Aggression Flashcards

Question

Describe the nature of adoption studies in investigating aggression

Answer 1

- can help to untangle the relative contributions of environment and heredity in aggression - positive correlation is between aggressive behaviour in adopted children and aggressive behaviour in their biological parents implies genetic influence on aggression - If a positive correlation is found between the adoptee’s aggressive behaviour and the rearing family, then an environmental effect is implied

Answer 2

Hutchings and Mendick (1975): - study of over 14,000 adoptions in Denmark - found that a significant number of adopted boys with criminal convictions had biological parents (particularly fathers) with convictions for criminal violence, providing evidence for a genetic influence Rhee and Wladam (2002): - meta-analysis of adoption studies of direct aggression and anti-social behaviour (aggression is a prominent feature of this) - Found genetic influences accounted for 41% of variance in aggression

Answer 3

Research evidence: - Miles and Carey (1999)- meta-analysis of 24 twin and adoption studies that demonstrated the genetic basis of aggression - results suggested a strong genetic influence that could account for as much - Rhee and Waldman (2002)- meta-analysis- see previous notes HOWEVER- - in both of these studies, several variables, including age of participant and assessment method for aggression, moderated the genetic influence on aggression - suggests that although genetic factors play a significant part in the development of aggressive behaviours, the influence of other factors affects their expression.

Answer 4

Problems of assessing aggression in genetic studies: - many of the reported studies of aggression have relied on either parental or self-reports of aggressive behaviour, whereas other studies have made use of observational techniques - Miles and Carey meta-analysis- the mode of assessment was found to be a significant moderator of aggressive behaviour in the 24 studies that made up analysis - found that genetic factors explained a large proportion of the variance in aggressive behaviour in studies that had used parental or self-reports - However, those that used observational ratings showed significantly less genetic contribution and a greater influence of environmental factors - These inconsistencies in findings make it difficult to assess the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors in aggression Issues with twin studies: - twin studies may lack validity - MZ twins may have more similar environment than DZ twins- assume they have the same but this is equal environments assumption - assumption may be wrong because MZ twins treated very similarly (especially by parents)- more so than DZ twins - means concordance rates ar inflated and genetic influences on aggression may not be as great as twin studies suggest Problems with isolating genetic influences: - difficult to establish how influential genes are in aggressive behaviour - One reason for this is the difficulty researchers have in separating genetic and environmental factors - individual may possess a gene associated with aggression but that behaviour is only expressed if the environmental conditions are favourable - Therefore, even though an individual may inherit aggressive tendencies, these will only be expressed if the environmental conditions warrant it (e.g., provocation) Nature vs Nurture: - evidence that environmental factors are appointment - e.g. early childhood trauma plays role- should take consideration of this when describing aggression

Answer 5

MAO-A gene

Answer 6

- controls production of enzyme Monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) - MAO-A regulates the neurotransmitter serotonin- breaks it down into its constituent chemicals to be recycled or excreted - Low activity variant of the MOA (MAO-L) gene results in low activity of the MAO-A enzyme (MAO) deficiency - MAO-L variant (aka 'warrior gene' has been linked to high levels of aggressive behaviour

Answer 7

Brunner et al (1993): - studied 28 male members of a large Dutch family who were repeatedly involved in impulsive aggressive violent behaviours such as rape, attempted murder and physical assault - found these men had abnormally low levels of MAOA enzyme in brain, and MAOA-L gene variant Lea and Chambers (2007): - MAO-L variant possessed by 56% of New Zealand Maori Men (compared with 34% of caucasians)- historically have reputation for being ferocious warriors- hence name of gene

Answer 8

- suggested that MAOA-L gene activity is only related to adult aggression when combined with early traumatic life experiences - Frazetto et al (2007)- found association between higher levels of antisocial aggerssion in men and the MAO-L gene varient in men, but this was only the case in men who has experienced significant trauma (e.g. sexual/physical assault) in the first 15 years of life - those with no such childhood trauma did not have particularly high levels of aggression as adults, even if they possessed the MAO-L varient - this is strong evidence of a gene-environment interaction- DIATHESIS-STRESS

Answer 9

Research evidence: - Caspi et al (2002)- 500 male children- discovered that those with the low variant of MAOA were significantly more likely to grow up to exhibit anti-social behaviour than those with the high variant - McDermott et al (2009)- showed, using a controlled experiment measuring actual behavioural aggression, that participants with the MAOA-L gene displayed higher levels of aggression in response to provocation than those with the MAOA-H variant - Mertins et al (2011)- money-distributing gene- men with high-activity varient (MAOA-H) were more cooperative and made fewer aggressive moves than the low-activity PPs COUNTER- - Mertins et al study found that even PPs with MAOA-L variant behaved co-operatively rather than aggressively when they were made aware that others in the study were behaving cooperatively - knowledge of a social norm partly determined how aggressive or cooperative MAOA-L PPs were - therefore genres are influenced by environmental factors that are at leased as important in aggression Animal studies: - Cases et al (1995) - disabled the MAOA gene in the X chromosome of mice and found that without the MAOA enzyme, levels of dopamine and serotonin increased and males became highly aggressive but females were unaffected - also discovered that restoring the function of the gene returned male mice to a normal state - This research on mice suggests that MAOA is implicated in the expression of aggression in males Positive implications: - Findings from genetic research on antisocial and violent behaviour may have some valuable uses in offender treatment and rehabilitation - Hall (2003) suggests that information obtained from genetic studies may be used to help develop new treatments for personality disorders that have been identified as risk factors for criminal behaviour HOWEVER- less certain what the consequences of such genetic tests might be for criminal cases, where the finding may be cited as evidence of a defendant’s diminished responsibility

Answer 10

Genes and Environment: - both Caspi and McDermott have found evidence for a gene/environment interaction - Caspi found that those that had the MAOA-L variant were more likely to grow up to exhibit anti-social behaviour only if they had been maltreated as children - In McDermott’s study aggressive responses were moderated by environmental factors - They showed that participants with the low-activity MAOA gene behaved aggressively in their laboratory based money allocation game, but only when they were provoked- Otherwise they demonstrated no more or less aggressive behaviour than other participants - Therefore, both of these studies suggest that the impact of having the MAOA-L gene is only significant when the environment interacts with the gene variation - means that there may be many individuals with the gene variation that do not show heightened levels of aggression as their environment has been positive - It may only be those who are abused or in provoking situations that demonstrate aggression- means that the MAOA is not a complete explanation Determinism: - If we find that there are genes implicated in aggressive behaviour, such as the MAOA, then people may be deemed as being biologically determined to commit aggressive acts exercising little or no free will - implications of this- e.g., for sentencing, for monitoring these individuals Complex link: - precise mechanism of MAOA-seratonin-sgression link is unclear - Aggression linked to low-levels of seratonin - however, MAOA-L gene causes low activity of the MAOA enzyme which in turn should read to higher serotonin as the low-activity enzyme doesn't deactivate serotonin, leaving more serotonin for synaptic transmission - in people with MAOA-L variant, it may be more accurate to say that their serotonin levels are disrupted, rather than being higher/lower than normal - shows the relationship between MAOA gene serotonin, and regression is not yet fully understood

Answer 11

- Suggests that the main function of aggression is adaptive - seeks to understand the innate behaviour of animals (including humans) by studying their natural environment

Answer 12

Dispersion: - Aggression is beneficial to survival because a 'defeated' animal is rarely killed, but rather is forced to establish territory elsewhere - this means that members of a species spread out over a wider area and have to discover resources in a different place, which reduces competition pressure and the possibility of starvation Dominance hierarchies: - Aggression is adaptive because it can establish dominance hierarchies - Male chimps use aggression to climb in their troop’s social hierarchy - Their dominance gives them special status such as mating rights over females - also happens in humans- Pettit et al (1988)- studied groups of young children and observed how aggression played an important role in the development of dominance hierarchies- this would be adaptive (and thus naturally selected) because dominance over others brings benefits such as access to resources (e.g. food and mates).

