Ethological explanations of AGG

• What is ethology

  Observing animal behaviour in natural environments
• what has the ethological explanation found for AGG

  Aggression is innate and adoptive in animals > increases their chances of survival > aggression achieves dominance over others (access to recourses) > encourages behaviour > ritualistic behaviour (same order of behaviour) > little damage is done which increases species survival > aggression for display to get opponent to stand down
• What is the innate releasing mechanism in the ethological explanation for AGG

  (IRM) hard wired neural process following pattern of neural firing in brain, triggered by stimulus e.g. threat from opponent
• What is the fixed action pattern in the ethological explanation for AGG

  (FAP) sequence of behaviour triggered by IRM universal across species, its ballistic so once started it cannot be stopped until completed
• Strength of the ethological explanation for AGG

  research support > stickleback fish study > presented Male fish with wooden model with or without red marking to trigger FAP > found fish displayed FAP when red markings shows its existence, however Fish are different to humans to low application
• Strength of the ethological explanation for AGG

  Application to humans > ethological explanation is underpinned by neural processes like human aggression > more activity in limbic system + amygdala/ low levels of serotonin are human neural processes.
• weakness of the ethological explanation for AGG

  Aggression is affected by other factors in humans = aggression varies across populations such as higher homixide rates due to cultural differences (guns allowed) cannot be generalised to all cultures