Q

strength for ethological approach-ritualistic aggression

A
  • prevents conflict from escalating
  • e.g people of south america can settle conflict short of extreme violence by chest pounding
  • reduces violence, aggression, less people harmed/killed
36
Q

weaknesses of ethological approach

A

-reseach done on animals cannot be generalised to humans e.g tinbergens stickleback fish

  • does not account for cultural differences
  • Nisbett found north south divide in US for homicide rates as rates higher in white men in south
  • nisbett concluded this was due to impulsive aggression being a social norm in the south
  • difficult for the ethological explanation to explain how innate influences override this cultural evidence

-other explanations e.g evolutionary, social psychological, biological

37
Q

what is the evolutionary explanation

A
  • behaviour is adaptive
  • modern behaviour has evolved from our distant ancestors and become widespread in our gene pool
  • aggression would have been effective for gaining resources, mate rivals and deterring males and these behaviours have been passed down
38
Q

sexual competition

A
  • ancestral males seeking females would have needed to compete with other males
  • eliminating competition meant aggression
  • those who used aggression successfully would have been more successful gaining a mate so these genes would be passes to offspring
39
Q

sexual jealousy

A
  • male aggression due to parental uncertainty
  • men are never sure they are the fathers of their children so are at risk of cuckoldry from his partner’s infidelity
  • the adaptive function is to deter a mate from infidelity using male retention strategies e.g direct guarding or negative inducements (Buss)
40
Q

aggression in warfare

A
  • displays of aggression and bravery are attractive to females
  • male warriors in traditional societies have more sexual partners and more children so there is a reproductive benefit
  • can also gain respect from other males and status
41
Q

strengths of evolutionary explanation

A
  • puts argued that male traits imply sexual competition, men have 75% more muscle mass than women and are far more aggressive, anthropological evidence shows men have thicker jaw bones that puts believes came from men hitting each other (those with thickest jaw bone survived and passed this down to generation)
  • support by shackelford, male pp completed male retention inventory of 104 mate retention strategies completed in previous month and how many violent acts they had performed. their female partners answered qs about the mate retention strategies and how violent their partner had been to them. it was found the use of mate retention strategies were positively correlated with their violence scores
  • practical applications as friends and family can intervene in a relationship they see mate retention strategies occur, whilst knowing this may lead to violence. early relationship counselling can be provided to benefit females who are usually on the receiving end
42
Q

weakness of evolutionary explanation

A

-buss and shackelford cannot explain why evolutionary approach causes men to respond differently to their partner’s infidelity. some men become aggressive with mate retention strategies, some will just drink, whilst others may commit murder.
evolutionary approach fails to take individual differences in to account e.g hormones neurotransmitters etc

43
Q

what is included in social psychological explanation

A
  1. frustration aggression hypothesis
  2. social learning theory
  3. deindiviuation
44
Q

frustration aggression hypothesis

A
  • dollard believes aggression due to build up of frustration

- frustration creates aggressive drive and aggression is cathartic as frustration is satisfied, reducing drive

45
Q

why might aggression be displaced/deflected onto a scapegoat (frustration aggression hypothesis )

A
  1. cause of frustration is abstract
  2. cause is too powerful and risk punishment
  3. cause may be unavailable at time
46
Q

importance of environmental cues (frustration aggression hypothesis) + study

A

-Berkowitz believes frustration causes readiness for aggression with the addition of aggressive cues making aggression more likely to occur

  • Berkowitz and LePage’s study:
  • pp given electric shocks in lab creating anger
  • pp then given chance to give shocks to the confederate who gave them the shocks
  • when 2 guns were on the table the no. of shocks was 6.07
  • when no guns no. of shocks was 4.67
47
Q

support for frustration aggression hypothesis

A
  • newhall conducted meta analysis and found displaced aggression, pp who were provoked but unable to direct their aggression on source, aggressed against an innocent party
  • real world application by Priks in football games. found people were more likely to demonstrate aggression to opposition when their team performed worse than expected and more likely to throw things like fireworks.
48
Q

weakness for frustration aggression hypothesis

A

-opposing study by bushman who found that those who attempted to vent their anger by hitting a punch bag made their anger worse than those who did nothing, so the concept of catharsis is not entirely correct

other factors also cause aggression e.g temperature, pain so frustration aggression hypothesis may not be the only explanation

