aggression Flashcards
human aggression, aggression, gaming and aggression, innate theories of aggression, social theories of aggression (including learnt), factors influencing aggression, general aggression model (GAM) (50 cards)
is aggression consistent or inconsistent?
consistent
what did Hobbes (1651) say about aggresson?
extreme levels of aggression are natural for human beings
what is aggression?
“intent to harm” - commonality
“intended to harm another of same species” (Scherer et al, 1975)
“directed towards another individual carried out with the proximate intent to cause harm” (Anderson and Huesmann, 2003)
“directed towards the goal of harming or injuring another living being who is motivated to avoid such treatment” (Baron and Byrne, 2000)
“that results in personal injury or destruction of property” (Bandura, 1973)
what are the different ways of measuring aggression in the laboratory?
punching an inflatable “Bobo” doll (Bandura et al, 1963)
observations from teachers and colleagues (Eron, 1982)
self-reports of aggressive behaviour (Leyens et al, 1975)
self-report of willingness to use violence in a lab (Geen, 1978)
selecting spiceness of hot sauce for someone else who does not like spice (Lieberman et al, 1999)
what was Chermack, Berman and Taylor’s (1997) study into aggression?
subjects competed against “opponent” in a reaction time game
after each trial, the loser received a shock
two conditions - low and high provocation
low provocation - shocks stayed at setting #2
high provocation - shocks gradually increased from 2 to 9
what is the link between gaming and aggressoin?
video games long been thought to be associated with negative real-world outcomes
some evidence of link between gaming and aggression but the effect is small
but plenty of evidence that suggests no effect
while link may be null (or small) other studies have shown interesting effects on wider emotional behaviour
what are problems with aggression studies into the relationship with gaming?
not standardised use of aggression measures - selective use of measures to make effects seem bigger than they are
struggles to account for real-world crime rates - engagement with gaming has increased whereas crime has fallen
who investigated the relationship between aggression and gaming and when?
Kennedy et al
2014
what was Kennedy et al’s (2014) study on the relationship between gaming and aggression?
people who frequently played violent video games were less distracted by violent images in other contexts
a phenomenon called “emotion-induced blindness”
what are innate theories of aggression?
aggression is unlearned and universal
if it is not released, it builds up until it explodes
what are examples of innate theories of aggression?
psychodynamic theory
ethological perspective
evolutionary
who came up with the psychodynamic theory?
Freud
what is the psychodynamic theory of aggression?
innate “death instinct” (Thanatos)
Thanatos theorised that anger is initially directed at self-destruction but as we develop, becomes directed towards others
aggression builds up naturally and must be released
what is the problem with the psychodynamic theory?
limited evidence
who looked at the ethological perspective and when?
Lorenz
1966
what is the ethological perspective?
aggression has “survival value” -> functional view of aggression
dual-factor theory
Lorenz (1966) mapped this to people (fighting instinct) - energy builds up and is released on another provocative behaviour of someone else
what is the dual-factor theory (ethological perspective)?
innate urge to aggress (inevitable)
aggressive behaviour elicited by environmental stimuli (releasers)
what is the problem with the ethological perspective?
struggles to explain functional value of aggression in humans
aggressors often find themselves punished and excluded from the group
instead society seems to manage aggression
what is the evolutionary theory?
social behaviour is adaptive and helps the individual, kin and species to survive
aggressive behaviour evolved to allow to procreate and pass on genes to the next generation
social and economic advantage
what is the problem with the evolutionary account?
takes limited empirical evidence and claims to use circular reasoning
what is the problem with innate theories of aggression?
limited practical application
research has shown that attempts to release aggressive impulses don’t work
what are social theories of aggression?
the social context in which we exist can also explain aggression
what are examples of social theories of aggression?
social learning theory
frustration aggression hypothesis
excitation transfer
what is social learning theory?
observational learning
modelling
learning by vicarious experience
