AO1

• ethology is the study of animal behaviour in order to learn about humans
• Lorenz made key assumptions with the ethological link to aggression. they are that aggression is innate and that it is a learned behaviour
• benefits from being aggressive


  can scare people to submit

  scare off prey

  help hunt for food

  protect family
• aggression is adaptive, it helps the aggressive person and the species as a whole

  • the looser of a fight goes away and finds new territory to inhabit - spreading the species
  • helps to establish a dominance hierarchy - strongest genes are passed down
• Lorenz - ritualistic aggression


  for the vast majority aggression was a way to show off and square up but did not lead to death

  used the example of wolves that would expose their neck to the winner allowing for an easy kill - a sign of ritualist appeasement - the winner wouldn't kill as it leads to a decline of the species
• Innate release mechanism


  internal network of neurone that are activated when a clear sign of aggression is spotted by the senses
• Fixed action potential


  sequence of aggressive behaviour that cannot stop once they start - they are not learnt