Aggression Flashcards

Question

sexual competition and aggression

Answer 1

Ancestral males seeking access to females would have had to compete with other males (intra-sexual selection). One way of eliminating this competition would have been through aggression. The successful individual would have increased their social status and been more successful in acquiring and protecting their mates from competing males and so would be more successful in passing on their genes to the offspring. This would then have led to the development of a genetically transmitted tendency for males to be more aggressive to other males.

Answer 2

Male aggression may also occur as a result of sexual jealousy, which arises as a result of paternal uncertainty (Archer, 2013). Unlike women, men can never be entirely certain that they are the fathers of their children. Therefore men are always at risk of ‘cuckoldry’ (when a man is deceived into raising and investing in offspring that are not his, thus aiding the survival of genes that are not his). Wilson and Daly (1996) identified several mate retention strategies used by males including: · Direct Guarding – Vigilance over their partner, keeping tabs on them to ensure they are not seeing other men. E.g. controlling where their partner goes, who they are allowed to spend time with, checking their messages. · Negative Inducements – Threatening their partners if they act in a way which he doesn’t want them to. E.g. saying they’ll hurt themselves if the partner tries to leave them.

Answer 3

The evolutionary approach acknowledges that bullies bully because they tend to gain advantages for themselves. It would therefore make no sense for them to voluntarily give up the power they have over others without some form of compensation. Volk et al. (2012) argue that anti-bullying intervention needs to increase the costs of bullying and the rewards of pro social alternatives. One method would be to encourage bullies to compete aggressively but fairly in sporting activities, giving them the opportunity to display prowess, strengths and other attractive qualities, including some not available to them through bullying.

Answer 4

Point: There is supporting evidence aggression may be motivated by a response to the threat of sexual jealousy and/or sexual competition. Explain / Expand: Shackelford et al (2005) aimed to investigate intimate partner violence (IPV) in heterosexual couples. 107 married couples who had been married for less than one year completed questionnaires about their relationship. Men completed the ‘Mate Retention Inventory’ where they rated how likely they were to use different mate retention techniques (e.g. Direct Guarding). Women completed the ‘Spouse Influence Report’ where they rated the extent of their partner’s violence in the relationship. They found a strong positive correlation between the men’s reports of their mate retention techniques and the women’s reports of their partner’s aggressive behaviour. Link: This is a strength because it supports predictions from the explanation about aggression being caused by the threat of infidlity, cuckoldry and that aggression can have an adaptive value. Point: In addition, further support for evolutionary explanations of aggression comes from crime data Explain: For example, male sexual jealousy is claimed to be the single most common motivation for killings in domestic disputes in the US (Daly et al, 1982) and sexual jealousy is reported to account for 17% of cases of murder in the UK (Dell, 1984). Link: This seems to show that there is a large body of evidence from controlled research and criminal statistics that support the link between sexual infidelity in males, jealousy and increased aggression. Point: Evolutionary explanations account for gender differences in aggression. Explain: Males are physically bigger and stronger than women, and use aggressive behaviours to gain resources and assert their dominance. Women feel like they have ‘more to lose’ in a fight, and don’t want to risk their own survival or that of their children so avoid situations involving physical aggression and resort to verbal aggression to resolve disputes. Link: This is a strength of evolutionary explanations of aggression because they can explain why men are more likely to be aggressive than women, particularly physically violent.

Answer 5

Point: There are cultural differences in human aggression. Explain: If aggression is due to evolutionary principles, we would expect all humans to universally show the same levels of aggressive behaviours regardless of upbringing, however there are clear differences. Expand: The iKung San look down on those who use aggression and will extradite those who use violence against another member of the tribe. However, the Yanomamo use aggression as status – a female will only marry a member of the tribe if he has proven himself to be a strong warrior (e.g. by killing an enemy). Link: These examples demonstrate a weakness of evolutionary explanations of aggression because it seems likely these aggressive/non-aggressive behaviours have been influenced by socialisation and cultural norms rather than a result of an evolved instinctive way of dealing with rivals.

Answer 6

- frustration aggression hypothesis - social learning theory - deindividuation

Answer 7

Dollard (1939) originated the Frustration Aggression Hypothesis based on psychodynamic beliefs about the role of catharsis in aggression. According to this hypothesis, aggression usually occurs in an outburst after a person feels that their actions or goals are being blocked by some obstacle. Catharsis is about relieving feelings of frustration; aggression makes a person feel better when they have an opportunity to vent or ‘let off steam’.

