aggression Flashcards
define institutional.
Institutions are places where there are strict rules that give little choice to members of that institution. Examples include the armed forces, prisons, and mental institutions. Institutional aggression refers to aggressive behaviours adopted by members of an institution.
define instrumental aggression
refers to pre meditated aggression that is carried out to achieve a specific goal.
define hostile aggression.
refers to violent attitudes + actions that are associate with anger and the desire to dominate a situation or others.
what is the dispositional explanation of aggression?
the importation model.
what is the situational explanation of aggression?
the deprivation model.
what is the importation model?
focuses on personality of the person
suggests that prisoners are not completely insulated from the happenings of everyday life outside. aggression is the product of individual characteristics of inmates and not of the prison environment.
what was deLisi’s research into the importation model?
AO1
studied 183 juvenile deliquiates, all of which had high levels of aggression.
found there was more suicidal activity, sexual misconduct and acts of physical violence in these participants.
Ao3 points for the importation model/ dispositional explanation of institutional aggression.
Kane and Jenus: found that the number of violent offences was related to the history of the offender. if a prison had lower levels of education, a more serious criminal record and more unemployment, they were more likely to be aggressive in prison.
it focuses very much on the nature side of the n/n debate. it argues that personality is the reason for institutional aggression and therefore it is a biological cause of the behaviour. however, there could be some influence on the personality from the people around the individual and therefore , could have parts of nurture.
what is the deprivation model?
environment
suggests harsh prisons conditions are stressful for inmates who have to cope by resorting to aggression and often violent behaviour. aggression is caused by the nature of the prison regime as it is unpredictable and lock ups are often a form of social control.
AO3 points for the deprivation model/ situational explanation of institutional aggression.
Mccorkle et al:371 prisoners , found that situational factors such as overcrowding and lack of privacy all significantly influences inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff violence.
gender bias: the vast majority of studies on the deprivation(and importation model) are highly gender specific as they only study men and try to generalise it to all other prisoners. this creates an issue with the validity of the research.
what where skyes 5 key deprivations within the deprivation model?
liberty
services and goods
heterosexual relationships
autonomy(choice)
security
what is desensitisation?
the process of us becoming used to something. we are exposed to it a lot and therefore it becomes normal and acceptable. the anxiety leaves.
Give one study in support of desensitisation.
Weisl and earls:
One group saw a graphic rape scene and the other saw a non-violent sexual scene.
They found that the first group were less sensitive than the 2nd group, suggesting that they have been desensitised to the graphic evidence and therefore showed less sympathy.
Give a study in support of desensitisation.
One condition played violent computer games, the 2nd condition did not. They were then studies on the level of physical arousal. They found less psychological arousal in group 1as they were desensitised to the violent scenes.
What is disinhibition?
When are disinhibitions are taken away due to seeing things and being exposed to it. The more we are exposed, the more likely we are to copy and show that behaviour in real life. They are more likely to think it’s acceptable.
Give one example of research support of disinhibition.
Health et al:
Children growing up in households with strong norms against violence are unlikely to experience sufficient disinhibition for them to express aggression. However disinhibition is stronger in families where children experience physical punishment from their parents and where they identify more with violent heroes.
What is cognitive priming?
Cues associated violent with media, may trigger aggression in us when we see them in real life. We are primed to retrieve these memories if we come across anything associated with them, which may prompt aggressive behaviour.
Give one piece of research support for cognitive priming?
Bushman:
Watched either a 15 min violent film and the other watch he’d a non violent film.
Those who watched the violent vid and faster reactions to aggressive words than a non-violent group.
This suggests that exposure to violent media primes memories relating to aggression.
What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis proposed by Dollard?
Aggression is a consequence of feeling frustrated.
Anger and violence are always the outcome when we are prevented from achieving our goals
