aggression

• aggression


  behaviour designed to harm others of the same species

  - verbal or physical
• what do biological theories argue

  that humans are predetermined to aggress
• psychodynamic theory


  aggression is innate, made up of two instincts that must be kept in balance, which is done by releasing aggression:

  - eros (life)

  - thanatos (death), this is redirected from the self towards others
• evolutionary theory


  aggression is an adaptive function that has evolved as a means of ensuring survival of a species (instinctive)

  
  

  - males fight other males for mating rates, and dominance

  - mothers fight off predators to protect their offspring
• what do social and biosocial theories argue

  that the social environment can influence the likelihood to aggress
• F-A hypothesis


  aggression is the result of frustration when an individual is prevented from attaining a goal

  
  

  inability to attain goal -frustration - aggressive drive relieves frustration in one of two ways:

  1. cathartic response sublimation

  2. cathartic response displacement

  
  

  - influenced by Freud's redirection of aggression approach

  - socio-economic factors (eg great depression and job loss) prominent when theory created
• cathartic response sublimation


  acceptable activities carried out to relieve frustration
• cathartic response displacement


  aggression displaced onto innocent person
• cognitive neoassociation model (Berkowitz, 1984)

  viewing violent media -network activation of aggressive thoughts, feelings, and action tendencies - aggression likelihood increases

  
  

  aggressive media and weapons etc. prime aggressive thoughts, feelings, and action tendencies
• Berkowitz and LePage (1967)

  - male college students given shocks by a confederate

  - more shocks received the angrier they reported being

  - ppts evaluated the confederate's performance by giving shocks in return

  - situational cue condition: shotgun and revolver on table; non-aggressive objects in control condition

  - ppts in aggressive object condition showed evidence of the weapon effect
• excitation transfer model (Zillmann)

  suggests that residual arousal from one situation can amplify aggressive behaviour in a subsequent situation if the arousal is misattributed to the second event

  
  

  Gueguen et al. (2012) found that frustrated drivers waiting at traffic lights were more likely to hank their horns if the car was red
• what do learning theories argue

  that nurture has a greater influence on aggression than nature
• SLT - Bandura

  proposed that aggression is the product of observational learning

  - children primarily learn their aggressive response through observing the behaviour of role models and imitating their behaviour

  - expectations of what will happen if you are aggressive are gained via vicarious reinforcement

  - behaviour maintained through direct experience

  - self-efficacy influences the likelihood that children will imitate observed behaviour

  - children must form mental representations of events in their social environment for SLT to take place
• Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961) study 1

  - 36 children aged 3-5yrs

  - individually played potato print game

  - adult model on opposite side of room w aggressive toys such as a mallet and bobo doll

  - aggressive model vs non-aggressive model

  - children later put in another room with toys: those who observed aggressive model displayed more aggression towards the doll

  - watching aggression is not cathartic
• Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961) study 2

  repeated the study with two different conditions

  - live vs videotape of adult behaving aggressively

  - adult mimicking a cartoon (dressed as cat) vs control

  - aggressive acts highest in the above order

  - suggests viewing live aggression results in the most vicarious reinforcement

  - video and cartoon conditions suggest role of graphic violent media
• individual differences in aggression

  - gender

  - personality

  - alcohol
• gender differences


  men tend to be more aggressive

  
  

  hormonal explanation: increased testosterone levels
• personality


  Friedman et al. proposed two personality types:

  - Type A: ambitious, high achieving, perfectionists

  - Type B: relaxed, uncompetitive, creative

  
  

  Type B are not highly correlated within individuals
• alcohol


  Bailey and Taylor (1991) found that those who drink are more susceptible to an increased likelihood of aggression

  
  

  Taylor and Sears (1998) measured reaction time in a competitive task against another participant

  - alcohol vs placebo conditions

  - social pressure: ppts encouraged at different intensities

  - wining on a trial allowed a shock to be delivered to the 'opponent' (DV: shock intensity)

  - alcohol condition used stronger shocks and were more susceptible to social pressure, even when pressure was withdrawn
• situated determinants of aggression

  - temperature

  - noise

  - crowding
• temperature


  physiological arousal leading to stress

  - Harries and Stadler (1983) found that more assaults occur in hot weather

  - Cohn and Rotton (1997) argue this is curvilinear (24-degree Celsius peak)
• noise


  physiological arousal leading to stress
• crowding


  two processes:

  - physiological arousal leading to stress

  - deindividuation
• aggression in groups


  sometimes social norms break down, leading people to behave aggressively

  
  

  viewing an out group as less human legitimises aggressive actions in the minds of in group members - most potent when legitimised by state apparatus

  
  

  war is the ultimate intergroup conflict
• disinhibition


  weakening of the normative constraints that inhibit aggressive behaviour

  
  

  two variations:

  - deindividuation

  - dehumanization
• deindividuation


  a state in which an individual loses their personal identity and takes on the identity of a social group

  - when in a deindividuated state people act as a member of a group rather than an individual; behaviours are impulsive and disinhibited
• dehumanization


  victims of aggression are viewed as anonymous; less human
• crowd behaviour


  when part of a crowd we lose restraint of social norms on our behaviour and are given freedom to behave in ways we wouldn't consider if alone

  
  

  - lose sense of self-identity and responsibility

  - greater disregard for social norms and laws

  - share responsibility throughout the crowd so therefore experience less guilt