Aggression

• Aggression


  A form of self-assertion (putting yourself forward or standing up for yourself) done through causing harm to yourself, to other people or to your environment
• Forms of aggression


  • Physical aggression (violence)
  • Social aggression (rumour spreading, insults, breaking off friendships)
  • Threatening someone (causes fear and anxiety even without violence)
• Aggression is defined as any action that is aimed at causing either physical and/or psychological pain to oneself, to others or to objects in the environment
• Ways aggression can be expressed

  • Verbally
  • Mentally
  • Physically
• Nature camp


  Argues that aggression is innate - it comes from within us
• Nurture camp


  Argues that aggression comes from our environment and no one is born aggressive
• Nativist views on aggression

  • Biological view (aggression is an evolutionary adaptation)
  • Psychodynamic theory of aggression by Sigmund Freud
• Nurturist views on aggression

  • Social Approach (Milgram, Sherif)
  • Learning Approach (Bandura, Skinner, Pavlov)
  • Cognitive Approach (rational choice, faulty thinking)
• Nativist view


  Aggression is a response that is produced in the brain
• Phineas Gage suffered brain damage to the frontal lobe, which is responsible for decision-making and self-restraint, and his personality greatly changed
• Charles Whitman had a brain tumour pressing on his amygdala, which may have been responsible for his violent behaviour
• Frontal lobe


  • Plays an important part in decision-making and self-restraint
  • Pre-frontal cortex is particularly important
• Corpus callosum


  • Links the left and right hemispheres and is important for long-term planning and thinking through consequences
• Damage to the frontal lobe or corpus callosum doesn't create aggression itself, but makes one less self-controlled and more inclined to act on the spur of the moment
• Limbic system


  A sub-cortical area that is the brain's emotion centre where our most basic urges and desires are regulated
• Amygdala


  Takes information from the thalamus and interprets it as a threat or not, producing fear or aggression
• The relationship between the amygdala and the pre-frontal cortex is very important - if the pre-frontal cortex is healthy, it can resist the amygdala's urges of fear or aggression
• Animal studies support the link between the limbic system and aggression, with stimulation of the amygdala producing predatory or affective aggression in cats
• Testosterone


  The hormone linked to aggression, produced in spurts and varying seasonally
• Males produce more testosterone than females, which is an explanation for why males are more aggressive on average
• Castration reduces testosterone levels in males and reduces their aggression levels, which then rise back up when they are injected with testosterone
• Studies show that men with higher levels of testosterone are more likely to engage in various antisocial and criminal behaviours
• Cortisol


  A hormone that inhibits aggression, in contrast to testosterone
• Low levels of cortisol are linked to increased aggression, as it means the autonomic nervous system is under-aroused and aggressive behaviour is an attempt to create stressful situations
• High levels of cortisol are also linked to increased aggression, showing the complicated role of cortisol
• Animal studies support the link between hormones and aggression, showing a feedback loop between the hypothalamus triggering hormone release and the hormones activating the hypothalamus
• Serotonin


  A neurotransmitter linked to mood and sadness, with low levels associated with increased aggression
• Social aggression


  Indirect aggression (covert, such as spreading malicious gossip) and relational aggression (overt but non-physical, such as breaking off a friendship, pulling faces or "bitchiness")
• In 85% of all bullying episodes on a school playground, other children were present, yet these bystanders intervened to stop the bullying just 15% of the time
• Young children show more physical aggression than social aggression, but as they grow into adolescence, this reverses and social aggression (gossiping, rumour-spreading) dominates
• There is a genetic connection in twins that links to social aggression as well as physical aggression
• Credibility of the biological explanation of aggression

  • Human and animal studies support the idea that there are brain structures linked to aggression, in particular the limbic system which generates aggressive impulses and the pre-frontal cortex which inhibits aggressive impulses
  • Animal studies clearly show the role of the limbic system in producing different sorts of aggression
  • Research on rats illustrates how dopamine and serotonin are linked to aggression
  • Brain imaging techniques show a correlation between unusual brain activity and aggressive or antisocial behaviour
• Biological explanation of aggression

  Contrasts with the Freudian explanation and the empiricist explanation that aggression is learned
• Nativist viewpoint


  Aggressive behaviour is natural and unavoidable
• Nativist viewpoint applications


  • Identify people with extreme aggression at an early age (e.g. through genetic screening, testing for testosterone/serotonin levels, identifying under-active pre-frontal cortex or malfunctioning amygdala)
  • Carefully monitor and perhaps keep these individuals away from jobs/roles where they might present a danger to the public (e.g. working with children, hospitals)
  • Some jobs might suit them well (e.g. Armed Forces, contact sports like boxing or rugby)
• The nativist viewpoint easily turns into EUGENICS, which is the belief that some people are biologically inferior and should be prevented from having children
• This is an ethical debate that psychologists must consider
• Nurturist viewpoint


  Importance of education and counselling to help people manage their emotions and behave more appropriately
• Techniques based on the Learning Approach

  • Token Economy Programmes
• Bandura's research


  Removing aggressive role models from TV and film might help reduce imitative aggression