Answer 13

- ritualistic aggression - innate releasing mechanisms - foxed action patterns

Answer 14

- A ritual is a series of behaviours carried out in a set order - Lorenz (1966) observed that fights between animals of the same species produced little actual physical damage- most aggressive encounters consisted of a prolonged period of ritualistic signalling (e.g. displaying claws and teeth, facial expressions of threat) - threat displays are important as they help individuals to assess their relative strength before deciding to escalate a conflict- means they make costly and dangerous physical aggression less likely e.g. male gorillas use a variety of techniques such as vocalisations (hooting) and gestures (chest pounding) to intimidate an opponent without the need for physical contact - in humans, anthropologists have found evidence of ritualised aggression in tribal warfare- Gardner and Heider (1968) described how the Dani of New Guinea engaged in highly ritualised patterns of intergroup hostility

Answer 15

- Lorenz also pointed out that intra-species aggressive confrontations end with ritual appeasement displays- these indicate acceptance of defeat and inhibit further aggressive behaviour in the victor, preventing any damage to the loser r.g. at the end of an aggressive confrontation a wolf will expose its neck to the victor, a submissive appeasement gesture making itself vulnerable to a single bite to its jugular vein - This is adaptive because if every aggressive encounter ended with the death of one of the combatants, that could threaten the existence of the species

Answer 16

- inbuilt physiological process or structure, e.g. a network of neurons (a circuit) in the brain - An environmental stimulus (such as a certain facial expression) triggers the IRM, which then 'releases' a specific sequence of behaviours (FAP) - ethological explanations states that all members of the same species have a repertoire of stereotyped behaviour which occurs in specific conditions that do not require learning (innate)

Answer 17

Stephen Lea- 6 main features: - Stereotyped- relatively unchanging sequences of behaviours - Universal- because the same behaviour is found in every individual of a species - Unaffected by learning- the same for every individual regardless of experience - 'Ballistic'- once the behaviour is triggered it follows an inevitable course and cannot be altered before it is completed - Single-purpose- the behaviour only occurs in a specific situation and not in any other - A response to an identifiable specific sign stimulus (or, if it involves communication between members of the same species, it is known as a releaser)

Answer 18

Tinnenberg (1961)

Answer 19

- presented sticklebacks with a series of wooden models of different shapes - Male sticklebacks are highly territorial during the spring mating season, when they also develop a red undershot on their underbelly - if another male enters their territory, aa sequence of highly stereotyped aggressive behaviours is initiated (FAP) - the sign stimulus (particular feature of a stimulus) that triggers the innate releasing mechanism in the sight of the red spot

Answer 20

- regardless of the shape, if the model had a red spot the male stickleback would aggressively display and even attack it - however, if there was no red spot, ether was not aggression, even if the model looked realistically like a stickleback - also found that these aggressive FAPs were unchanging from one encounter to another - once triggered, the FAP always ran its course to completion without any further stimulus

Answer 21

Research evidence: - support from research related to genetics and evolution - Brunner et al (1993)- shoed the MAOA-L gene is closely associated with aggressive behaviour in humans - twin and adoption studies showed ether is a significant genetic component to aggression in humans - Wilson and Daly- adaptive function of aggression- genetically based - these lines if research point to innate basis of aggressive behaviour - suggests the ethological approach is correct in claiming aggression is genetically determined, heritable, and adaptive BUT- - aggressive behaviour differs from one culture to another, sometimes even within the same country - Nisbett (1993) found that one type of homicide (the result of reactive aggression) was more common amongst white men in the southern United States than in the northern states - Reactive aggression is a response to threats fromsomeone else - Nisbett concluded that the difference was caused by a'culture of honour' in the southern US- this is less prevalent in the north, which is why 'reactive aggression 'homicide rates are lower there - Therefore this kind of aggressive behaviour comes from a learned social norm, rather than being instinctive- culture can override innate predispositions, which is hard for ethological theory to explain Benefits of ritualised aggression: - Ritualised aggression can prevent conflicts escalating into dangerous physical aggression - Chagnon (1992)- among the Yanomamo people of South America, chest pounding and club fighting contests can settle a conflict short of extreme violence - shows that, even in moderately to highly violent cultures such as the Yanomamo, rituals have the effect of reducing actual aggression and preventing injury or death of the combatants - So in this way, ritualistic innate aggression is seen as an adaptive response

Answer 22

Aggression against same species is not only ritualistic: - Goodall (2010) observed a 'four-year war during which male chimps from one community killed al the members of another group in a systematic way - On some occasions, a victim would be held down by rival chimps while others hit it in an attack lasting many minutes - The violence continued even though the victims offered appeasement signals- signals did not inhibit the aggressive behaviour of the attackers as predicted by the ethological explanation - challenges the ethological view that same-species aggression has evolved into a self-limiting and relatively harmless ritual FAPs not fixed: - Lorenz's original view of FAPs is outdated - He saw FAPs as innate and unchanging, but Hunt (1973) has pointed out that FAPs are actually greatly influenced by environmental factors and learning experiences e.g. an aggressive FAP is typically made up of several behaviours in a series - The duration of each behaviour varies from one individual to another, and even in the same individual from one encounter to another - Lehrman (1953) criticised Lorenz’s instinctual explanation of aggressive behaviour believing that he had underestimated the importance of the environment- believed that environmental factors, learned mostly from learning and experience, interact with innate factors in complex ways - Because they are modifiable by experience, many ethologists now prefer the term 'modal behaviour pattern' to reflect this - Therefore patterns of aggressive behaviour are much more flexible than Lorenz thought, especially in humans May not be inevitable: - ethologists argue aggression is an innate instinct - implication of this view is that humans will inevatibelu be aggressive an flight each other (e.g. in wars), however, other approaches e.g. the cognitive approach suggest that aggression is not inevitable as it is more under rational control than instinctive- it is also less innate and more affected by learning experiences than ethologists accept Unjustified application to humans: - A number of human FAP have been identified such as smiling and an ‘eyebrow-flash’ as a sign of greeting - However, because the environment in which humans exist changes so rapidly, it is suggested that FAPs such as aggression are no longer adaptive in modern times - The flexibility of humans to be able to respond to ever- changing environments has proved more effective than the production of stereotypical, fixed patterns of behaviour - This suggests that, although non-human species may respond aggressively to specific sign-stimuli, human behaviour is far more varied and less predictable

Answer 23

- focus on the adaptive nature of behaviour, i.e., modern behaviours are believed to have evolved because they solved challenges faced by our distant ancestors and so become widespread in our gene pool - Aggression is a strategy that would have been effective for solving a number of adaptive problems - Those adaptive problems include: gaining resources, intimidating or eliminating male rivals for females, and deterring mates from sexual infidelity - Solving these problems enhanced the survival and reproductive success of the individual, and as a result these behaviours would have been passed down

Answer 24

- sexual competition - sexual jealousy - aggression in warfare - evolutionary explanation of bullying

Answer 25

- Ancestral males seeking access to females would have had to compete with other males (i.e., sexual competition) - One way of eliminating competition would have been through aggression- potentially physical competition - Those individuals who used aggression successfully against competitors would have been more successful in acquiring mates and so would have been more successful in passing on their genes to offspring - This would have then led to the development of a genetically transmitted tendency for males to be more aggressive towards other males

Answer 26

- Puts (2010)- argues various male traits seem to imply that competition with other males did take place among ancestral males e.g. men have 75% more muscle mass than women, are far more aggressive than women, and are far more likely to die violently (Buss, 2005) - Anthropological evidence shows that, universally, males have thicker jawbones which Puts believes may have come from men hitting each other and those with the thicker jaws survived and passed on their genes to subsequent generations (resulting in an increase in thicker jaws)

Answer 27

- results as a consequences of parental uncertainty - Unlike women, men can never be entirely sure that they are fathers of their children - As a result men are always at risk of cuckoldry, the reproductive cost that might be influenced on a man as a result of his partner’s infidelity - The consequence of cuckoldry is that the man might unwittingly invest his resources in offspring that are not his own- any investment in offspring who do not share the males genes is a waste of his resources- it contributes to survival of a rival's genes and leaves the 'father' with fewer resources to invest in his own future offspring - Therefore, the adaptive function of sexual jealousy expressed through aggression would have been to deter a mate from sexual infidelity, thereby minimising the risk of cuckoldry

Answer 28

- Men in our evolutionary past who could avoid cuckoldry were more reproductively successful- psychological mechanisms have evolved to increase anti-cuckoldry behaviours in males e.g. sexual jealousy is more strongly experienced in males than in females - This drives the often aggressive strategies men employ to retain their partners and prevent them from 'straying' - adaptive in our evolutionary history

Answer 29

- Wilson and Daly (1996)- Mate retention strategies - Buss (1988)- violent threats

