ethological explanation

• ethology


  the study of animal behaviour patterns in natural settings

  • Lorenz argue that aggression is an innate instinct which is stimulated by environmental triggers (releases)
  • the idea of an innate instincts is supported by the evidence shows genetic & neural mechanisms are a major influence in aggression and he argues that aggression helps animals to survive
• how would aggression be beneficial to survival

  aggression within a species distributes individual's within the group in a way that makes the most efficient use of resources (food, access to mates & territory)

  • a defeated animal is rarely killed , sometimes not injured, but forced to establish territory elsewhere
  • meaning members of species will spread out and find resources in a different place = reducing competition and possibility of starvation
• dominance hierarchies 


  aggression can help establish dominance hierarchies where the highest ranking member of the group gets access to most of the mating's

  • although ethological explanations have focused on animals but its been generalised to human aggression
  • they argue that findings can be generalised to humans as we are all affected by natural selection = so dominance in humans also brings about the benefits of power and access to resources
• innate releasing mechanisms and fixed action

  an innate releasing mechanism (IRM) is an in-built physiological process that are triggered by an environmental stimulus which then 'releases' a specific behavioural sequence as a response

  • this is a fixed action pattern (FAP) - this is adaptive as the aggressive behaviour should deter rivals without resorting to violence
•  environmental stimulus -> triggers -> innate releasing mechanism (network of neurons -> which causes -> fixed action pattern (specific sequence of behaviours)
• key study into innate releasing mechanisms and fixed action patterns

  Tinbergen's three spined stickleback experiment

  • male stickbacks = highly territorial during mating season & develop a red spot on there under belly
  • if another male enters territory a sequence of highly sterotyped behaviour are initated (FAP)