Aggression

Question 1

Hypothalamus in aggression

Answer 1

Triggers the fight or flight response by activating the sympathetic nervous system

Question 2

Amygdala in aggression

Answer 2

-has a key role in how an organism assesses and responds to environmental threats and challenges
-the reactivity of the amygdala has proven to be an important predictor of aggressive behaviour

Question 3

Gospic et al

Answer 3

study of the Ultimatum game.
found that when participants rejected an
unfair monetary reward (which can be seen as a social provocation), there was a sudden increase in amygdala activity, as measured using an fMRI. These ‘spikes’ were
less drastic when benzodiazepines were used
suggesting there is a strong link between the amygdala activity and aggression

Question 4

Serotonin in Aggression

Answer 4

Low levels are associated with aggressive behaviour as it leads to an increase in nerve impulses sent to the hypothalamus

Question 5

Neural and Hormonal Mechanisms AO3

Answer 5

✘ Coccaro et al found that patients suffering from psychiatric disorders who were aggressive had reduced activity in the OFC.
Therefore regulation of aggression cannot only be explained by the limbic system

✔ Berman et al found ppts who were given the serotonin agonist ‘paroxetine’ behaved less aggressively compared to a placebo group (measured by the shocks they delivered in response to a provocation)
Therefore shows a link between serotonin and aggression

✘ Carre and Mehta - Testosterone does not work alone in determining aggression
suggest through their dual-hormone hypothesis, that increased levels of aggression are associated with increased test but only when cortisol levels are low.
Therefore implies that different hormones contribute towards aggression.

Question 6

MAOA gene

Answer 6

controls the amount of neurotransmitters that’s available in the synapse

a dysfunction in this gene may affect the levels of serotonin in the brain.

Question 7

Coccaro - Twin study

Answer 7

• studies adult male mz and dz twins
• for aggressive behaviour defined as physical assault, found 50% concordance rates for MZ and 19% for DZ
  Therefore suggests a genetic basis for aggression

Question 8

Rhee and Waldman - adoption

Answer 8

-meta analysis of adoption studies of direct aggression and anti social behaviour
-found that genetic influences accounted for 41% of the variance in aggression

Question 9

Genetic explanations AO3

Answer 9

✔Brunner
case study of an extended family in Netherlands. Males had a history of impulsive violent criminal behaviours.
Found that the males in the family had low activity MAOA genes.
Therefore suggests extreme levels of aggression can have a genetic origin.
✔ Mertins et al
found ppts with high MAOA levels behaved more compassionately in a money lending game.
Therefore suggests the link between MAOA is valid since the correlations occur in both directions.
✘ McDermott et al
found in a lab study based on a computer game, ppts with low activity MAOA gene were only more aggressive than the control group when they were provoked.
Therefore suggests that aggression is not just due to genetic factors but also environmental

Question 10

Ethological explanation of aggression

Answer 10

Aggression is adaptive because:
it increases the chance of survival for a species or
acts as a method of increasing one’s social status in a hierarchy

Question 11

Ritualistic

Answer 11

aggression is used to threaten other members of their species without harming them (to gain access to food, partners and protect territory)

after losing they will make themselves vulnerable as a sign of accepting defeat e.g wolves displaying their neck

Question 12

Fixed action pattern

Answer 12

innate, fixed set of behaviours that occur in response to a specific stimulus

Question 13

Characteristics of FAPs

Answer 13

1. Stereotyped - always occurs in the same way
2. Universal - same across the species
3. Independent of experiences - behaviour is innate with no learning involved
4. Ballistic- FAP cannot be stopped once triggered
5. Specific- each FAP has a specific trigger

Question 14

Innate releasing mechanism

Answer 14

cause fixed action patterns.
IRM receives input from sensory recognition that are stimulated from the presence of the sign stimulus and then releases the FAP associated with it.

Question 15

Tinbergen

Answer 15

Male stickleback show ritualistic attack patterns other males.
presented male sticklebacks with realistic models of male sticklebacks but without their distinctive red bellies and also unrealistic models with red undersides.
Found that males only attacked the models with red undersides

Therefore suggests male sticklebacks have IRMs for aggression triggered by red bellies of other male sticklebacks causing a FAP of aggressive behaviour.