Answer 8

Often the person cannot express their true feelings of anger directly at the obstacle causing the frustration. For instance, it may be a person in higher power than them (e.g. a boss, a teacher) or it could be anger at a situational factor (e.g. the weather, the economy). People therefore use the defence mechanism, displacement, to direct their anger at someone, or something else. Aggression can be expressed physically (e.g. punching a wall), verbally (e.g. screaming into a pillow), or through a fantasy (e.g. acting out with a friend what you want to say to your boss).

Answer 9

Berkowitz (1989) suggested that frustration does not make us instantly aggressive, but may create a ‘readiness’ for aggression. When people feel frustrated this heightens their emotional state meaning they are more likely to act on impulse if prompted by an environmental cue. For example, someone is more likely to snap at an annoying friend if they are having ‘a bad day’ but they might not have shown aggression if they hadn’t seen the friend. This shows that aggressive behaviour from internal anger can be triggered by external factors.

Answer 10

Point: There is supporting evidence showing the role of frustration in aggression. Explain / Expand: Green (1968) Aims: To investigate the effects of frustration on aggression in a lab setting. Procedures: In the first part of the experiment, male university students were asked to complete a jigsaw puzzle while frustration (Independent Variable) was altered in different conditions: Group One – the puzzle was impossible to solve. Group Two – another ‘student’ (confederate) kept interfering causing them to run out of time. Group Three – the confederate kept insulting the participant for not being able to solve the puzzle. In the second part of the experiment, participants were given the opportunity to give electric shocks to the confederate when they made a mistake on another task. Findings: On average, Group Three gave the most electric shocks and Group One gave the least electric shocks. Green also repeated the study using a non-frustrated control group who were the least likely of all conditions to give any electric shocks. Link: This supports the idea that people are more aggressive the more they are feeling frustrated. Point: There is supporting evidence showing the role of environmental cues in aggression. Explain / Expand: Berkowitz and LePage (1967) Procedures: Students were given electric shocks by a confederate to induce feelings of frustration. Participants were later given the chance to shock the confederate in return. Half of the participants were randomly allocated to a condition where two guns were present on a table next to the shock machine. Findings: Participants in the ‘weapon’ condition gave an average of 6.07 shocks which was significantly higher than the control group (no weapons) who gave an average of 4.67 shocks. Link: This research suggests frustration causes a readiness to aggress i.e. pull the trigger.

Answer 11

Point: Some evidence shows that aggression does not have a cathartic effect. Explain/ Expand: Bushman (2002) found participants who vented anger by repeatedly hitting a punch bag became more aggressive rather than less aggressive. He concluded that venting to reduce anger is like using petrol to put out a fire. Link: This is a weakness of the Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis as it criticises the validity. It could be that exposing someone to aggression increases their likelihood of future aggressive behaviours. Point: There are individual differences in people’s reaction to frustrating situations. Explain: Some people are more pessimistic in nature and are more likely to experience emotions of self-defeat, depression or guilt rather than feeling angry or aggressive. Expand: Equally, some people act aggressively for reasons that don’t seem to be associated to frustration. Link: This is a weakness of the frustration aggression hypothesis as it cannot help us to predict when aggression will occur as aggression does not always follow feelings of frustration.

Answer 12

Bandura originated the Social Learning Theory (SLT) building on the behavioural approach to acknowledge that aggression may be learnt directly or indirectly. SLT suggests that direct learning of aggression happens through operant conditioning, for example, a child who angrily snatches a toy from their sibling and receives no reprimand or punishment for their behaviour will learn that aggression leads to rewards. Additionally, we can learn aggression indirectly (vicariously); if the child’s friend watched this aggressive behaviour, they might be motivated to imitate, believing they too will not be punished. Children observe the behaviours of their role models and are motivated to imitate these behaviours, particularly if it seems to lead to positive consequences. Therefore, SLT would suggest that if a child witnesses aggressive behaviours from role models (e.g. parents, peers, media) they are more likely to act aggressively than a child who has not observed aggression, or one who has seen people being punished for aggression.

