Ethological explanation

• ethology

  study of animal behaviour in natural settings

  assumptions:

  aggression is an instinct, occurs all members of a species
• Lorenz

  aggression is adaptive and it is needed for survival helping to reduce competition and the dominance gives special status
• Innate releasing mechanisms (IRM)

  aggressive behaviour acts as a release

  built in/ hard wired physiological process or structure a network of neutrons in the Brain

  respond to a specific stimuli e.g signs by initiating a fixed action pattern a set of sequence behaviours

  e.g Male sticklebacks highly territorial if red spot seen triggers aggressive behaviours
• fixed action patterns

  innate, adaptive, sequence of preprogrammed behaviours

  universal within a species

  ballistic and can't be stopped once started

  situation specific

  adaptive because they increase evolutionary fitness
• strengths

  supporting research of FAP and IRM- male sticklebacks Tinberg

  presented with different shapes, regardless of shape if had red spot would react in an aggressive way
• weakness

  lacks validity- agreed purely predatory animals can't communicate why they are doing something

  can't generalise from animal research

  no universality as not all humans react the same IRM therefore unlikely