Question 16

Ethological Explanation AO3

Answer 16

✔Tinbergen

✘Goodall- Aggression isn’t always ritualistic
-observed chimpanzees in a National park and found that rival communities slaughtered each other despite signs of appeasement by the victims
-This is not adaptive since it leads to the species being injured or dying therefore it is unlikely to be due to natural selection

✘Nisbett- Cultural differences
-studied aggression in white males in the USA
-found that those from the south were more likely to display aggressive behaviour
Therefore suggests that cultural factors influence aggressive behaviour.

✘Animal Studies cannot be generalised

Question 17

Evolutionary explanation

Answer 17

suggests that aggression has helped humans in the past survive and reproduced therefore it adaptive through natural selection

Question 18

Cuckoldry

Answer 18

having to raise offspring that are not your own

Question 19

Sexual Jealousy reasoning

Answer 19

-strong in men due to paternity uncertainty
-prevents males wasting resources
Therefore anti-cuckoldry behaviours are adaptive

Question 20

Wilson and Daly

Answer 20

-Male Retention Strategies:
1. Direct Guarding
2. Negative Idnucements

Question 21

Direct Guarding

Answer 21

involves male vigilance over a partner’s behaviour e.g checking who they’ve been with, coming home early etc

Question 22

Negative Inducements

Answer 22

issuing threats of dire consequences for infidelity

Question 23

Wilson et al

Answer 23

found that women who reported mate retention strategies in their partners were 2X as likely to have suffered physical violence

53% said they feared for their lives

Question 24

Shakelford et al

Answer 24

-questionnaires by 107 married couples (less than a year)
-men completed Mate Retention Inventory and women completed the Spouse Influence Report

-strong positive correlation between men’s reports of their mate retention behaviours and women’s reports of their partner’s physical violence
Therefore retention behaviours reliably predicted use of aggression in relationships

Question 25

Volk et al

Answer 25

-Explanations of bullying -in males; suggested that dominance, acquisition of resources and strength can be achieved through bullying behaviour -this leads to access to more females and minimal threat of competing males Therefore such behaviour would be naturally selected because the males are more likely to successfully reproduce -in women; used to secure partner's fidelity Therefore such behaviour of enhanced reproductive success

Question 26

Evolutionary Explanations AO3

Answer 26

✔ Campbell -suggested that females are more likely to engage in acts of non physical aggression as it protects them and ensures the survival of their offspring -also prevents females being involved in life-threatening physical confrontations Therefore this takes into account gender differences ✔There is research to support the link between sexual jealousy and aggression e.g Shakleford -shows that there is a link between the risk of cuckoldry and aggression which supports the evolutionary explanations of aggression ✘There are methodological issues with evolutionary theories. -The studies only show correlation between aggression and male retention strategies. Therefore there may be a contributing factor that has no been considered reducing the validity.

Question 27

Dollard et al

Answer 27

suggested that frustration always leads to aggression and aggression is the result of frustration. based on concept of catharsis

Question 28

Why may aggression be displaced?

Answer 28

-cause may be abstract -cause may be too powerful and we risk punishment by aggressing against it -cause may be unavailable at the time

Question 29

Geen et al

Answer 29

male uni students given the task of completing a jigsaw puzzle -levels of frustration were experimentally manipulated and then ppts were made to give shocks to a confederate -those who were insulted and failed the jigsaw delivered the highest shocks -those who simply found the puzzle impossible delivered the lowest shocks Therefore supports Dollard's theory that frustration is displaced onto other targets

Question 30

Berkowitz view

Answer 30

believed that frustration merely creates a readiness for aggression but the presence of negative cues in the environment makes acting upon this more likely

Question 31

Berkowitz study

Answer 31

-arranged for student ppts receive electric shocks from confederates to create frustration -ppts were then able to give the shocks back -found that the presence of 2 guns influenced ppts to administer shocks 1.4V higher than the control group without guns Therefore supports Berkowitz's original idea

Question 32

Frustration-Aggression hypothesis AO3

Answer 32

✘Dill and Anderson; all types of frustration are not universal in leading to aggression -experimenter shows ppt how to perform an origami task but makes it difficult by going too quickly -unjustified condition; reason was girlfriend was waiting for him -justified condition; boss told him to finish quickly found that unjustified condition led to the most aggression (negative judgements of experimenter) but also justified condition led to more aggression than control (absence of frustration) Therefore different types of frustration can contribute to differing levels of aggression. ✔ RWA of Berkowitz theory emphasis of the role of environmental cues has been used in the gun-debate. research may reduce gun-violence by showing aggressive cues should be removed from the environment. ✘Berkowitz reformulated his hypothesis -now suggests that frustration is one of many stimuli that can lead to aggression so it is triggered by negative feelings in general -also suggests that aggression can lead to a range of responses Therefore suggests that the original hypothesis is reductionist and does not account for all cases of aggression