49
Q

what is the social learning theory and who is the role model likely to be

A
  • learning via imitation of role model
  • also observing consequences of behaviour (vicarious reinforcement)
  • role model likely to be:
    1. someone who cares for child
    2. someone with authority
    3. someone similar to child
    4. a celebrity whose aggression is rewarded
50
Q

what are bandura’s 4 cognitive factors for slt

A
  1. attention
  2. retention
  3. motor reproduction
  4. motivation
51
Q

bandura original study

bandura and walters follow up study

A
  • in the original study, the children who observed an adult behaving aggressively towards a bobo doll also performed more aggressive acts than children who did not witness the aggression
  • in the follow up study, bandura and walters looked at children who witnessed adults being praised or punished for aggression towards the bobo doll. those who saw praise performed more aggression than those who saw aggression be punished.
52
Q

strengths of slt

A
  • policies can be introduced to prevent children from imitating aggression e.g aggression in the media only after a certain time and only when there is punishment for this behaviour
  • can be used to explain cultural differences
53
Q

weaknesses of slt

A
  • deterministic as suggests all children imitate the behaviours they see, ignoring biological factors can have implications on law and order system if environment fully determines behaviour
  • lacks realism because research by bandura on bobo dolls does not show how people would behave aggressively towards humans
54
Q

what is deindividuation

A
  • explanation for behaviours in crowds
  • individual does not feel identifiable so the behaviour is no longer constrained by social norms due to loss of self awareness
  • loss of responsibility for actions/behaviour and a greater disregard for norms and laws
55
Q

what is key to deindividuation

A
  • ANONYMITY
  • part of a faceless crowd=less likely to be identified and negatively judged
  • uniforms, masks, disguises contribute to anonymity increasing aggression
  • feeling you cannot be identified takes away ownership so aggression is increased
56
Q

what is reduced self awareness

A

-consequence of anonymity that influences aggression
two types:
PRIVATE SELF AWARENESS
when in crowd, individual not capable of making rational decisions, loss of internal standards
PUBLIC SELF AWARENESS
being in state of deindividuation causes low self evaluation so decreased concerns about others, increasing aggression

57
Q

strengths of deindividuation

A
  • research by douglas and McGarty in chatrooms. found strong + correlation between anonymity and flaming (threatening messages)
  • practical applications, police could use dispersion to spread a large crowd or containment so the police can easily spot aggression and intervene
58
Q

negatives of deindividuation

A
  • genders act differently under deindividuation
  • increase in aggression in only all male groups
  • deindividuation does not explain aggression in crowds of females
59
Q

what are the two ways of explaining institutional aggression in the context of prisons

A

DISPOSITION-personality of the individuals (aggression is not a product of the institutions but rather the characteristics of the individuals

SITUATION- environment that encourages aggressive behaviours that would not otherwise be seen

60
Q

dispositional explanation

A

IMPORTATION MODEL

  • Irwin and cressey
  • inmates bring their violent pasts and draw on these experiences in prison where ‘toughness’ is an important survival skill
  • existing inmates use aggression to establish power, status and access to resources
61
Q

dispositional characteristics in prisons

A
  • anger, impulsivity, anti social personality

- DeLisi found low self control and tendency to lose temper was a significant predicter in aggression

62
Q

support for importation model/dispositional

A
  • keller and wang, prison violence more likely to occur in facilities that hold the most troublesome inmates. prisons that require maximum security have higher level assaults than lower security inmates, are likely to have inmates that are already violent and thus need high security
  • practical applications for prisons because known violent gang members can be separated. fischer stated that isolating these inmates reduces rate serious assault by 50%
63
Q

weakness of importation model

A

-DeLisi inmates which previously engaged in street gang violence are no more likely than other inmates to be violent, suggesting dispositional factors do not create institutional aggression

64
Q

situational factors for institutionalised aggression

A

DEPRIVATION MODEL

  • Clemmer believes aggression due to prison environment
  • harsh and stressful conditions
  • deprived of freedom, independence, safety, goods, heterosexual intimacy etc
  • deprivation of goods leads to competition between inmates and therefore aggression
  • aggression influenced by nature of regime e.g lock ups to control behaviour causes frustration
65
Q

strengths of deprivation/situational model for institutional aggression

A
  • research by jiang and fisher-giorlando, prisoners with the strictest regimes had the highest incidence of violence towards staff
  • practical applications for the conditions in prisons, e.g reducing temperature, playing the radio instead of typical prison noise and making units less claustrophobic with a view of the outside. study shows that making these changes eradicates prison violence
66
Q

weakness of situational/deprivation model for institutional aggression

A

-research shows little evidence between violence and factors like overcrowding/living conditions

