Paper 3- Aggression

Question 1

What is de-individuation

Answer 1

This is where a person loses their individuality and, instead, they take on the ideals of the group they are in.

Question 2

What can de-individuation make someone act like

Answer 2

In ways which is in direct conflict with their own morals and values, making them violent or anti-social

Question 3

Who was the first to identity de-individuation in crowds

Answer 3

GUSTAV LEBON

Question 4

What did GUSTAV LEBON write about

Answer 4

The idea of a ‘collective mind’, leading to each individual losing their own autonomy

Question 5

Under What three conditions does de-individuation occur

Answer 5

Anonymity
Suggestibility
Contagion

Question 6

How does anonymity lead to de-individuation

Answer 6

Being unidentifiable can let people act in ways they wouldn’t otherwise, since they will not be negatively evaluated by others. We have less fear of retribution because we are a small and unidentifiable part of a faceless crowd

Question 7

What is suggestibility

Answer 7

Where you are ready to take on suggestions and influences of others

Question 8

What is contagion

Answer 8

This is where a behaviour or mindset spreads like a contagious disease amongst a crowd

Question 9

How did ZIMBARDO further the concept of de-individuation

Answer 9

He suggested that altered consciousness can play a role e.g through drugs a and alcohol. Also claimed it can be a force for good

Question 10

Example of de-individuation as a prosocial force

Answer 10

Strangers responding to Facebook invitation for funeral of veteran with no friends or family

Question 11

who said ‘anonymity shapes crowd behaviour’

Answer 11

DIXON and MAHENDRAN

Question 12

What two types of self-awareness does anonymity reduce according to PRENTICE-DUNN and ROGERS

Answer 12

Private self-awareness

Public self-awareness

Question 13

How is private self-awareness reduced in de-individuation

Answer 13

Because our attention is focused outwardly to the events around us, so we think less about our beliefs and feelings - we are less self-critical and evaluative

Question 14

How does de-individuation reduce public self-awareness

Answer 14

We realise we are anonymous and our behaviour is less likely to be judged by others - we no longer care how others see us, so we become less accountable for our aggressive and destructive actions

Question 15

What is aggression

Answer 15

Physical or verbal violence directed at another individual (or group) with the intention of causing harm and can either be reactive (angry, impulsive) or proactive (cold, planned)

Question 16

What is a key study into de-individuation

Answer 16

DODD

Question 17

Procedure of DODDS study

Answer 17

Asked 229 undergraduate psychology students ‘if you could do anything humanly possible with complete assurance that you would not be detected or held responsible, would you?’
The students were aware their responses were anonymous. Three independent raters who did not know the hypothesis decided which categories of antisocial behaviour the responses belonged to.

Question 18

Findings of DODDs study

Answer 18

36% of the responses involved some sort of antisocial behaviour. 26% were actual criminal acts duh as rob a bank. A few students opted for murder, rape and assassination of a political figure. Only 9% of responses were prosocial behaviours like helping people.
This study demonstrates a link between anonymity, de-individuation and aggressive behaviour.

Question 19

What is prosocial behaviour

Answer 19

Behaviours which are beneficial to others, and may not necessarily benefit the helper

Question 20

What are 3 strengths of the de-individuation explanations for aggression

Answer 20

Research supports the role of anonymity. ZIMBAROs guards wore reflective sunglasses and became violent beyond their own morals and values. This shows that when people are anonymous and less accountable for their actions they become more violent, supporting anonymity. However, ZIMBARO played a key role in the experience as the prison ward and encouraged violent acts therefore the study is probably guilty of investigator bias.

MANN studied newspaper articles of people who had committed suicide by jumping from buildings. In 10/21 of the events there was evidence of a ‘baiting crowd’ - people yelling and telling the personal to jump. This was more likely when it was dark, the person was very high up and with a large crowd - all important aspects in creating de-individuation.

Real life applications. De-individuation theory can help us understand aggressive behaviour in online gaming services like Xbox live as these services have many features that promote a psychological state of DI: a reduction of personal identity, arousing and immersive environment and the presence of a crowd in the form of an audience. Increases validity of the explanation because the application confirms the relevance of DI concepts on aggressive behaviour.

Question 21

limitation of the theory of de-individuation as an explanation of aggression

Answer 21

Alternative explanations may account better for aggressive behaviour. SPEARs and LEA applied Social Indentity theory to de-individuation in their Social Identity Model of De-individuation effects (the SIDE model). They noted that DI leads to behaviour that confirms to local group norms, which could be antisocial or prosocial. This happens because anonymity shifts the individuals attention from his or her personal identity to their social identity as a member of the group. Therefore anonymity and reduced self-awareness do not have the wider effects predicted by the de-individuarion explanation (aggression). This challenges the assumption of the explanation that aggression is the inevitable outcome of a de-individuated states.

