Social 1 Flashcards
Give examples of aggressive acts
Violence, physical harm, verbal abuse, threatening behaviour, vandalism
Give Baron and Byrne’s (1994) definition of aggression
The intentional infliction of some form of harm on others
Name 3 different forms of aggression
Physical, Verbal and Relational / Social
What is reactive aggression?
Impulsive
Reaction to the situation
Consequence of an individuals emotional reaction at the time
What is proactive aggression?
Goal directed
Carefully thought through
How can we say that aggressive behaviour is socially defined?
Because in some contexts, hitting someone may be seen as aggressive behaviour but in other contexts such as a sports, in particular boxing, it is seen as an acceptable behaviour
What are the biological theories of aggression?
Genetic
Instinct
Evolutionary
Biochemical - Serotonin, Testosterone and Alcohol
What are the social theories of aggression?
Frustration-aggression
Social learning theory
Describe aggression across the lifespan
- early signs of aggression are seen in the facial expressions of babies around 4+ months - protest and retaliation
- physical aggression is at its highest between 1-3 years
- interacting with other kids in the playground - pushing & shoving
- suggests there is an innate ability for us to be aggressive?
- levels of early aggression predict later behaviour (Olweus, 1979)
Describe the influences of genes on aggression
Selective breeding in animals - make them more or less aggressive
- Lagerspetz’s work with mice - 2 strains, agg and non-agg
Twins studies have given support for a genetic predisposition
- Christiansen (1977) investigated criminal behaviour in identical and fraternal twins
- correlation coefficient scores - IT = 0.74 and FT = 0.46
- Tellegen et al (1988) provided further support by investigating aggression in twins reared apart
- correlation coefficient scores - IT = 0.64 and FT = 0.34
Instinct theories - Ethologists
- study animal behaviour in their natural environments
- eg Imprinting
- behaviour is explained using:
Fixed Action Patterns - if something moves, the animal will follow
Releasing Stimuli - the thing that moves
Instinct theories - Lorenz (1966)
- believed that aggression worked the same way - it is a fixed action pattern
- felt that innate aggressive tendencies are elicited by environmental releasers
Issues with instinct theories
- circular method - more of a description rather than an argument
- fails to explain individual levels of aggression
- varying levels of aggression within an individual as well as varying levels of aggression in different societies
How do evolutionary psychologists view how specific behaviours have evolved and how does this relate to aggression?
- promote genetic survival
- supported by specific neurophysiological mechanisms
- aggression is adaptive because it aids:
1) the acquisition of resources
2) defence - survival against predators etc
3) the acquisition and maintenance of social status
4) mating success - genes are passed onto offspring
How is aggression and social status linked?
Appropriate aggression may be rewarded with an elevated social status
- ritualised aggression eg boxing
- soldiers - awards etc
- street gangs - seen as good and is a promoted behaviour
What is the link between Serotonin and aggression?
- is a neurotransmitter associated with sleep, arousal & aggression
- low levels are associated with:
- aggressive behaviour
- reactive aggression - impulsive
- seen in both humans (assault, violent suicide & self-injury) and animals (impulsive aggression in monkeys)
- high or low levels awe associated with positions in a dominance hierarchy
Eg Raleigh et al (1991)
- artificially manipulated levels of serotonin in vervet monkeys
- high levels of serotonin - decrease in aggression
- low levels - increase in aggression
How is aggression constrained?
Aggressive behaviours can be regulated by:
Threat displays - eg howler monkeys, physical intimidation
Appeasement displays - eg dogs exposing their bellies
- allows encounters to happen without the physical side of aggression
How does alcohol influence aggression?
50% + of violent crimes are committed when drunk
Richardson and Budd (2003)
- young heavy drinkers are 5 and a 1/2 more likely to be violently aggressive
Why does alcohol increase aggression?