Answer 30

Wilson and Daly (1996): Identify several mate retention strategies which involve aggression and even physical violence, including: - Direct guarding- male vigilance over a partner's behaviour, e.g. checking who they've been seeing, coming home early, keeping tabs on their whereabouts, installing tracking apps on their phone etc - negative inducements- issuing threats of consequences of infidelity (e.g. 'I'll kill myself if you leave me)

Answer 31

- Buss (1988) suggests that males have a number of strategies that have evolved specifically for the purpose of keeping a mate - These include the use of violence or threats of violence to prevent her from straying, as well as violence toward a perceived love rival

Answer 32

- may seem counter-intuitive that men would engage in warfare as an adaptive function due to the dangers involved - However, displays of aggressiveness and bravery are attractive to females, and the absence of such displays reduces the attractiveness of individual males e.g. male warriors in traditional societies tend to have more sexual partners and more children, suggesting a direct reproductive benefit - Aggression in combat can also increase status for individual warriors, and gain respect from other males in the group

Answer 33

- occurs due to a power imbalance- a more powerful individual uses aggression deliberately and repeatedly against a weaker person - researchers have traditionally viewed bullying as a maladaptive behaviour e.g. as result of poor social skills or childhood abuse ] - however, evolutionary ancestors may have used bullying as an adaptive strategy to increase their chances of survival by promoting their own health and creating opportunities for reproduction

Answer 34

- Volk et al (2012)- the characteristics associated with bullying behaviour are attractive to females -dominance, acquisition of resources, and strength - Bullying also has the benefit of warding of potential rivals - Therefore such bullying behaviour would be naturally selected because these males would have greater reproductive success - Bullying may even benefit the bully's health- adolescent boys who gain a reputation for being tough are less likely to experience aggression themselves as other boys avoid contact with them- benefits their health as those at the top of a dominance hierarchy experience less stress (Sapolsky 2004)

Answer 35

- In females bullying more often takes place within a relationship and is a method of controlling a partner - Women use bullying behaviour to secure their partner's fidelity, which means they continue to provide resources for future offspring - such behaviour would be naturally selected because of enhanced reproductive success (Campbell 1999).

Answer 36

Research support for sexual jealousy: - Daly and Wilson (1982)- in 80 murders where the victim and murderer were living together, the victims were 44 husbands and 36 wives, and 29% of these conflicts were deemed to have risen as a result of sexual jealousy - although more husbands were murdered, the husbands instigated the aggression and the wives murdered them in self-defence - suggests that relationship issues such as infidelity and jealousy in males lead to aggression - Wilson et al (1995) found that women who reported mate retention strategies in their partners were twice as likely to have suffered physical violence at the hands of their partners. Of these women, 73% required medical attention and 53% said they feared for their lives - Shackelford et al (2005)- got male participants to complete the male retention inventory measuring 104 different mate retention strategies in the previous month and how often they performed 26 violent acts against their partners - Their female partners answered questions about mate retention strategies and the degree to which their partner had been violent towards them. - found that the men’s use of retention techniques (direct guarding and making threats) were positively correlated with their violence scores, supporting Buss’s suggestion that men have evolved these strategies to keep their partner Research support for link between aggression and status: - Anthropological evidence that many tribal societies bestow increased status and honour to men who have committed murder (Daly & Wilson, 1988) - This is also evident in industrialised societies such as the US where the most violent gang members often have the highest status among their peers (Campbell, 1993) - Males also display a heightened sensitivity to perceived affronts to their status and reputation, such that many acts of male-on-male violence result from one male perceiving a slight to his status from another male (Buss, 2005). - This evidence suggests that not only is aggression an important way of gaining status among males, but it is also a consequence of threats to that status Explains gender differences: - Lots of research shows that there are gender differences in aggression - Such differences could be due to socialisation but some can be explained in terms of adaptive strategies - Campbel (1999)- argues that it is not adaptive for a female with offspring to be physicaly aggressive because such behaviour would put her own survival at risk and that of her child- so a more adaptive strategy for females is to use verbal aggression to retain a partner who provides resources - This would explain why women tend to display verbal rather than physical aggression Therefore such arguments can provide support for the evolutionary approach to explaining aggression Practical applications in relationships: - if we understand what actions may precede violence then friends and family can intervene in a relationship if they see a male carrying out mate retention strategies which could then lead to violence - Early relationship counselling to tackle issues of jealousy and/or infidelity could help to reduce aggression which can occur as a result of this - This could benefits females who would be on the receiving end of this aggression Practical applications in bullying: - One approach to reducing bullying is to address a bully's perceived deficiencies (assuming that they bully because they feel inferior) - However, although there are several interventions based on this assumption, bullying is still prevalent - Ellis et al (2016) suggest an alternative strategy based on the view that bullying is adaptive (i.e. bullies stand to gain advantages for themselves) - The meaningful roles anti-bullying intervention aims to increase the costs of bullying and the rewards of prosocial alternatives - For example, by giving bullies roles and responsibilities in school that provide an alternative source of status - Therefore viewing bullying as an adaptive behaviour may lead to more effective anti-bullying interventions

Answer 37

Cultural differences: - there are some cultures where aggression appears to be almost non-existent - e.g. the !Kung San people of western Botswana in Africa were studied by the anthropologist Elizabeth Thomas (1958) who called them the 'Harmless People' - found they have very negative attitudes towards the use of aggression - Aggressive behaviour is discouraged from childhood in both boys and girls and is therefore rare and those who do use to have their status and reputation within the community diminished - Cultural and social norms powerfully constrain aggressive behaviour in this society - Therefore, since some cultures do not show aggressiveness, such behaviour may not necessarily be adaptive BUT- there is a lot of controversy over how 'harmless' the !Kung really are- Lee (1979) described the homicide rates as surprisingly high for such a peaceable people- these contradictions in findings may be due to the fact that what an observer 'sees' is biased by their own expectations and the particular sample of people they observe- these methodological issues mean that observations by 'outsiders' may not be useful (lacks validity) Individual differences: - Buss and Shackelford (1997) suggest that the evolutionary approach cannot explain why different males, when faced with their partner’s infidelity respond in different ways - Some men may resort to aggressive mate retention strategies, others to murder and others will get drunk - This suggests that the evolutionary approach fails to take into account individual differences such as levels of hormones or neurotransmitters which can all influence aggression aside from mate retention - It may be that some men have high levels of testosterone and it is this that leads them to aggressive mate retention strategies rather than due to their evolutionary past Free will vs determinism: - evolutionary argument is biologically determinist- aggressive as adaptions that increased survival chances of ancestors are beyond our control- implies that aggression is inevitable and not our 'fault' - However, humanistic psychologists argue aggression is subject to us exercising our free will - cognitive factors also allow us to think about the consequences of our behaviour - This is supported by research into cultural difference, so aggression is not inevitable and is always our own responsibility

Answer 38

- frustration-aggression - Social learning theory - De-individuation

Answer 39

Dollard (1939): - frustration always leads to aggression, and aggression is always the result of frustration - aggression is a psychological drive akin to biological drives like hunger - We experience frustration when our attempts to reach a goal are blocked by some external factor- this creates an aggressive drive, which leads to aggressive thoughts/behaviour, such as a violent fantasy, a verbal outburst or perhaps even physical violence - This removes the negative emotion, which- catharsis (a psychodynamic concept - The aggression created by the frustration is satisfied ,thereby reducing the drive and making further aggression les likely - The aggressive behaviour is cathartic and we feel better

Answer 40

* The cause of the frustration is abstract (e.g., the government, music industry) * The cause may be too powerful and we risk punishment by showing aggression (e.g. showing aggression to a teacher who gave you a low grade) * The cause may just be unavailable at the time (e.g. the teacher left before you realised what grade you had been given) in these cases the aggression is deflected (or displaced) onto an alternative – one that is not abstract, that is weaker and available e.g. shouting at your younger sibling- in order to feel catharsis, a scapegoat needs to be found if anger cannot be expressed to the source of the frustration

Answer 41

Environmental cues- the weapon effect

Answer 42

- Even if we become angry, we may still not behave aggressively - Berkowitz (1989)- frustration merely causes a readiness for aggression with the presence of aggressive cues an additional element, making the aggression more likely to occur

Answer 43

Berkowitz and LePage’s (1967): - arranged for student participants to be given electric shocks in a laboratory situation, thereby creating anger and frustration - The individual who gave the shocks was a confederate of the researcher - The participants then had the opportunity to give electric shocks to the confederate - found that the number of shocks they gave out depended on the presence or absence of weapons in the lab - Condition 1: 2 guns present on the table – number of shocks on average = 6.07 - Condition 2: no guns present – number of shocks = 4.67 (significantly fewer) - Suggests that the presence of aggressive environmental cues (i.e., the weapons) stimulates the aggression - Berkowitz- ‘the finger pulls the trigger but the trigger may also be pulling the finger’