Question 22

What is antisocial behaviour

Answer 22

Behaviour which is harmful to others. Social behaviour is any behaviour involving one or more members of the same species, therefore antisocial behaviour disrupts this in some way

Question 23

What is social identity theory (SIT)

Answer 23

The theory that suggests your behaviour is motivated by your social identity. A persons self image has two components: personal identity and social identity. Personal identity is based on your characteristics and achievements. Social identity is determined by the various groups of people to which you belong, your ‘ingroups’

Question 24

What are the three social-psychological explanations of aggression

Answer 24

Frustration-aggression hypothesis
Social Learning Theory (SLT)
De-individuation

Question 25

What are dispositional explanations to aggression

Answer 25

Any explanation of behaviour that highlights the importance of the individuals personality. Such explanations are often contrasted with situational explanations

Question 26

What is institutional aggression

Answer 26

Aggressive or violent behaviour that takes place within the social context of a prison or other formal organised settings

Question 27

What are situational explanations

Answer 27

Any explanation that identifies the causes of behaviour as existing within the environment, which may include other people. Such explanations are contrasted with dispositional explanations

Question 28

What is the model for situational aggression in prisons

Answer 28

Deprivation model - prisons are violent because they are cramped, noisy places with no personal security available

Question 29

What is the model for dispositional aggression in prisons

Answer 29

Importation model - prisons are violent places because that is where we put all of our most violent and antisocial people

Question 30

Who came up with the deprivation model

Answer 30

SYKES

Question 31

What did SYKE argue

Answer 31

That the conditions of most prisons are such that anybody who stays in them is likely to become violent, or at least to become isolated and antisocial. He said this was due to 5 deprivations: security, Liberty, autonomy, goods and services, heterosexual relationship

Question 32

According to the deprivation model, what are the key characteristics in prison which leads to violence

Answer 32

Overcrowding
Heat and noise
Job burnout

Question 33

What does CLEMMER argue

Answer 33

That harsh prison conditions cause stress for inmates - they cope by resorting to aggressive and often violent behaviour. Aggression becomes an adaptive solution to the problem of deprivation

Question 34

How does the nature of the prison regime create aggression

Answer 34

An unpredictable regime that regularly uses ‘lock ups’ to control behaviour creates frustration, reduces stimulation (bars more interesting activities) and reduces access to ‘goods’ even further

Question 35

What are the harsh conditions in the deprivation model

Answer 35

Psychological factors such as being deprived of freedom, independence, safety and heterosexual intimacy.

Physical factors like deprivation of material goods and services increases competition amongst inmates to acquire them - this is accompanied by a corresponding increase in aggression.

Question 36

Study in the affects of prison-level factors in deprivation model

Answer 36

STEINER investigated the factors that predicted inmate aggression in 512 prisons in the US.
Inmate-on-inmate violence more common with higher proportions of: female staff, African American inmates, Hispanic inmates and inmates in protective custody.
The factors reliably predicted aggressive behaviour in line with the deprivation model.

Question 36

What are prison-level factors

Answer 36

Ones that are independent of the individual characteristics of prisoners

Question 37

What did IRWIN and CRESSEY argue of the importation model

Answer 37

Prisons are not insulted from everyday life outside in the ‘real world’ - prison inmates bring with them a subculture typical of criminality.
Inmates import behaviours to negotiate their way through the unfamiliar prison environment in which existing inmates use aggression to establish power, status, influence and access to resources (convict subculture)

Question 38

What does IRWIN and CRESSEY day is included in the importation model

Answer 38

Beliefs 
Values
Norms
Attitudes
A history of learning experiences 
Gender 
Race 
Class

Question 39

What is the conclusion of the importation model

Answer 39

Institutional aggression is the result of individual characteristics of inmates and not of the prison environment - inmates predisposed to using violence would do so in any setting

Question 40

Study into the importation model

Answer 40

DeLISI et at studies 813 juvenilise delinquents in California.
These inmates brought into confident with them several negative dispositional features (e.g experiences of childhood trauma, high levels of anger and irritability, histories of substance abuse and violent behaviour)
Inmates likely to engage in suicidal activity and sexual misconduct.
Committed more acts of physical violence nice that were brought to attention of the parole board (compared with a control group of inmates with fewer negative dispositional features)

Question 41

Strength and limitation of importation model

Answer 41

Strength: research support. CAMP and GAES studied Male inmates with similar criminal histories and predispositions to aggression - half were placed in low security prisons and other in higher security prisons. The difference between the amount of aggressive misconduct was not statistically significant (33% and 36%) so the researchers concluded that features of the prison environment are less important predictors of aggressive behaviours than characteristics of inmates. Strong evidence in favour of the dispositional explanation.

Limitation: alternative explanation may be better. It ignores the roles of prison officials and factors relating to the running of prisons so is therefore an inadequate explanation. Another explanation is the ACM which states that poorly managed prisons are more likely to experience the most serious forms of inmate violence (homicides and rioting). These factors seem more influential in deterring aggression than inmate characteristics, casting doubts over the validity of the dispositional explanation.

