Ethological explanation to aggression

• What does the ethological explanation of aggression suggest about its main function?


  Aggression is adaptive.
• How does aggression establish dominance hierarchies in male chimps?


  By allowing them to climb in their troop's social hierarchy.
• What special status does dominance give male chimps?


  Mating rights over females.
• What does the ethological explanation seek to understand?


  The innate behaviour of animals by studying their natural environment.
• What is an innate releasing mechanism (IRM)?


  A built-in physiological process that triggers specific behaviours.
• What triggers the innate releasing mechanism (IRM)?


  An environmental stimulus, such as a facial expression.
• What is the term for the behavioural sequence released by an IRM?


  Fixed action patterns (FAPs).
• What are the six main features of fixed action patterns (FAPs) according to Lea (1984)?


  • Stereotyped (unchanged set of behaviour)
  • Universal (same behaviour in every individual in a species)
  • Unaffected by learning (same regardless of experience)
  • Ballistic (cannot be altered once triggered)
  • Single purpose (happens in a certain situation)
  • Response to an identifiable specific stimulus
• What did Tinbergen's research with sticklebacks demonstrate about aggressive behaviour?


  A male stickleback produces a fixed sequence of aggressive actions when another male enters its territory.
• What is the sign stimulus for a male stickleback's aggression?


  The sight of its distinctive red underbelly.
• How do ethologists view aggressive behaviour in terms of fighting?


  Not all aggressive behaviour involves fighting; it may be ritualised in the form of threat displays.
• What is the purpose of threat displays in aggressive behaviour?


  To assess relative strength before escalating a conflict.
• How do male gorillas use ritualised aggression?


  Through vocalisations and gestures to intimidate opponents.
• What evidence have anthropologists found regarding ritualised aggression in humans?


  Evidence of ritualised aggression in tribal warfare.
• Who criticized Lorenz's instinct explanation of aggressive behaviour?


  Lehrman (1953).
• What did Lehrman believe about the factors influencing aggression?


  Environmental factors interact with innate factors in complex ways.
• What term do ethologists prefer to use instead of "fixed action pattern"?


  Behaviour pattern.
• Why are human fixed action patterns (FAPs) considered less adaptive in modern times?


  Because the environment changes rapidly, requiring more flexible responses.
• What does the flexibility of human behaviour suggest about aggression?


  Human behaviour is far more varied and less predictable than non-human species.
• How can ritualised aggression benefit conflict resolution?

  It can prevent conflicts from escalating into dangerous physical aggression.
• What example did Chagnon (1992) provide regarding ritualised aggression among the Yanomamo people?


  Chest pounding and club fighting contests can settle conflicts without extreme violence.
• What cultural difference in aggression did Nisbett (1993) find in the US?


  A North-South divide in homicide rates among white males.
• What conclusion did Nisbett draw about the North-South divide in homicide rates?


  It was caused by a "culture of honour" where impulsive aggression is a learned social norm.
• Why is it difficult for ethological theory to explain cultural differences in aggression?


  Because it views aggression as instinctive and does not account for learned behaviours.