Answer 44

Research support 1: - Green (1968) - Male uni students completed jigsaw - level of frustration manipulated by wither making puzzle impossible, making them run out of time by placing distracting cobfedereate in room, or adding confederate that insulted PP as they failed to solve the puzzle - All MPs had chance to give confederate electric shocks - found insulted MPs gave strongest shocks, followed by interfered group, followed by impossible task group - All groups more shocks than con-frustrated control group Research support 2: - Newhall et al (2000) - meta-analysis of 49 studies of displaced aggression, a key component of the frustration-aggression hypothesis - studies investigated situations in which aggressive behaviour had to be directed against human target (weaker or more available), other than the one who caused the frustration -found that displaced aggression is a reliable phenomenon- PPs who were provoked but unable to retaliate directly against the person that caused the frustration were significantly more likely to aggress against an innocent party than people who were not provoked- supports catharsis/ scapegoating Real world support: - Priks (2010) - found supporting evidence for the frustration-aggression hypothesis in a study of violent behaviour among Swedish football fans - used teams’ changed position in the league as a measure of frustration and the number of objects thrown (e.g., missiles, fireworks) as a measure of aggression - study showed that, when a team performed worse than their fans expected, its supporters threw more things onto the pitch - also found that supporters were more likely to fight with opposition supporters when the team performed worse than expected - suggest that supporters become more aggressive when expectations of good performance are frustrated, thus supporting the frustration-aggression hypothesis Application to social issues: - Berkowitz’s argument that environmental cues can stimulate aggression has been discussed in the gun control debate in the US - Some states allow ‘open carry’ which is when a gun does not have to be concealed - There is a concern, bolstered by the Berkowitz and LePage study that the open presence of a weapon can act as a cue to aggression, making it more likely - Therefore, given the results of the study and others like it psychologists would argue that to prevent people killing others when they are frustrated guns need to be, at the very least, concealed and not easily accessible

Answer 45

Aggression may not be cathartic: - Bushman (2002) - found PPs who vented their anger by repeatedly hitting a punchbag actually became more angry and aggressive rather than less, doing nothing was more effective at reducing aggression than venting anger - casts some doubt over the validity of a central assumption of the hypothesis Frustration-Agression Link: - Frustration is only one of a large number of aversive events, others include pain, extreme temperatures and other noxious stimuli, that can lead to aggression - E.g. in baseball games in the US, Reifman et al (1991) found that as temperatures increased, so did the likelihood that pitchers would display aggressive behaviour towards the batters, with balls thrown at 90mph at the batters head - frustration can also occur without aggression being result- not automatic response- may become helpless or determined - suggests FA hypothesis only explains how aggression rises in some situations but not others BUT This does, however, offer some support for a revised frustration hypothesis (Berkowitz, 1989) that has been suggested which includes any unpleasant experience that causes negative feelings- suggests that extreme temperatures, as with frustration, are aversive stimuli that tends to make people angry, which in turn leads to an increased likelihood of aggression

Answer 46

Bandura: - recognises that aggression can be learnt directly, through operant, conditioning, as well as indirectly, through observational learning

Answer 47

1. Someone who cares for the child e.g. parents 2. An authority figure e.g. teachers 3. Someone who is similar to the child in some way e.g. age, gender, ethnicity 4. A celebrity e.g. movie characters and sports stars whose aggressive behaviour is seen to be rewarded.

Answer 48

vicarious reinforcement: - As well as observing the behaviours of models, children also observe the consequences of behaviour and this will determine whether a behaviour is performed - If the aggressive behaviour is rewarded (or at least not punished), then the child learns that aggression can be effective in getting them what they want - makes it more likely that the observing child will imitate the model’s aggressive behaviour - parallel form of indirect learning called vicarious punishment- if a model's use of aggression to achieve a goal is punished, an observing child is less likely to imitate that specific behaviour

Answer 49

1) Attention – role model's aggression has to be paid attention to, factors that influence this include attractiveness, similarity 2) Retention – you have to remember the aggressive behaviour observed, to form a mental representation of how the behaviour is performed 3) Reproduction – need to be able to transform mental representation of the aggressive behaviour into actual physical action- this is influenced by self- efficacy, the confidence the person has that they are able to perform the aggressive behaviour e.g. a child who is challenged for a toy will not necessarily imitate aggressive behaviour if the challenger is much bigger than them, but may be aggressive if the challenger is smaller/younger than them. 4) Motivation – having a good reason to want to carry out the behaviour, which will depend on the expectation that the specific behaviour will give them what they want The first two of these relate to the learning of the behaviours and the last two to the performance of the behaviour- so it is possible that an individual may learn about aggressive responses but not reproduce the response unless the situation warrants it- they could have a mental representation (schema) of how and when to be aggressive which are then internalised and displayed when needed

Answer 50

Self-efficacy

Answer 51

- the extent to which we believe our actions will achieve a desired goal - a child's confidence in their ability to be aggressive grows as they learn that aggression can bring rewards - once they learn that they have the motor skills necessary, and that this ability comes easily to them, the child's sense of self efficacy develops with each successful outcome – grows confidence that because their aggression has been effective in the past, it will continue to be so in the future

Answer 52

- PPs were children ranging from 3-5 years - Half were exposed to models that were aggressive towards a life-sized inflatable Bobo doll (e.g., striking it over the head with a mallet, kicking it around the room, verbal outbursts such as 'Sock him in the nose') and half exposed to models that were non-aggressive to the doll - Created frustration after watching the adults behaviour by telling child they could not play with some appealing toys for a period, before being taken to the room with the Bobo Doll - Found those who witness the aggressive behaviour were more likely to demonstrate aggressive acts (physically and verbally) - sometimes produced direct copy of what was observed - children were more likely to imitate somebody who was the same sex as them (particularly so in boys) - Boys imitated physical aggression more than girls, no difference in verbal aggression - control group- observed adult interacting non-violently with doll- children's behaviour was almost never aggressive - supports SLT as it shows that children can learn aggressive behaviour via imitation and that the characteristics of the role model also influence the extent to which behaviour is imitated, suggesting that we can learn aggressive behaviour via imitation

Answer 53

- PPs were children ranging from 3-5 years - Half were exposed to models that were aggressive towards a life-sized inflatable Bobo doll (e.g., striking it over the head with a mallet, kicking it around the room, verbal outbursts such as 'Sock him in the nose') and half exposed to models that were non-aggressive to the doll - Created frustration after watching the adults behaviour by telling child they could not play with some appealing toys for a period, before being taken to the room with the Bobo Doll - Found those who witness the aggressive behaviour were more likely to demonstrate aggressive acts (physically and verbally) - sometimes produced direct copy of what was observed - children were more likely to imitate somebody who was the same sex as them (particularly so in boys) - Boys imitated physical aggression more than girls, no difference in verbal aggression - control group- observed adult interacting non-violently with doll- children's behaviour was almost never aggressive - supports SLT as it shows that children can learn aggressive behaviour via imitation and that the characteristics of the role model also influence the extent to which behaviour is imitated, suggesting that we can learn aggressive behaviour via imitation

Answer 54

1965: - used a similar experimental set up, but this time the IV was the consequence of the aggression - model was either rewarded, punished or received no consequences for the aggressive acts - Found the children who had seen the model punished carried out less aggressive acts, however, if all the children were offered a reward for doing what the model had done then all groups showed high levels of imitation - supports aspect of SLT that suggests vicarious reinforcement is an important factor when imitating aggression - also shows that all children understood what they had seen and the consequences of the actions shown influenced whether the children imitated the aggressive behaviour or not