Question 42

Strength and weakness of the deprivation model

Answer 42

Strength: research support. CUNNINGHAM analysed inmate homicides in Texas prisons and found that motivations for the behaviours were linked to some of the deprivations identified by CLEMMER. Particularly important were arguments over drug, homosexual relationships and personal possessions. As these are factors predicted by the deprivation model to make aggression more likely, these findings support the validity of a situational explanation.

Limitation: contradictory evidence. Deprivation mode predicts that a lack of freedom and lack of heterosexual context should lead to high levels of aggression but this isn’t always the case. There was found to be no link between involvement in conjugal visits and reduced aggressive behaviour. Shows that situational factors do no necessarily affect prison violence, and casts some doubt on the validity of the deprivation model.

Question 43

What are the methodologies that media psychologists study (including computer games)

Answer 43

Experimental studies - lab based and look at short term effects of computer games on aggressive behaviour to demonstrate cause and effect.

Correlations studies - investigate real life variables and are usually short term.

Longitudinal studies - correlations studies conducted over a period of time looking at long term.

Meta-analysis - brings together the above three types to give an overall judgment.

Question 44

Experimental study on the effects of computer games

Answer 44

BARTHOLOW and ANDERSON got students to play ether a violent computer game or a non-violent game for 10 minutes.
Then carried out the TCRTT (standard lab measure of aggression in which the students delivered blasts of white noise at chosen volumes to punish a (non-existent) opponent.
Those who played the violent game selected significantly higher noise levels compared with the non-violent players.

Question 45

Correlations study measuring the extent of the relationship between exposure to violent computer games and aggression

Answer 45

DeLISI et al studied 227 juvenile offenders - they all had histories of serious aggressive behaviours.
They used structured interviews to gather data on several measures of aggression and violent computer-game-playing.
The offenders aggressive behaviour was significantly positively correlated with how often they played violent computer games.
Researchers studied that the link is so well established that aggression should be considered a public health issue (like HIV) and computer game violent a significant risk factor.

Question 46

Longitudinal study showing long term link between excessive exposure to media in childhood and adulthood aggression

Answer 46

ROBERTSON et al studied 1037 people born in 1972-73, measuring their TV viewing hours at regular intervals up to the age of 26 years.
Time spent watching TV was a relatable predictor of aggressive behaviour in adulthood.
Those who watch the most TV were more likely to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and to have aggressive personality traits.
Most important media-related factor in influencing aggressive behaviour may be the amount of TV etched rather than whether it is violent.

Question 47

Meta-analysis on computer game playing leading to increased aggression across genders and cultures

Answer 47

ANDERSON et al performed a meta-analysis of 136 studies.
Exposure to violent computer games was associated with increases in aggressive behaviours, thoughts and feelings - this was true for both males and females and across collectivist and individualist cultures.
Higher quality studies in the analysis showed an even greater significant effect.
ANDERSON claimed the effect of violent game playing on aggressive behaviour is greater than the effect of second-hand smoke on cancer. Showed no indication that publication bias influenced the results.

Question 48

2 Limitations of experimental studies on media influenced on aggression

Answer 48

Measures of aggression are artificial. They do not involve any fear of retaliation. Unlike in the real world, the experimenter gives the participant implied permission to be ‘safely’ aggressive. This casts doubt on validity of experimental studies and on the link between media violence and aggression.

Non-equivalence problem. It is difficult to be sure that two games are equivalent apart from the presence or absence of violence. There is a difference in complexity between games which is a confounding variable. Participants behave more aggressive after a violent game but it could be due to frustration caused by complexity of the game rather than violence they are exposed to.

Question 49

Limitation of correlations studies on media influenced on aggression

Answer 49

Do no allow us to draw cause and effect conclusions as no variables are manipulated or controlled. The direction of causality cannot br settled by correlational studies. This does not help us choose between two competing hypotheses of media effects, leaving open the question of exactly how computer games influence aggression.

Question 50

What are the two possible explanations for a positive correlation between viewing or playing violent media and aggressive behaviour

Answer 50

The socialisation hypothesis - aggressive media causes people to become aggressive
Selection hypothesis - people who are already aggressive select aggressive media

Question 51

Limitation of longitudinal studies on media influenced on aggression

Answer 51

Confounding variables bc they are conducted over sometimes quite lengthy periods of time. Many other sources of aggression will interact with media influences over this period (e.g role models). It becomes difficult to separate them all and assess their contributions to aggressive behaviour. Therefore it’s impossible to conclude that its violent media such as computer games that have affect aggression.

Question 52

Limitation of all methodologies in media influenced on aggression

Answer 52

Publication bias. Statically significant research tends to be the only things published. Problem for meta-analyses because they generally only include published studies which all show that there is significant effect, and these are the only studies that come to the attention of researchers, the media and the wider public. Publication bias creates the false impression that the effects of violent media on aggression are greater than actually are.

Question 53

What are the three explanations of media influenced on aggression

Answer 53

Desensitisation
Disinhibition
Cognitive priming