Reduces our inhibitions
- voice our opinions, don’t control our impulses
- cognitive effort required to stop inhibitions coming out decreases due to the limited amount of glucose going to the brain
Narrows attention
- focus on aggressive cues only
Decrease in self-awareness
Disrupts executive functions in the brain
Differences in aggression between men and women
Men - far more likely to commit ‘violent aggression’ crimes
Boys are more physically aggressive than girls
Wilson & Daly (1988; 1985)
- Chicago murders - 80% committed by men as well as 80% of the victims being male
Ahmed & Smith (1994)
- gender differences in bullying - P’s asked if they had bullied
- 40% males reported, 30% females reported
Violent - M 36% & F 9%
Name calling - M 57% & F 74%
Describe the role of testosterone in aggression
- testosterone is associated with levels of aggression
Wagner et al (1980)
- mice were castrated which reduced aggression
- but testosterone restored aggression in the castrated mice
Neave & Wolfson (2003)
- territorial behaviour and the “home advantage”
- football players salivary testosterone levels were significantly higher before a home game rather than an away game
- perceived rivalry was also a key factor - higher testosterone levels were found for extreme rivals compared to moderate rivals
Describe the 2D:4D finger length ratio
- ratio of the 2nd and 4th finger is affected by exposure to androgens (eg testosterone) in the uterus
- ratios are found to correlate with:
Males with a low digit ratio are seen as more attractive (Neave et al 2003)
Describe Frustration-Aggression theory
- aggression is due to frustration (the context we are in)
- a range of aversive stimuli can increase aggression:
- heat
- irritants (noise & air pollution)
- social stress (crowding), rejection and exclusion
Describe Social Learning Theory in terms of Aggression
We learn how to be aggressive via:
- direct experience
- observing others being aggressive
- if we are rewarded for repeating behaviour (operant conditioning)
Describe Bandura’s study
- involved 3-5 year old children either observing an aggressive or a non-aggressive model of the same or different sex
- 3 stages - observation of model, arousal and playing alone
- experimenters observed to see whether the children would imitate any of the behavioural acts displayed
- males were more aggressive than females
- more likely to imitate behaviour from a same sex model
- seeing a non-aggressive model produced non-aggression
IMPLICATIONS
- impact on family life
- culture views on aggression
- media representations of aggression
Why do we as humans need to form relationships?
- because we are social animals
- affiliation - the need to form social relationships
- failure to form friendships can lead to loneliness
Give examples of extreme social isolation
Admiral Byrd - psychological breakdown due to a lack of social contact
Hospitalism (Spitz, 1945) - affects cognitive abilities
Feral children - Curtiss (1977)
- Genie - victim of severe abuse, neglect and social isolation
- never exposed to any significant amount of speech so didn’t acquire a first language during childhood
Define attraction
(Hogg & Vaughan, 1998)
The “power that makes one person feel positively about another”
- the basis of friendship and sexual partners
- gut feeling, we know when we like someone
What is the importance of physical appearance?
- initially we don’t know about their personality therefore all we have to go on is physical appearance
Animals - Andersson (1982)
- long tailed Wydah - alters tail length
- the longer the tail, the more attractive the male bird is to the female bird
Humans
- we are attracted to faces
- Slater et al (1998) - newborns prefer to look at faces
- Ramsey et al (2004) - at 6 months, babies can categorise faces as attractive
- various other studies show that physical attraction is the most important factor in selecting a date
Why is appearance so important?
Appearance and personality traits cluster - HALO EFFECT
attractive people are:
- more likely to be judged as happy & successful
- receive more lenient sentences
- less likely to receive a guilty verdict in a sexual harassment case - Castellow et al
- likely to receive higher grades
- US films - heroes & heroines are all attractive, popular and have positive traits
How do we find out what attractiveness is?
- need to look cross-culturally
Langlois et al (2000)
- cross cultural research has shown that “average” faces are seen as more attractive
What are desirable attributes for attractiveness?
Symmetry, clear skin, shiny hair, no visible deformities
- exaggerated key gender facial features are due to testosterone and oestrogen
- females - big eyes, full lips, small chin
- males - strong chin, large jaw, prominent brow
Describe Non-verbal cues to attraction
Males prefer “cuteness” - Cunningham (1985)
Oestrogen levels - Law Smith (2005)
- affect facial attractiveness
- photos of women (no make up) at levels of low & high oestrogen
- high levels of oestrogen - rated as more attractive
Red as the colour of love - Kayser, Elliot & Feltman (2010)
- men shown a photo of a woman with either a red or green shirt
- asked to rate attractiveness
- P’s in the red condition asked more intimate questions than those in the green condition
- eg “How could a guy [I] get your attention at a bar?” compared to questions such as “Where are you from?”, “Where do you normally hang out?”
Hormonal markers & health, fitness and fertility cues
- Johnston et al - female preference changes depending on time of the month
- looking for the most genetically fit person to be the best father
- Reproductive relevance - at their most fertile, women can identify gay men more accurately
What is the link between body shape and attraction?
WHR - waist to hip ratio
Female ratio = 0.67-0.8 and Male ratio = 0.85-0.9
Most attractive is females is 0.7 - linked to the health & fertility of the woman
Singh (1993)
- fertility cues - supply of fat, wide pelvis, higher oestrogen levels
- high WHR = low fertility
- low WHR = high fertility
Preference for symmetrical bodies too
What factors do evolutionary psychologists argue for attractiveness?
Non-verbal cues influence attractiveness
Face & body shape indicate the health & fertility of the male/female
Female fertility influences perception & attraction to males who are sexually relevant and have good genes
Describe Clark & Hatfield’s (1989) research into attractiveness
Male & female experimenters approached opposite-sex respondents and asked one of three questions:
1) Would you go out with me tonight?