Answer 55

Research support: - Poulin and Boivin (2000) - applied a social learning analysis to aggressive behaviour in boys aged between 9-12 years - found that most aggressive boys formed friendships with other aggressive boys, and these friendships were long-lasting, stable and mutually reinforcing of aggression - researchers describe such cliques as ‘training grounds’ for antisocial behaviour- the boys used their alliances with each other to gain resources through aggressive behaviour, usually successfully - means that they were frequently exposed to models of physical aggression (each other) and to the positive consequences - also gained reinforcement from the rewarding approval of the rest of the ‘gang’ - These were precisely the conditions under which SLT theory predicts that aggressive behaviour would occur BUT- study didn't find similarity between friends for reactive aggression (retaliation in the moment)- found boys were much less likely to influence each others reactive outbursts- observed but dandy imitate, perhaps because consequences f reactive aggression are unpredictable and often not as positive as they are for planed, proactive aggression- shows SLT is limited as relatively weak explanation of reactive aggression Applications: - the government can introduce policies that aggressive acts are not shown before a certain time on TV, or if they are shown then they need to be followed by a punished to the individual carrying out the aggressive act - Parenting classes could also be put in place to teach parents way of disciplining their child- Patterson et al (1982)- studied children who had problems with aggression and found that the parents of these children had imitated aggressive behaviour and frequently gave into temper tantrums (thus rewarding aggression)- experts were able to help the parents become positive role models and to praise their children when they behaved well, also taught more appropriate discipline e.g. the naughty step and the parents reported this intervention as ‘very effective’ - can also provide non-aggerssive models to children, as the same processes that can lead to aggressive behaviour can also produce no-aggression e.g. encouraging children to form friendships with children rewarded for non-aggression (and/ir with non-aggressive media characters) gives them more opportunities ti model non-aggressive behaviour - The implication of implementing these practical applications is that it can help to reduce aggressive behaviour Can explain cultural differences: - Among the !Kung San of the Kalahari Desert, aggression is comparatively rare and this is because when two children argue or fight, parents neither reward nor punish them, but physically separate them and try to distract their attention on to other things - parents do not use physical punishments, and aggressive postures are avoided by adults and devalued by their society - The absence of direct reinforcement of aggressive behaviour as well as the absence of aggressive models mean that there is little opportunity or motivation for !Kung San children to acquire aggressive behaviours

Answer 56

Biological influences: - SLT underestimates the influence of biological factors - Bandura recognised the role of biology because he accepted that there's an urge to be aggressive that is instinctive in nature - But he was equally clear that the form aggression takes is primarily learned and is the outcome of 'nurture' - However, it is well established that there are powerful genetic, evolutionary, neural and hormonal influences on aggression- SLT barely acknowledges these and certainly doesn't explain them - Therefore, SLT is an incomplete explanation of aggression because ti underplays the role of biological factors Lack of realism in research: - Early research on social learning relied heavily on the sort of experimental study carried out by Bandura - However, there are significant methodological problems with the Bobo Doll studies- a doll is not a living person, and does not retaliate when hit - raises questions about whether these studies tell us much about the imitation of aggression towards other human beings, who could retaliate. BUT Bandura responded to this criticism by having children watch a film of an adult model hitting a live clown, when the children were subsequently let into the room with the clown, they proceeded to imitate the same aggressive behaviours they had seen in the film- real life support. Also, Lab studies are in controlled conditons- can manipulate IV without extraneous variables- can establish cause and effect between social learning processes and aggressive behaviour

Answer 57

- Originally used by Le Bon (1895) to explain the behaviour of individuals own crowds - refers to when an individual does not feel identifiable as an individual

Answer 58

- Normally because we are identifiable by others our behaviour is constrained by social norms and in our society aggressive behaviour is discouraged - But when we are part of a crowd, we lose restraint and have the freedom to behave in ways we normally wouldn’t- lose our sense of both individual self- identity and responsibility for our behaviour, and we have a greater disregard for norms and even laws - Responsibility become shared throughout the crowd, so we experience less personal guilt at harmful aggression directed at others - When we are in a de-individuated state we lose self-awareness, we stop monitoring and regulating our own behaviour, we ignore social norms and ‘live for the moment’, failing to form longer-term plans

Answer 59

Anonymity (that leads to reduced self awareness)

Answer 60

- If we are part of a faceless crowd we feel less likely to be identified and judged negatively - Darkness, uniforms, masks and disguises all help to make people anonymous and these can increase levels of aggressions - Uniforms can make people feel like they identify with the role and lose their sense of individuality thereby also increasing aggression - Feeling you are not recognisable takes away some of the ownership of the behaviour and leads to inhibitions being reduced- can lead to an increase in aggressive behaviour - This can also occur when surrounded by large numbers of people e.g. a football supporter at a football match- when in a crowd each person is faceless and therefore anonymous the larger the group the larger the anonymity, meaning the person feels less fear about the negative evaluation of actions and a reduced sense of guilt - Le Bon (1896) suggested that when in a crowd a ‘collective mind set’ develops and the group act as one, which can increase aggressive behaviour - Dixon and Manhendran (2012)- 'anonymity shapes crown behaviour'- have less hear of retribution as we are small and unidentifiable part of a faceless crowd - the bigger the crowd, the more anonymous we are - anonymity proves fewer opportunities for others to judge is negatively

Answer 61

- Prentice-Dunn and Rogers (1982) - stated that it is the consequences of anonymity that influences aggression - explained this process in 2 types of reduced self-awareness- private and public self awareness

Answer 62

- concerns how we pay attention to our own feelings/behaviour - Our attention becomes focused outwardly to the events around us, so we pay less attention to our own beliefs and feelings - we are less self-critical and less thoughtful, which promotes a de-individuated state - When swept up with the crowd an individual may not be capable of making rational decisions- you may behave out of character and lose your own set of internal standards meaning if the crowd becomes violent they are more likely to follow

Answer 63

- Refers to how much we care about what other people think about our behaviour - Being in a state of de-individuation causes low self-evaluation meaning that the individual has decreased concerns about evaluation by others- loose accountability for aggressive actions - state of anonymity means our behaviour is less likely to be judged by others - can lead to an increase in behaviour such as aggression which you would not normally carry out due to it being inhibited by personal or social norms e.g. during a riot an individual may smash shop windows and loot goods as they think they will not be picked out from the crowd

Answer 64

Zimbardo: - distinguished between individuated and de-individuated behaviour - in an individuated state, our behaviour is rational and normative (i.e. ti conforms to social norms) - de-individuated behaviours are emotional, impulsive, irrational, disinhibited and anti-normative - So when we are in a de-individuated state, we lose self-awareness, stop monitoring and regulating our own behaviour, ignore social norms and live for the moment, failing to form longer-term plans

Answer 65

Dodd (1985)- classroom exercise

Answer 66

- asked 29 undergraduate psychology students in 13 classes 'If you could do anything humanly possible with complete assurance that you would not be detected or held responsible, what would you do?' - The students knew their responses were completely anonymous - Three independent raters who did not know the hypothesis decided which categories of antisocial behaviour the responses belonged to

Answer 67

- 36% of the responses involved some form of antisocial behaviour - 26% were actual criminals acts (most common of which was bank rob) - a few opted for murder, rape, and assassination of a political figure - only 9% were pro-social behaviours (e.g. helping people) - in terms of how people imagine they would behave, this study demonstrates a link between anonymity, de-individuation and aggressive behaviour

Answer 68

Research support from social media: - Douglas and McGarty (2001) - looked at aggressive online behaviour in chatrooms and uses of instant messages - found a strong positive correlation between anonymity and ‘flaming’ (sending or posting threatening messages) - The most threatening messages were sent by those who chose to hide their real identities- common behaviour of online 'trolls' - this has also been implicated in high-profile cases of self-harm and even suicide - Suggests the existence of a link between anonymity, de-individuation and aggressive behaviour in a context that has great relevance today to the increased use of social media Evidence from lab studies: - Zimbardo (1969) - studied female undergraduates - IV = wearing loose fitting white laboratory coats and asked to put hoods over their faces to disguise their individuality and never referred to by names OR wearing normal clothes and large name tags - The procedure was similar to Milgram’s - Found that regardless of the description of the ‘learner’ (i.e. honest or conceited and critical) the de-individuated participants delivered twice the amount of shocks as the individuated ones - Supports the theory of de-individuation as it shows that when you are not identifiable you are more likely to carry out aggressive behaviour (in this case delivering electric shocks) Real life research 1: - Silke (2003) - Analysed 500 violent attacks in Northern Ireland - 206 of these were carried out by groups who wore some sort of disguise so that their individual identity was disguised - Those who wore masks were more likely to carry out more violent attacks - Shows that aggression increases when an individual is not recognisable Real life research 2: - LeMann (1981)- investigated instances of suicidal 'jumpers' (e.g. from buildings) - identified 21 cases reported in US news papers of a crowd gathering to encourage the jumper to jump - these incidents tended to occur in darkness, and the crowds were large and the jumpers were relatively distant from the crows - these are the conditions predated by the theory to lead to a state of de-individuation, which led to aggressive baiting- some validity to the idea that a large group0 can become aggressive in a de-individuated faceless crowd Practical applications: - Firstly, we could try to reduce large crowd by getting police to use techniques such as dispersion and containment - Dispersion aims to spread the large crowd out and directing them where to go thus reducing the size of the crowd and therefore the reduction on inhibitions - Alternatively, the Police may contain a large crowd so that if they do become aggressive the Police have eyes on them and can arrest the offenders - The rest of the crowd can then see this and it means they may keep their public self-awareness - If aggression is caused by de-individuation then using these tactics can reduce aggressive behaviour and large crowds becoming out of control

