Aggression Flashcards
(38 cards)
what is aggression according to Hobbes (1651)?
- extreme levels of aggression = natural for human beings
define aggression
- behaviour with the intention to hurt someone
how did Bandura investigate aggression?
- punching an inflatable bobo doll
how did Eron investigate aggression?
- observations from teachers and colleagues
how did Leyens investigate aggression?
- self-reports
how did Green investigate aggression?
- self-report of willingness to use violence in lab
how did Lieberman investigate aggression?
- selecting spiciness of hot sauce for someone else who does not like spice
outline Chermack, Berman & Taylor (1997) study into measuring aggression
(reaction time game with opponent)
- ppts competed against an ‘opponent’ in reaction time game
- after each trial, loser of reaction time game received shock
there were two conditions
1/ loser received consistently low level shocks (low provocation)
2/ loser received increasingly high level shocks (high provocation)
RESULTS
- ppts who received the shocks consistently stayed the same in the shocks they gave the other person
- those who received stronger shocks, individuals gave more shocks back to other person
explain what the hypodermic needle model is
- idea that media we consume is injected into those who engage with it
- for aggression, aggressive behaviour is injected into the people that engage with it
what does Anderson & Bushman (2001) suggest about gaming and aggression?
- believes there is some evidence of a link between gaming and aggression
what does Ferguson (2007) suggest about gaming and aggression?
- there is evidence for link but the effect gaming has on aggression = small
what did Kennedy et al. (2014) find in video gaming and and aggression?
- found that those who frequently played violent video games = less distracted by violent images in other contexts
- researchers labelled this ‘emotion-induced blindness’
identify 2 theories of aggression
- innate theories of aggression
- social theories of aggression (including learnt)
explain what the innate theories of aggression looks at to explain aggression
- suggests aggression is unlearned and universal
- if aggression not released, it builds up until explodes
explain what the social theories of aggression (including learnt) looks at to explain aggression
- looks at the social context in which we exist as an explanation for aggressive behaviour
how is aggression explained by Freud’s Psychodynamic theory?
- suggests aggression = innate
- aggression is a ‘death instinct’
- death instinct = Thanatos
- initially, aggression = directed towards the self
- overtime, aggression starts to be directed towards other people
- aggression builds up naturally and MUST be released
how is aggression explained by the Ethological perspective (Lorenz)?
- aggression = survival value
- aggression is seen as functional
explain the dual factor theory
(Lorenz, ethological perspective of aggression)
1/ we have innate urge to be aggressive (inevitable)
2/ aggressive behaviour elicited by environmental stimuli (releasers)
as energy builds up, we need to release this aggressive energy onto another environmental stimuli
explain the evolutionary explanation for aggression
- social behaviour = adaptive
- it helps individual, species survive
- aggressive behaviour = evolved to allow to procreate and pass genes on to next generation
- aggression has social and economic advantage
EXAMPLE:
- high-flying execs may use aggressive behaviour to fight off colleagues for promotion
identify weakness of psychodynamic explanation
- limited evidence
identify weakness of ethological approach
- struggles to explain functional value of aggression in humans
- aggressors usually end up punished and excluded in group for being aggressive rather than accepted
identify weakness of evolutionary explanation
- takes limited empirical evidence
- claims to use circular reasoning
explain the SLT of aggression
- aggressive behaviour learnt through observational learning
- modelling parents/role models
- learning behaviour vicariously
outline Bandura, Ross & Ross (1961) study into SLT and aggression
- studied children
- had children observe adult play with ‘Bobo’ doll in 3 conditions
1/ observed real-life aggressive model (kicking, hitting Bobo doll)
2/ observed non-aggressive model (role model played nicely with Bobo doll
3/ control group (children didn’t observe a role model)
FINDINGS
- children exposed to aggressive model displayed significantly more aggression