Week 10 Aggression

Question 1

Biological explanations aggression

Answer 1

Aggression is an instinct

• Goal directed
• Beneficial
• Shared

But research show that not valid

Question 2

Frustration-Aggression

Answer 2

hypothesis which proposed that aggression is
always caused by some kind of frustrating event or situation
ex: job loss

–> but research show that not sufficient

Question 3

Social learning theory

Answer 3

Descirbes how behaviours are
- Acquired: how they are learned
– Instigated: what causes them
– Maintained: what engenders their persistence

Question 4

How is a behaviour maintained

Answer 4

A behaviour is maintained, if this behaviour is rewarded or not
punished

Question 5

How do children learn

Answer 5

– Direct experience

– Vicarious experience (imitation of other people nad/or observation if those people are rewarded or not))

Question 6

Social learning Study

Answer 6

Bandura, 1963

–> test the learning by vicarious experiment hypothesis

An adult behaves aggresively towards a babo doll
Child is left alone to play in the room

Measure: level of aggression

Question 7

Social learning Conclusion

Answer 7

Aggression depends on

• The person’s previous experiences of aggressive behaviour
  – The success of aggressive behaviour in the past
  – The likelihood of the aggression being either rewarded or punished
  – A combination of cognitive, social and environmental factors

Question 8

Personality and Agression

Answer 8

• People who are overactive, strive to achieve, excessively competitive
  and hostile, may be more aggressive towards others
• The tendency to become aggressive develops quite early in life and
  becomes a stable behavioural pattern

Question 9

Gender and Agression

Answer 9

• Men tend to be more aggressive than women

• Men use more physical violence
• Both men and women use verbal violence
• Difference is that boys show aggression directly whereas girls indirectly

Question 10

cathartic hypothesis

Answer 10

The cathartic hypothesis suggests that acting
aggressively, or even just seeing aggressive material,
reduces feelings of anger and aggression

Question 11

Stanford Prison Experiment facts

Answer 11

Zimbardo, 1971

• 24 white males psychologically stable
• Randomly assigned the role of prisoners or guards
• setting done to be as similar as possible to a real prison

Question 12

Stanford Prison Experiment Interpretation

Answer 12

• No personality factors could explain the behaviours
• Situational factors
• Internalisation of the roles
• Deinviduation (conform to group norms, individual identity less than group identity)

Question 13

Bystander effect

Answer 13

• Diffusion of responsibility
– Tendency to assume that others will take responsibility

• Audience inhibition
– The fear of appearing foolish if you do a mistake

• Social influence
– Imitating the behaviour of others

==> People are morel likely to help when they are alone than in groups.

Question 14

Bystander effect origin

Answer 14

Kitty Genovese murder in 1964 with 37 witnesses

Question 15

Prosocial behaviour

Answer 15

Behaviour that has positive social consequences, and contributes to the
physical or psychological well-being of another person. It is voluntary
and has the intention to benefit others

Question 16

Bandura study Interpretations

Answer 16

• Confirmed that we learn by vicarious experience
• Once established in childhood, an aggressive response is persistent
• By imitation, a behaviour is likely to repeat itself across generations