Answer 69

De-individuation can lead to pro-social behaviour: - Mullen (1986) - showed that in violent situations where somebody is being attacked, individuals who went to provide help to the victim would often do so if their true identity was masked - suggests that de-individuation does not always lead to aggressive behaviour and can in fact have positive implications De-individuation doesn't always lead to aggression: - Gergen et al (1973) - 'deviance in the dark study' - groups of 8 strangers were placed in a completely darkened room for 1 hour - told to dow whatever they wanted, and that they could not identify each other, and would never meet again - found they very quickly stopped talking and started touching/kissing each other intimately - in a second study, told new PPs they would come face-to-face after - Here, the amount of touching/kissing was much lower - suggests de-individuation may not always lead to aggression Role of norms: - de-individuated behaviour is normative rather than anti-normative - de-individuation theory argues that we behave in ways that are contrary to social norms (e.g. disinhibited aggression_ when we are less aware of our public identity - Sprears and Lea- SIDE model (social identity model of de-individuation)- argue that de-individuation actually leads to behaviour that conforms to groups norms - these may be antisocial norms, but could equally well be pro-social norms (e.g. helping) - happens because anonymity shifts an individuals attention from their private identity to their social identity as a group member - suggests that people in a de-individuated state remain sensitive to norms rather than ignoring them Gender differences in the effect of de-individuation: - Cannavale et al (1970) - found that male and female groups respond differently under de-individuation - An increase in aggression was obtained only in the all-male groups and not in all-female groups - Possible reason is that males tend to respond to provocation in more extreme ways than females - Eagly (2013)- these tendencies are magnified under de-individuation conditions - Therefore, de-individuation may not be able to explain aggression in crowds of females Nature vs Nurture: - highlights factors related to nurture, including anything that reduces public an private self-awareness - However, nature also plays important role in causing aggressive behaviour- genetic, ethnological and evolutionary behaviour- this approach suggests hat people are aggressive in crows perhaps because the situation makes you feel stressed

Answer 70

- Dispositional- the importation model- result of the dispositions or personalities of the individuals- suggests that aggressive behaviour is not a product of the institution itself, but rather the characteristics of individuals who enter such institution - situational- the deprivation model- result of the situation or environment - this refers to factors present in social situations that can collectively encourage the showing of certain (aggressive) behaviours that would otherwise not be seen- therefore states that an individual who is not normally aggressive can be made to behave aggressively due to factors within the institution

Answer 71

Irwin and Cressey: - inmates bring with them to prisons their violent pasts and draw on their experiences in an environment where toughness and physical exploitation are important survival skill - import a subculture of typical criminality from the outside world - Inmates’ willingness to use violence inside prison to settle disputes reflects their lives before they were imprisoned- Thomas and McManimon (2005)- 'people who prey on others on the streets also prey on others in the prison' - Inmates import such aggressive behaviour as a means of negotiating their way through the unfamiliar and frightening prison environment in which existing inmates use aggression to establish power, status, influences and access to resources (the ‘convict subculture’) - based on individual nature (e.f. inherited temperament) and also nature (e.g. social environment)

Answer 72

- Those who displayed anger, an anti-social personality style and impulsivity were strong predictors of institutional aggression - anger was the best predictor of violent behaviour in prison - DeLisi et al (2003)- studied a group of jivinille offenders in Californian institutions who had negative backgrounds (e.g. childhood trauma, anger, histories of substance abuse and violent behaviour)- compared to control groupp of inmates who did not have these negative features- found the inmates with the features were more likely to engage in suicidal activity, sexual misconduct and acts of physical aggression -also found that low self-control, particularly the tendency to lose one’s temper easily was a significant predictor of aggressive behaviours both before and after being in prison

Answer 73

Research support: - Camp and Gaes - studied 561 male inmates with similar criminal histories an dpredispositions to aggression - half randomly placed in low-security Californian prisons, and half randomly place d in high-security prisons - within 2 years, there was no significant difference in the number of prisoners involved in aggressive misconduct (22 and 36%) - concluded that features of the prison environment are less important predictors of aggressive behaviour than characteristics of inmates - strong evidence for importation because of random allocation of inmates research support 2: - Keller and Wang (2005) - found that prison violence is more likely to occur in facilities that hold the most troublesome inmates - For example, they found that prisons holding maximum-security inmates had higher levels of assaults on staff by inmates, than prisons with lower security inmates - Supports the idea that it is the individual’s characteristics that are imported into the prison thus creating violence as maximum security inmates are more likely to be violent already thus the needs to high security Practical application: - Can reduce aggression by isolating known gang members - This reduces the opportunities’ for them to carry out aggressive acts against other prisoners or prison officers - Fischer (2001)- found that isolating known gang members in a special management unit reduced the rates of serious assault by 50% BUT- could be argued that it is unethical to automatically isolate prisoner’s based on their past levels of violence and they should be given the opportunity to rehabilitate in prison

Answer 74

Conflicting research: - DeLisi et al (2004) - found that inmates with prior street gang involvement were no more likely than other inmates to engage in prison violence - suggests that dispositional factors do not create institutional aggression Ignores key factors: - Dilulio (1991) - claims the importation model ignores other gators that influence prisoners behaviour e.g. the way the prison is run - instead he proposed an administrative control model (ACM), which states that poorly managed prisons are more likely yo have inmate violence - poor management includes a weak leadership, a thriving culture of unofficial rules, stage who remain distance from inmates and few opportunities for education - therefore, importation is an inadequate explanation because institutional factors may be more important than innate characteristics Determinism: - suggests prisoners are aggressive because of negative dispositions they import to prisons- ahem little control over these dispositions- implied prison aggression is inevitable and that it is not the 'fault' of prisoners BUT it could be argue that aggression in prisons is the outcome of prisoners exercising their free will- cognitive factors also play role- aggression in prisons is therefore not inevitable and is the responsibility of individual prisoners

Answer 75

Clemmer (1958): - places the causes of institutional aggression within the prison environment itself (i.e., the situation) - Harsh prison conditions are stressful for inmates, which have to cope by resorting to aggressive and often violent behaviour. - These conditions include psychological factors (e.g. being deprived of freedom, independence, and heterosexual sexual intimacy) and physical factors (e.g. being deprived of goods and services) - Deprivation of material goods is especially important because it increases competition amongst inmates to acquire them and is accompanied by an increase in aggression - Aggression also influenced by the nature of the prison regime- If it is unpredictable and regularly uses ‘lock ups’ to control behaviour, this creates frustration and reduces stimulation by barring more interesting activities and reduces even further access to ‘goods’ such as TVs-recipe for violence, which becomes an adaptive solution to the problem of deprivation

Answer 76

Steiner: - investigated factors predicting aggression in 512 US prisons - found inmate-on-inmate aggression more common where there was a higher proportion of female staff, overcrowding and more inmates in protective custody - these are prison-level factors because they are independent of individual characteristics of prisoners, and they reliably predicted aggressive behaviour in line with the deprivation model

Answer 77

Research evidence: - Jiang and Fisher–Giorlando (2002) - studied 431 male prison records in the southern states of the USA - found that the prisoners within the most restrictive regimes had the highest incidence of violence towards staff, suggesting that it is the situation of the institution that leads to aggression Research evidence 2: - Cunningham et al (2010) - analysed 35 inmate homicides in Texas prisons between 2000 and 2008 - found that all the perpetrators motivations for their violent behaviours were linked to some of the deprivations identified in Clemmers model - many of the homicides followed arguments between cell-sharing inmates, where boundaries were judged to have been crossed - particularly important were arguments over drugs, sexual activity, and personal possessions - these factors are identified by the deprivation model, supporting the models validity Practical applications: - if we know the situational factors that can lead to aggressive behaviour then prisons can change policies to reduce some of these pains and thus reduce aggressive behaviour - seen in HMP Woodhill in the early 1990s - David Wilson reasoned that is most violence occurs in environments that are hot, noisy and overcrowded, then violence could be avoided by reducing these three factors - set up two units for violent prisoners that were less claustrophobic and prison like and gave a view to the outside, the typical prison noise was masked by music from a local radio station and the temperature was lowered - These changes virtually eradicated assaults both on other inmates and prison staff, showing the deprivation model can be used to reduce institutional aggression