2) Would you come over to my flat tonight?
3) Would you go to bed with me tonight?
Responses:
1) men and women both agreed 50%
2) men = 69% and women = 6%
3) men = 75% and women =0%
Describe mate choice across cultures
Men and women want different things from a partner
Buss (1989) - Around 10,000 people from 37 cultures - US, Brazil, Sweden, Nigeria, Iran, India and Japan
Males - greater value placed on physical attractiveness & domestic skills
Females - greater value placed in male status, earning potential and ambitiousness
Describe the evidence for differences in attractiveness
Personal Ads
Wiederman (1993) - 1,111 personal ads found that intelligence nice, kindness & understanding were rated as the most important factors
AGE - women prefer older men, men prefer increasingly younger
INCOME - good financial prospects were rated as 2x more important for women than men (increased response to ads too)
EDUCATION - women rate a man with a higher social status as being more desirable, not important for men
APPEARANCE - both want attractive & healthy partners
Women - want tall & athletic men
Men - more important to them, which is measured by health, youth & WHR
Describe the Sexual Strategies Theory
Mating strategies reflect inherited tendencies
Men - want to ensure their genes are passed on to the next generation
Women - who will provide for them etc
Describe the Social Structure Theory
Mating strategies reflect learning and social/economic limits
- inequalities between genders
What is the mere exposure effect?
Repeated exposure to a stimulus typically increases our liking for it
What is the link between attractiveness and similarity?
Cross-cultural evidence significantly supports the role of similarity - people are most often attracted to others who are similar to themselves
Buss (1985) - for psychological attributes, similarity of attitudes and values seems to matter the most
Define the matching effect
When we are most likely to have a partner whose level of physical attractiveness is similar to our own
- may stop people from approaching potential dating partners who are more attractive than they are to lessen the risk of rejection
What is Social Exchange Theory?
It proposes that the course of a relationship is governed by rewards and costs that the partners experience
Define prosocial behaviour
Behavioural acts which are positively valued by society
Define helping behaviour
Voluntary behaviour which intends to help another
Eg supporting charities, supporting sick relatives etc
Define altruism
A special form of costly helping behaviour with no expectation of reward
- helping behaviour which is a little bit extra, a selfless act
Eg saving someone who is drowning
Why do we as humans help?
Social psychologists suggest that we learn to help through shaping and observational learning
Evolutionary psychologists suggest that we are innately predisposed to help others
Eg Kin selection and Reciprocal altruism
What is Kin Selection?
It is when we are more likely to help those who are blood relatives because it increase the odds of gene transmission to future generations
- altruism towards close relatives occurs in order to ensure the continuation of shared genes
- the more closely the individuals are related, the more likely people are to help
What is reciprocal altruism?
The idea that if a person performs an altruistic act, other people will perform altruistic acts in return
- short term costs but long term benefits
Describe the empathy-altruism hypothesis
Proposes that altruism is produced by empathy - the ability to put oneself in the place of another and to share what that person is experiencing
Describe the development of helping behaviour
- develops early in children
- at a young age, we naturally want to help - see someone upset we try to help/comfort the person
- we are also encouraged by parents by reinforcement and modelling
Define parent-infant attachment
This is when humans infants are dependant on parents for survival
Separation can cause distress in the infants - crying etc
“Babyness” acts as a social releaser
Describe altruism in animals
Parental self-sacrifice
- killdeers feign injuries to get predators attention away from the nest, give their lives to protect their offspring
Alarm calls
- eg vervet monkeys and robins
- benefit the social group by becoming vulnerable themselves
Reproductive altruism
- Florida scrub jays feed other offspring
- social insect species are organised around one reproducing female
Can evolution explain altruism?
- Darwinian evolution predicts behaviour that promotes survival
- altruism costs are high so surely natural selection would weed out this ‘costly’ behaviour so they can instead benefit?
Describe Hamilton’s (1964) theory of inclusive fitness
- more closely the relation, the greater the likelihood of altruism
- genetic survival can be:
Direct = offspring
Indirect = relative’s offspring
Describe the evidence for kin selection in animals
Sherman et al (1981)
Alarm calling in ground squirrels
- when predators are around, they make it aware to the social group
- the squirrels that make the call are more likely to be killed than other members of the social group who are more likely to survive
- but the alarm calls are more likely to be emitted if the callers have family members nearby
Evidence for reciprocal altruism in animals
Packer (1977)
Olive baboons - stealing the female away from the consort male
Work in pairs - one baboon distracts the male so that the other can attract the female
The male who initially got the female will do the same thing for the original distracting male so he can have time with the female