Answer 13

Bandura also acknowledged that people do not passively imitate aggression and have some cognitive control over their actions, so he focused on the following mediational processes involved in social learning: attention retention reproduction motivation

Answer 14

Self-efficacy means whether a person is confident that their behaviour will lead to a particular goal. If a child regularly uses aggression to reach their goal (e.g. to take a toy from another child) then they learn how much force or aggression is necessary and become confident in using their own physical strength as a means of getting what they want. Each time they successfully achieve their goal, their self-efficacy grows, meaning they believe that as aggression has worked for them in the past, it will solve similar problems in the future.

Answer 15

Point: There is supporting evidence showing the role of social learning in aggression. Explain / Expand: Bandura et al (1961) found Children who had observed the aggressive behaviours of an adult model in a video, imitated almost identically (same actions, same language, etc) what they had seen and acted aggressively towards the Bobo Doll. A control group who had not watched the aggressive role models, did not act aggressively. A replication of Bandura’s research showed the adult being rewarded or punished for their aggressive behaviour. Children who observed an adult being rewarded were four times more likely to be aggressive than those who saw the model being punished. Link: These findings demonstrate support for several key aspects of SLT including the role of vicarious reinforcement in the learning of aggressive behaviour. Point: Social Learning Theory has real-life application to everyday aggression. Explain: There have been cases such as the Columbine High School Massacre and the Jamie Bulger murder which the media have dubbed ‘copycat killings’, where children have observed violence in films and then imitated them on victims in real life. Expand: OFCOM have brought out age restrictions on certain media, as well as the watershed to censor some aggression being witnessed by children, implying that they do believe the children may imitate the aggressive behaviours that they observe. Link: This is a strength because this application of SLT as an explanation of aggression has been used to help improve society by limiting young peoples exposure to aggressive models and using prosocial role models whose behaviour is being reinforced. Point: A strength of SLT as applied to aggression is that it is scientific. Explain: This means the theory focuses on observable and measurable behaviour which can be tested in controlled conditions. For example, Bandura’s bobo doll research is highly controlled and the learning demonstrated by the children was clear to observe and measure. Link: This is a strength as it means the SLT explanation of aggression is supported by empirical evidence.

Answer 16

However, the mediational processes cannot be observed which means factors like attention and motivation have to be inferred. This is a problem as this inference could be mistaken meaning we cannot empirically measure all aspects of the SLT explanation of aggression.

Answer 17

a psychological state in which an individual loses their personal identity and takes on the identity of the social group when in a crowd or wearing a uniform. the result may be to free the individual from the constraints of social norms

Answer 18

Deindividuation is a term coined by LeBon (1895) to explain why some people lose their sense of personal responsibility, for example when in a crowd, in a uniform or disguise. If the individual feels anonymous, they feel less responsible for their actions and are more likely to go along with the group behaviour, which often includes acting aggressively towards rival groups. This is commonly known as ‘mob mentality’ where people stop thinking like they normally would as an individually and instead act aggressively as part of the faceless crowd.

Answer 19

Prentice-Dunn and Rogers (1982) explained the link between aggression and deindividuation in terms of two types of self-awareness: 1. Private Self-Awareness: This regards paying attention to our own thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, something we monitor when we are acting on our own. This is restricted when in a crowd as our attention is focused outwardly rather than inwardly, meaning we are more perceptive of environmental factors such as the mood of the crowd, and absorb that energy, including aggression. 2. Public Self-Awareness: This concerns how much we care about other people’s judgement and opinion of our behaviour, and this is also reduced in crowds. We believe that others would be less likely to identify us for our actions, and so the consequences seem less likely, meaning we are more likely to behave aggressively and not feel accountable for it.

Answer 20

Point: There is supporting evidence showing the deindividuation in aggression. Explain: Zimbardo’s (1969) in his ‘Stanford Prison Experiment’ demonstrated that when people lose their sense of identity, they become disinhibited; stop monitoring and regulating their behaviour, forget about potential consequences for their actions and act impulsively and emotionally. This can ultimately lead people to carry out violent and aggressive acts that they never would have thought themselves capable of. Further support for deindividuation leading to aggressive behaviour comes from Dodd (1985) who asked 229 of his undergraduate Psychology students to anonymously answer the following question: ‘If you could do anything humanly possible with complete assurance that you would not be detected or held responsible, what would you do?’ Three independent raters who were not aware of the hypothesis then read the answers and categorised them. Dodd found 36% of the responses were classed as antisocial. 26% were actual criminal acts, the most common was to ‘rob a bank’. Some responses were very violent such as murder, rape or assassination of a political figure. Only 9% of responses were prosocial or helpful. Link: This research suggests anonymity leads to a higher chance of aggression Point: Deindividuation has real-life application to everyday modern aggression. Explain: Douglas and McGarty (2001) looked at aggression online, in chatrooms and instant messaging. They found a strong correlation between anonymity (i.e. fake profiles, decrypted usernames) and sending threatening messages to other users. Expand: This shows that people are more likely to act aggressively online (e.g. Troll) when they feel anonymous. Link: This is exactly what the theory predicts i.e. people do not self-monitor when part of a group in chatrooms and therefore can be more aggressive because they take on the mood of the group and do not feel personally identifiable.