67
Q

media influence on aggression

A

-porter and starcevic suggest computer games exerts a high influence on aggressive behaviour as the player has an active role and aggression is rewarded for being appropriate and effective

68
Q

what are the 3 methodologies in media influence on aggression

A

experimental
correlational
longitudinal

69
Q

experimental studies in media influence on aggression

A
  • bartholow and anderson lab study
  • students played either violent or non violent video game for 10 mins
  • all carried out competitive reaction time task measuring aggression
  • students delivered blasts of white noise at non existing opponents at chosen volumes
  • those who played violent game played much louder noise
70
Q

correlational studies in media influence on aggression

A
  • DeLisi studied juvenile offenders with histories of very aggressive behaviour
  • used structured interviews to get level of aggression for each pp
  • aggression positively correlated with how often they played violent video games and how much they enjoyed them
71
Q

longitudinal studies in media influence on aggression

A
  • anderson surveyed 430 children between 7-9 at 2 points during the school year
  • those who had high exposure to violent video games became verbally and physically aggressive and less pro social
72
Q

advantages and disadvantages experimental studies of media influence on aggression

A

+allow a causal link to be established between violent video games and aggression

-but, situations are often unrealistic and artificial e.g bartholow and anderson study where pp played white noise does not represent everyday aggression and there was no fear of retaliation

73
Q

issues with correlations in media influence on aggression

A
  • issue with cause and effect, unclear as to whether these people were already aggressive before playing the video games
  • no manipulation of variables, no control, no random allocation
74
Q

weaknesses of research into media influence on aggression

A
  • fails to consider other causal variables e.g mental health, family aggression
  • fergurson believes these other risk factors are the primary cause of aggression as research cannot control these variables

-game difficulty may cause aggression rather than the violent content, often the games involve frustration and failure

75
Q

what are the 3 media influences on aggression

A

desensitisation
disinhibition
cognitive priming

76
Q

what is desensitisation

A
  • in normal conditions, anxiety about violence means violence is not used
  • repeatedly viewing aggression may lead to this anxiety being removed
    e. g someone who repeatedly watches violence on tv may view it as normal and be likely to engage in it
  • takes a long time and repeated exposure
77
Q

what indicates that desensitisation has occurred

A
  • less likely to notice violence
  • less sympathy
  • less negative attitudes towards violence
78
Q

strengths of desensitisation

A
  • carnagey tested arousal after exposure to violence
  • half played violent video game, others non violent video game
  • all watched violent video
  • pp who played violent game had lower levels of arousal/lower heart rate/skin conductance rate

-can be adaptive for people e.g soldiers to become desensitised to the horrors of combat. being sympathetic towards others is not effective for their job

79
Q

weaknesses of desensitisation

A
  • Belson found no relationship between exposure to violence and anti social behaviour
  • desensitisation means people become less helpful and ‘comfortably numb’ towards the pain and suffering of others
80
Q

what is disinhibition

A
  • lack of constraint
  • powerful social norms present violence as antisocial and harmful, creating psychological inhibitions against aggression
  • inhibitions learnt through the SLT
  • restraints are loosened after exposure to violent media
  • violence is rewarded in video games, showing it’s a normal response
81
Q

support for disinhibition

A
  • berkowitz and alioto
  • pp who saw aggressive film showing revenge gave more fake electric shocks with long duration to confederate
  • aggression is allowed if justified e.g revenge
82
Q

weaknesses for disinhibition

A
  • depends on other factors e.g age=younger children more likely to be affected as they don’t consider motives or consequences of violence. upbringing and whether this is surrounded by violence or not
  • effects of disinhibition are limited as they only remain while engaging with the media, so the effect of disinhibition is unclear
83
Q

what is cognitive priming

A
  • berkowitz describes short term effects of media violence
  • constant media violence exposure activates thoughts about violence through their association in memory pathways
  • violent films lowers the threshold activation for these thoughts so they are accessible and used
84
Q

strengths of cognitive priming

A
  • anderson and dill found those who played more violent video games had more aggressive thoughts
  • practical applications as it can be made clear how aggression is triggered through the media using cognitive priming. interventions can put in place to encourage other alternatives to aggression e.g negotiation
85
Q

weaknesses of cognitive priming

A
  • individual differences, cognitive priming may only effect someone if they have a predisposition for aggression
  • other alternative explanations for influence of media on aggression e.g desensitisation and disinhibition

A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (AQA) ADVANCED INFO (11 decks)

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