Question 33

SLT of aggression

Answer 33

Bandura suggests that observational learning accounts for social learning of most aggressive behaviours

Question 34

Vicarious reinorcement

Answer 34

occurs when we see a role model being rewarded for displaying certain types of behaviour. We are then more likely to repeat such behaviour

Question 35

Conditions for Social Learning

Answer 35

Attention Retention Reproduction Motivation

Question 36

Bobo Doll study

Answer 36

demonstrated that children observe and study and imitate behaviours displayed by role models when adult was seen beating the bobo doll with a mallet and verbally abusing it, this aggressive behaviour was imitated by the children children who observed non aggressive role models also copied such neutral behaviours. Therefore supports SLT as an explanation of aggression.

Question 37

SLT AO3

Answer 37

✘Bandura's study lacks mundane realism and has demand characteristics -the purpose of a bobo doll is to hit and therefore the children may have done so because they believed that this was expected of them -this means that the influence of modelling and reinforcement may have had little effect on the children's' behaviour Therefore SLT may be limited to only some cases of aggression ✔RWA of SLT -the theory helps to improve treatments for aggression in children and young adults. -due to vicarious reinforcement, a way to reduce aggressive behaviour could be to reward non aggressive models leading to non aggressive behaviours being imitated -furthermore it may lead to children becoming friends with children rewarded for non aggressive behaviours giving them more opportunities to to model this behaviour Therefore SLT provides practical steps to reduce aggressive behaviour in children ✔Poulin and Boivin found that aggressive boys aged 9 to 12 formed friendships with other aggressive boys -they were frequently exposed to physical aggression and the positive consequences of it Therefore SLT has predicted the imitation of aggressive behaviours

Question 38

Le Bon De-individuation theory

Answer 38

Le Bon argues that in a crowd we feel that responsibility for our actions is diminished as we feel that it is shared amongst the group This prevents our behaviour being restricted by social norms

Question 39

Zimbardo De-individuated state

Answer 39

our behaviours become impulsive, irrational and disinhibited which means we lose self-awareness and stop monitoring and regulating our own behaviour as there is more anonymity

Question 40

Zimbardo De-indivduation study

Answer 40

tested whether ppts were more likely to deliver electric shocks if they were identifiable compared to being anonymous found that those who were anonymous administered more severe electric shocks. concluded that when people are anonymous, their inhibition reduces leading to higher levels of aggression

Question 41

De-individualisation AO3

Answer 41

✔Douglas and McGarty -looked at aggressive behaviour in chatrooms. -found a strong corelation between anonymity and violent and aggressive messages Therefore supports the idea that de-individuation may lead to a diminished feeling of one's own responsibility for their actions leading to more aggression. ✘Johnson and Downing -found that ppts who dressed as KKK members were significantly more aggressive and delivered higher intensity electric shocks to confederates compared to those dressed as nurses This suggests that social roles associated with uniforms are actually emphasised rather than lost in a group setting ✘Spears and Lea -Social Identity model of De-individuation effects suggests that anonymity shifts the person's individual identity to align with their social identity as part of a wider group. -This suggests that de-individuation does not always lead to aggression but causes a conformity to the norms of behaviour within the group, which could be prosocial or antisocial Therefore de-individuation is only a partial explanation

Question 42

Dispositional Explanations

Answer 42

any explanation of behaviour that highlights the importance of the individuals personality

Question 43

Irwin and Cressey

Answer 43

Importation Model; -example of a dispositional explanation -argues that aggression is caused by individuals bringing in their own subculture of typical criminality and willingness to use violence inside prison rather than the prison context

Question 44

Thomas and McMainon

Answer 44

'people who prey on others in the streets also prey on others in prison' Therefore aggression is the product of individual characteristics of inmates and not of the prison environment. Inmates predisposed to using violence would be likely to do so in any setting.

Question 45

DeLisi et al

Answer 45

-studied juvenile confined in institutions in California -found that those with more dispositional traits i.e childhood trauma etc are more likely to engage in suicidal activity and physical violence compared to a control group with fewer dispositional traits Therefore this suggests that dispositional traits are the more important predictor of aggression as opposed to the prison environment.

