ethological explanations

• adaptive functions

  Aggression is adaptive, it is beneficial to survival because a 'defeated' animal is rarely killed, but rather is forced to establish territory elsewhere.
• adaptive functions study and application

  Petot et al 1988, studied groups of young children and observed how aggression played an important role in the development of dominance hierarchies

  male chimpanzees use aggression to climb their troops social hierarchy as dominance gives them a special status.
• ritualistic aggression

  Lorenz 1966, observed fights between animals of the same species produced little actual physical damage, instead it consists of a prolonged period of ritualistic signaling. These indicate acceptance of defeat and inhibit further aggressive behaviour in the victor, preventing any damage to the loser.
• innate releasing mechanisms

  an IRM is an inbuilt physiological process or structure, for instance a network of neurons in the brain. An environmental stimulus triggers the IRM which then 'releases' a specific sequence of behaviour- fixed action pattern
• fixed action patterns

  FAPs have 6 main features- Lea 1984:

  -stereotyped, or relatively unchanging sequences of behaviour

  -universal

  -unaffected by living

  -Ballistic -once triggered it follows an inevitable course+ cannot be altered

  -single purpose

  -a response to an identifiable specific sign stimulus
• Tinbergen's research procedure

  Male sticklebacks are highly territorial, when they develop a red spot on their underbelly. FAP is initiated , the sign stimulus that triggers the innate releasing mechanism is the sight of the red spot. Tinbergen 1951 presented sticklebacks with a series of wooden models in different shapes
• Tinbergen's research findings

  The model that had a red spot would cause an aggressive reaction in the male stickleback and even attack it. No red spot= no aggression. The aggressive FAPs were unchanging from one encounter to another
• evaluation - research support

  +Brunner et al 1993 showed MAOA-L is closely associated with aggression. Twin and adoption studies also showed that there was a significant genetic component to aggression. These lines of research point towards an innate basis to aggressive behaviour. This suggests that the ethological approach is accurate in claiming aggression is genetically determined, heritable and adaptive
• evaluation- ritualistic aggression

  -Gooday 2010 observed a 'four-year war' during which male chimps from one community killed all the members of another. On some occasions, a victim would be held down by rival champs while others hit it in attack. The violence occurred even though the victims offered appeasement signals which did not inhibit the behaviour. This challenges the ethological view that same-species aggression has evolved into a self-limiting and relatively harmless ritual
• evaluation- FAPs are not fixed

  -Lorenz saw FAPs as innate and unchanging but Hunt 1973 said that FAPs are actually greatly influenced by environmental factors and learning experiences. The duration of each behaviour varies from one individual to another, even in the same individual from one encounter to another so modal behaviour patten as it can be modified. Therefore patterns of aggressive behaviour are more flexible than Lorenz