Answer 78

Contradictory research 1: - McCorkle et al (1995) - studied 371 state prisons in the US - found little evidence to support the link between violence and measures such as overcrowding and living conditions - also point out that levels of stress associated with imprisonment (e.g. loss of freedom) are generally constant, however, serious outbreaks of prison violence e.g. prison riots are not - suggest that serious prison violence is a result of the management of the prison rather than the general deprivation that all prisoners endure Contradictory research 2: - model predicts that a lack of heterosexual contact should lead to high levels of aggressive behaviour - Hensely et al al (2002)- studied 256 male and female inmates of 2 prisons in Mississippi- a state that allows conjugal visits (from partners to have sex) - found no link between involvement in these visits and reduced aggressive behaviour - suggests situational factors don't substantially affect prison violence Importation vs deprivation: - importation model is supprired by well-controlled experiemntal evidence - e.g. DeLisi et al's (2011) natural experiment used a control group, and Camp and Gaes (2005) experiment used random allocation BUT the deprivation model is supported by evidence that has other strengths e.g. Steiner looked at wide range of 512 US prisons, and Cunningham et al studied all the prisons in Texas over 9 years- suggest smith are valid explanation

Answer 79

- excessive TV viewing - violent film content - computer games

Answer 80

- lab studies- short term effects - correlational studies- real-life - longitudinal studies- long term effects - meta-analysis- overall jusdgement on size effect

Answer 81

- aggressive behaviour may be linked to viewing 'excessive' amounts of TV, regardless of whether the content is violent or not Robertson et al (2013)- measured TV viewing hours of over 1000 New Zealenders at regular intervals up to age of 26 years - found that time spent watching TV in childhood and adolescence was a reliable predictor of aggressive behaviour in early adulthood (defined as convictions for aggressive and violent crimes) BUT- according to the researchers, excessive time spent watching TV is associated with reduced social interaction and poorer educational achievement - means the link between excessive viewing and aggression may be indirect (due to e.g. reduced social interaction)

Answer 82

- Bandura et al- replicated earlier study, except children watched film of Bobo dill being beaten by adult model - similar outcome- children imitated aggressive behaviour of model- SLT also happens by media

Answer 83

Paik and Comstock: - meta-analysis of 200 studies - found significant positive correlation between viewing TV/film violence and antisocial behaviour - BUT estimate that TV/film violence only accounted for between 1% and 10% of the variance in children's aggressive behaviour- implied relatively minor role for TV and film compared with other sources of aggression

Answer 84

growing evidence that computer games (and video games may have more powerful effects than traditional screen-based media. This is probably because: * The player takes amore active role compared toarelatively passive viewer * Game-playing is more directly rewarding for the player (operant conditioning)

Answer 85

- Bartholow and Anderson (2002) - lab study - DeLisis et al (2013)- correlational - Anderson et al (2007)- longitudinal

Answer 86

- conducted a lab study - students played either a violent computer game (Mortal Kombat) or a nonviolent computer game (PGA Tournament Gold) for ten minutes - Afterwards carried out the Taylor Competitive Reaction Time Task (TCRTT)- standard lab measure of aggression in which the students delivered blasts of white noise at chosen volumes to punish a (non-existent) opponent - Those who played the violent game selected significantly higher noise levels compared with the nonviolent players (M = 5.97 decibels for violent compared with 4.60 for nonviolent)-suggests that playing violent computer games, even for a short period, can increase levels of aggression

Answer 87

- studied 227 juvenile offenders, all with histories of serious aggressive behaviours such as hitting a teacher/parent or gang fighting - Using structured interviews they gathered data on several measures of aggression and violent computer game-playing - found the aggressive behaviour was significantly correlated with how often they played violent games and how much they enjoyed them

Answer 88

- surveyed 430 children aged between 7 and 9 at two points during the school year - Children who had high exposure to violent computer games became more verbally and physically aggressive and less pro-social (as rated by themselves, their peers and their teachers)-suggests that exposure to violent computer games does increase aggression CONFLICTING STUDY- Adachi and Wolloughby (2013)- suggests that the longitudinal link found between violent computer games and aggression may be due to the competitive nature of the games, rather than the violence, as violent computer games tend to be more competitive than non-violent games

Answer 89

Advantages of experimental studies: - Experimental studies allow us to establish a causal link between media aggression and aggressive behaviour BUT: - the situations are often unrealistic and artificial e.g. when Bartholow and Anderson used the measure of selecting the white noise this is not how you would be aggressive in a real-life situation - Further, measure has no fear of retaliation which is not the case in the real-world - these ‘safe’ places to vent aggression offer little explanation for how aggressive is demonstrated in real-life. BUT it would be unethical to allow more realistic form of aggression in an experiment, so researchers have no choice but to come up with more creative, but somewhat artificial, ways of measuring aggression Overall effect of studies: - despite issues with all research methodologies, the link between media and aggression has been researched by the full range of methodologies - individual studies may be flawed but the strengths of one often compensate for the limitations of another (e.g. internal and external validity) Explaining research findings: - findings can be explained using SLT - Anderson et al (2017)- present SLT as a 'convincing theoretical framework' - note that it is widely accepted that exposure to violence at home, for example, is harmful to children - logically follows that TV and computer.video games are other sources of social learning - children more likely to imitate if see them being rewarded (vicarious reinforcement), and even more so when children identify with on-screen characters - this is a key feature of science- having a unifying explanation to account for findings, enhancing the validity of this research

Answer 90

Defining aggression: - aggression defined in different ways in studies - e.g. the DV in studies could be volume of white noise blasted or actual criminal convictions - however, violent and aggression are not identical- all violence is aggression, but not all aggression is violence, and not all aggression or violence is criminal - the effects found in these studies therefore depends on how aggression is defined- variation makes findings hard to compare BUT- - meta-analyses help to overcome this issue - e.g. Andersons stud- found aggression increases with all outcome measures of aggression after violent computer games, high quality studies showed larger effect - meta-analyses that include various definitions are valid method for uncovering the effects of media on aggression Issues with correlational studies: - In correlational studies of aggression there are no variables manipulated or controlled and no random allocation of participants to violent or non- violent computer games - Means that if you found a positive correlation between playing violent games and aggressive behaviour it is unclear whether playing violent the games has led to these people becoming more aggressive (the socialisation hypotheses) or whether these people are already aggressive and therefore they seek out these aggressive computer games (the selection hypothesis) - Therefore, the direction of causality cannot be settled by correlational studies. Failure to consider other causal variables: - Many studies in this area failed to account for other variables that could explain why some people display aggressive behaviour and some people may choose to play violent computer games. - Ferguson et al (2009) claim that much of the research on the effects of computer game violence has failed to control for other variables known to influence aggressive behaviour- their meta-analysis showed that the effects of violent content on aggressive behaviour disappears when other potential influences such as family aggression and mental health are taken into consideration - suggests that these other risk factors, as opposed to exposure to media violence, are the primary cause of aggressive and violent behaviour Unsupported conclusions: - many research studies are methodologically weak (e.g. confounding variabeles, poor sampling methods) ]- even meta analyses aren't perfect n the basis of GIGO 9garbage in, garbage out)- if poor quality studies included, the analysis will also be poor-quality - many studies are correlational- cause and effect conclusions unjustified - experimental studies lack external validity e.g. unrealistic measures of aggression- findings can't be generalised - therefore some researchers may have drawn premature conclusions based on findings that lack validity Overstating the case: - - although many studies claim a statistically significant relationship between media violence and violent behaviour, this is an overstatement of the case - Most of these cases have found a small effect size and that very few of these have actually measured aggression against another person - Ferguson and Kilburn (2009)- when aggression towards another person or violent crime is the measure of aggression used in research, the relationship between exposure to media violence and aggressive behaviour is actually close to zero game difficulty rather than aggressive content may lead to aggression: - it may not be the violent content in computer games that leads to aggression but more the frustration and failure experienced in the game - Przybylski et al (2014) found that it was not the violent imagery or storyline that lead to the aggression but the lack of mastery and difficulty players had in competing the game that led to frustration and aggression-evidence across both violent and non- violent computer games - Therefore, this means that the commonly held view that violent games lead to aggression is incorrect and that instead of focusing on the violence in the games we need to focus more on the level of difficulty and the frustration in the computer games