Question 46

Clemmer

Answer 46

Deprivation Model; -places the causes of institutional aggression within the prison -harsh prison conditions are stressful for inmates who cope by using violence -conditions include deprivation of freedom, independence, safety etc

Question 47

Steiner

Answer 47

Research into deprivation model -meta-analysis -found inmate-on-inmate violence was more common in prisons where higher proportions of female staff and Hispanic inmates This supports situational explanations for aggression within prisons.

Question 48

Institutional Aggression in Prisons AO3

Answer 48

✘Dilulio- importation model fails to consider situational factors -suggests that the administrative control model which states that poorly managed prisons are more likely to experience the most serious forms of violence -such factors may act as 'triggers' for aggressive behaviours Therefore this casts doubt over the validity of dispositional explanations ✔ Cunningham et al -support for the deprivation model -analysed 25 inmate homicides in Texan prisons and found motivations were linked with some deprivations outlined by Clemmer e.g arguments over drugs and personal possessions -This supports the model since these findings were predicted by it, supporting its validity ✘Dobbs and Waid - interactionist model -suggest that inmates first entering prison will suffer from deprivation but this does not necessarily lead to aggression until it combines with characteristics imported into the prison influencing the prison's culture Therefore it is unlikely that institutional aggression only has just one cause as it is much more complex

Question 49

Bartholomew and Anderson

Answer 49

-lab based study -students either played a violent computer game (Mortal Kombat) or a non violent game (PGA Tournament Golf) -measured aggression using the TCRTT and found that ppts in the violent group delivered louder levels of white noise compared to the non violent players

Question 50

DeLisi et al (Media Influence)

Answer 50

-studied 227 juvenile offenders with a history of aggressive behaviours -used structured interviews to gather data on measures of aggression and violent computer game playing -found a strong positive correlation with how often they played violent video games and characteristics of aggressive behaviours

Question 51

Robertson et al

Answer 51

-studied 1037 people in New Zealand and measured TV viewing hours at regular intervals up to age of 26 years old -found that time spent watching TV was a reliable predictor of aggressive behaviour in adulthood measured by criminal convictions and violent crimes Appeared that amount of TV watched was more important than the violent content

Question 52

Anderson et al (Media influence)

Answer 52

-meta analysis of studies -found that exposure to violent video games was associated with increases in aggressive behaviour -findings were true across cultures and between genders

Question 53

Bartholomew and Anderson AO3

Answer 53

✔High internal validity ✔variables cam be controlled to establish a casual relationship ✘Measure of aggression is artificial and unrealistic ✘No fear of retaliation Therefore lacks external validity

Question 54

Robertson et al AO3

Answer 54

✔Can study the long term effects of media ✔Views people as active consumers rather than as passive recipients ✘Vulnerable to confounding variables

Question 55

DeLisi et al (Media influences) AO3

Answer 55

✔Investigates realistic forms of aggression ✘Correlation does not mean causation ✘Lacks internal validity

Question 56

Desensitisation

Answer 56

repeated exposure to violence reduces normal levels of physiological and psychological arousal associated with anxiety can also promote a belief that using aggression as a method of resolving conflict is socially acceptable

Question 57

Weisz and Earls

Answer 57

-showed ppts a film which contained a prolonged and graphic scene of rape -compared to those who watched a non-sexually violent film, male viewers showed a greater acceptance of rape myths and showed less sympathy to the victim when watching a rape trial

Question 58

Disinhibition

Answer 58

describes the process where our restraints towards violence and aggression is lowered, through direct and indirect learning through SLT the media is particularly important due to rewarding aggressive behaviour and minimising negative consequences This results in new social norms and attitudes towards aggression being developed

Question 59

Cognitive Priming

Answer 59

suggests that exposure to violent media leads to an increase in the accessibility of aggressive thoughts and ideas

Question 60

Greitemeyer

Answer 60

found that male ppts who listened to aggressive songs featuring derogatory comments about women behaved more aggressively towards a female confederate compared to those who heard gender neutral lyrics

Question 61

Desensitisation AO3

Answer 61

✘Cartoon violence is a useful example of how neither social learning theory, nor disinhibition and desensitisation can form complete explanations of how children learn violence. For example, most children understand that it is not possible to punch someone so that their eyes burst out of their sockets. Krahé suggested, children observe that these aggressive acts are not punished, and therefore prepare their own cognitive scripts, through the process of cognitive priming, about what is socially acceptable behaviour.