The Ethological Explanation Of Aggression

Question 1

Why is aggression adaptive and beneficial to survival

Answer 1

1. To reduce competition

2. Establish dominance

Question 2

Explain reducing competition

Answer 2

A defeated animal is really killed but instead forced into territory elsewhere, reducing competition pressure

Question 3

Explain establishing dominance

Answer 3

Hierarchies - e.g. A male chimpanzees dominance gives him special status, including mating rights over females

Question 4

What did pettit et al observe

Answer 4

How aggression in playgroups played an important role and how some children became dominant over others - this is adaptive because dominance over other brings benefits

Question 5

What did Lorenz observe

Answer 5

Most intractable-species aggression consisted mainly of ritualistic signalling and rarely became physical

Question 6

What does intra-species aggression usually end with

Answer 6

An appeasement display - indicates acceptance of defeat and inhibits aggression in the winner preventing damage to the loser

Question 7

Why is admitting defeat seen as adaptive

Answer 7

Because it means there is no death and doesn’t threaten the existence of a species

Question 8

What does IRM mean

Answer 8

An innate releasing mechanism

Question 9

What is an IRM

Answer 9

A built in physiological process or structure that acts as a filter to identify threatening stimuli in the environment

Question 10

What activates the IRM

Answer 10

And environmental stimulus triggers a fixed action pattern

Question 11

What does FAP mean

Answer 11

Fixed action pattern

Question 12

What is an FAP

Answer 12

Pattern of behaviour is triggered by an IRM

Question 13

What are FAP’s said to be

Answer 13

A relatively unchanging behavioural sequence found in every individual of the species and follows an inevitable course which cannot be altered before it is completed

Question 14

What did Tinbergen study?

Answer 14

Male stickleback and aggression

Question 15

What was Tinbergen’s procedure

Answer 15

Another male entering a stickleback’s territory in the mating season initiates a sequence of aggressive behaviours (an FAP)

Question 16

What acts as as a stimulus for male sticklebacks to be aggressive

Answer 16

The red of others underbelly

Question 17

What did Tinbergen present the sticklebacks with

Answer 17

A series of wooden models of different shapes

Question 18

What did Tinbergen find

Answer 18

If the model had a red underside the stickleback would aggressively display and attack it - but no read meant no aggression

Question 19

What else did Tinbergen find

Answer 19

The aggressive FAP did not change from one encounter to another - once is triggered it always run its course to completion without any further stimulus

Question 20

Name a strength of ethnological explanations

Answer 20

Supporting research evidence - shows the low-activity variant of the MAOA gene is closely associated with aggressive behaviour in humans, suggesting an innate basis - validity supported by evidence