Answer 91

- desensitisation - disinhibition - cognitive priming

Answer 92

- normally when witnessing violent actions, we experience physiological arousal associated with the sympathetic nervous system, such as increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, and more sweating - however, after repeatedly viewing aggression on TV or playing violent computer games, we get used to its effects (particularly children) - means a stimulus that is usually aversive has a lesser impact, so anxiety and arousal become lower on repeated viewing/playing - also psychological desensitisation- repeated exposure to violent media promotes belief that using aggression as method of resolving conflict is socially acceptable - assumes that, under normal conditions, anxiety about violence inhibits (stops) its use - negative attitudes towards violence weaken, less empathy is felt for viscoses, and theyr injuries are minimised and dismissed (Funk et al, 2004) - Someone who becomes desensitised to violence may therefore perceive it as more ‘normal’ and be more likely to engage in violence themselves - Desensitisation to media violence typically takes a long time – a result of numerous repeated exposures to violent films or violent computer games

Answer 93

Weisz and Earls (1995): - lab study - showed PPs fit 'Straw Dogs'- contains prolonged and graphic scene of rape - PPs then watched a re-enactment of a rape trial - compared with those who watched a non-sexually violent film, male viewers of straw dig showed greater acceptance of rape myths and sexual aggression - they also expressed less sympathy towards the rape victim in the trial, and were less likely to find the defendant guilty - there was no such effect of film type on female PPs

Answer 94

Research support: - Carnagey et al (2007) - tested the claim that physiological arousal decreases after exposure to violence - PPs played either a violent or non-violent video game for 20 minutes and then watched a 10 minute clip containing scenes of real-life violence while their heart rate and skin conductance were monitored - Those participants who had previously played the violent computer game had a lower heart rate and skin conductance response while viewing the filmed violence - demonstrates physiological desensitisation to violence as predicted by this explanation Research support 2: - Drabman and Thomas (1974) - found that children became more tolerant of violence in films as the amount of violence they watched increased - suggests that there is a desensitisation effect research support 3: - Krahe et al (2011) - showed PPs violent and non-violent films while measuring physiological arousal using skin conductance - PPs who were habitual viewers of violent media showed her levels of arousal as they watched the violent film clips - they also gave louder bursts of white nouse to a confederate without being provoked (proactive regression) - lower arousal shows desensitisation, and was also linked to greater willingness to be aggressive benefits of sensitisation: - Desensitisation can be adaptive for individual - e.g. for troops desensitisation to the horrors of combat makes these individuals more effective in their role as feeling sympathetic to victims would make the job very difficult

Answer 95

Contradictory evidence: - Belson (1978) - study examining the relationship between exposure to violence and anti-social behaviour - 1,500 teenage boys - examined hours spent watching television violence and anti-social attitude - found no evidence to suggest a link - Lack of a link between the two suggests that desensitisation may not occur at all Alternative explanation: - Karhe et al study failed to link media viewing, lower arousal and provoked (reactive) aggression - more valid explanation for this may be catharsis - the psychodynamic theory suggests that viewing violent media is a safety valve, allowing people too release aggressive impulses without behaving violently - therefore, not all aggression is the result of desensitisation, and other alternative explanations may be more valid Bad effects of desensitisation: - Bushman and Anderson (2009) - found that violent media exposure can reduce helping behaviour that might otherwise be offered to others in distress - claim that people exposed to media violence become ‘comfortably numb’ to the pain and suffering of others and are consequently less helpful

Answer 96

- Most people hold the view that violence and aggression are antisocial and harmful - Therefore, this social norm means that there are powerful social and psychological inhibitions against using aggression to solve conflicts-learned both directly and indirectly through SLT - these usual restraints are loosened after exposure to violent media - Aggressive behaviour in the media can appear normative and socially sanctioned - Often computer games show violence as being rewarded at the same time as its consequences being minimised or ignored - This creates new social norms for the viewer - In the long term, prolonged exposure to media violence gives the message that violence is a normal response

Answer 97

Research support: - Berkowitz and Alioto (1973) - found that participants who saw a film depicting aggression as vengeance gave more (fake) electric shocks of longer duration to a confederate - suggests that media violence may disinhibit aggressive behaviour when it is presented as justified as vengeance is a powerful justification for violence, and justified violence is seen as more socially acceptable - adds validity to the disinhibition theory because it demonstrates the link between removal of social constraints and subsequent aggressive behaviour, at least in the case of justified aggression Cartoon violence: - children do not learn specific aggressive behaviours from cartoon models, as often behaviours are made up/impossible - instead they learn that aggression in general is acceptable (socially normative) - this is especially true if the cartoon model is not punished - this disinhibits aggressive behaviour - therefore disinhibition explains how cartoon aggression can lead to aggression in those who observe it

Answer 98

Depends on other factors: - the likelihood of disinhibition taking place is determined by a number of factors, some related to the viewers themselves and some related to the context of the media - e.g. younger children are more likely to be affected because they are more likely to be drawn into high-action violent episodes without considering the motives or consequences of the violence - Children growing up in households with strong norms against violence are unlikely to experience sufficient disinhibition for them to act aggressively, whereas the disinhibition effect is stronger in families where children experience physical punishment from their parents and where they identify more with violent heroes - This demonstrates that the relationship between media violence and disinhibition is not straightforward but mediated by a number of individual and social characteristics Effects of disinhibition is limited: - effects from disinhibition seem to be contained in time to the period while playing the computer game - means that the effect is relevant only while engaging with the media and that the effect is negligible away from that specific computer game medium

Answer 99

- Berkowitx proposed the idea of cognitive priming to explain the short-term effects of media violence - ‘priming’ refers to a temporary increase in the accessibility of thoughts and ideas - proposed that when people are constantly exposed to media violence, this activates thought or ideas about violence, which in turn activate (i.e., prime) other aggressive thoughts through their association in memory pathways e.g. playing a computer game in which the player ‘kills’ other characters may prime thoughts of physical fighting, which may then lead to feelings of anger and motivation to harm others - A violent film can, according to this explanation, temporarily lower the threshold activation of these thoughts, making them accessible for a short time - The more accessible a thought or idea, the more likely it is to be used to interpret social information - Frequent activation through prolonged exposure to media violence may result in a lowered activation threshold for these aggressive thoughts, allowing them to be accessed more readily and so used to process and interpret information - repeated viewing of aggressive media, especially game playing, can provide us with a 'script' about how violent situations may 'play out' - Huesmann suggests this script is stored in memory, and do we become ready to be aggressive- mostly automatic process- directing behaviour without even being aware of it- the script os triggered when we encounter cues in a situation that we perceive as aggressive

Answer 100

Research support: - Fischer and Greitemeyer (2006) - looked at the priming of aggressive scripts in memory by investigating a neglected form of media violence in the form of song lyrics - Male PPs listened to songs featuring aggressively derogatory lyrics about women - Compared with when they listened to neutral lyrics, participants subsequently recalled more negative qualities about women and behaved more aggressively towards a female confederate - procedure was replicated with female participants, using ‘men-hating’ song lyrics, with similar results - suggests that the lyrics primed the participants which subsequently lead to more aggressive behaviour Research support 2: - Anderson and Dill - found that PPs who played violent computer games subsequently had more aggressive thoughts than did individuals who played non-violent computer games - concluded that a single incident of violent game play had primed aggressive thoughts in these participants Practical applications: - Bushman and Anderson suggest someone who habitually watches violent media accesses stored aggressive scripts more readily, so they are more likely to interpret cues as aggressive and resort to a violent solution without considering the alternatives - Effective interventions could potentially reduce aggressive behaviour by challenging hostile cognitive biases and encouraging habitual violent media users to consider alternatives to aggression, such as humour or negotiation

Answer 101

Individual differences: - cognitive priming may only have an effect on someone if they have a predisposition to a certain type of behaviour due to their personality - The effects are likely to be subtle, so changing an aggressive individual into someone who is pro-social is unlikely with cognitive priming Confounding variable: - research into the effects of video games has found that playing violent games primes violent behaviour more than non-violent games do - however, violent games tend to be much more complex in their gameplay than mon-violent games, and this complexity is a confounding variable - Zendle et al (2018) found that when complexity was controlled the priming effects of video games disappeared - therefore, the supportive findings of studies into priming may be at least partly due to confounding variables