Answer 21

Point: Research has demonstrated that de-individuation can lead to pro-social rather than anti-social behaviour like aggression: Explain/Expand: Johnson and Downing (1979) found, in a replication of Zimbardo’s electric shock study, that participants shocked more than a control group when dressed like the Ku Klux Klan, but actually shocked less than controls when dressed in nurses uniforms. Link: This suggests that aggressive behaviour is dependent upon the norms associated with the uniform as opposed to the uniforms themselves.

Answer 22

aggressive or violent behaviour that takes place within the social context of a prison or other formal organised setting

Answer 23

dispositional = behaviour highlights the importance of the individuals personality situational = cause of the behaviour is the environment

Answer 24

Dispositional explanations for aggression focus on the personality factors that the people have before they enter prison and how this might prime them for aggression inside the institution. The Importation Model was devised by Irwin and Cressey (1962) who believed there are certain factors that criminals ‘import’ into prison that lead to aggression such as; beliefs, values, norms, attitudes, as well as personal characteristics such as gender, race, and class. Statistically, most aggressive inmates tend to be young ethnic minority males from lower class backgrounds; this could be due to a variety of reasons (e.g. biological – testosterone, evolutionary – exerting power and status, social learning – imitation of personal experiences). There is also higher aggression levels shown by prisoners who had issues such as addictions, or were members of gangs before being arrested. These groups’ aggression levels within the prison environment mirror their behaviour before they entered the prison, and often a history of impulsive aggression and violence is the reason they were sent to prison in the first place.

Answer 25

Point: Evidence to support the dispositional explanation comes from Poole and Regoli (1983). Explain: They found that the best indicator of violence amongst juvenile offenders was their level of pre-institutional violence, regardless of any situational factors (or ‘deprivations’) in the institution. Link: This suggests the importation model may be a stronger explanation of institutional aggression than the deprivation model. Additionally….. Point: There is supporting evidence showing aggressive characteristics can be imported into prison. Explain / Expand: DeLisi et al (2011) studied 813 juvenile delinquents in Californian institutions who imported with them, a range of negative dispositional features, including; experience of childhood trauma or abuse, addictions, and anger. A positive correlation was observed; inmates with the most negative dispositional features were the most likely to be brought in front of the parole board for being aggressive in the institution. Compared to a control group, they were also more likely to engage in self-harm and suicide. Link: This is a positive because it can provide an insight for which individuals are more likely to be aggressive based on their characteristics before entering prison. This can be an important practical application because these individuals could receive targeted support as soon as they enter the institution. Fischer (2001) found that isolating known gang members in a special management unit reduced the rates of serious assault by 50%. This suggests research into the importation model can help to reduce prison violence.

Answer 26

Situational explanations for aggression focus on the prison environment itself and how the harsh conditions cause stress and strain for the prisoners, leading them to retaliate by acting aggressively. The Deprivation Model was devised by Clemmer (1958) who identified a number of deprivations experienced by prisoners which correlated with aggression; Freedom, Independence, Material Goods, Safety and Intimacy. When a person has their regular routine and luxuries taken away, this leads to a loss of social norms (anomie) so they adopt behaviours of others rather than acting like they normally would, leading to some deindividuation and in turn aggression. Prisons that are overcrowded and regularly use punishments such as ‘lock-ups’ or taking away luxuries such as ‘TV time’ are more likely to experience prisoners acting aggressively. Deprivation of material goods and services can also lead to frustration and competition, so aggression becomes a means of solving this problem.

Answer 27

Point: There is supporting evidence showing characteristics of the prison itself is linked to aggression. Explain / Expand: Steiner (2009) conducted a meta-analysis on factors predicting aggression using data from 512 US prisons. Aggression was more common in prisons with particular characteristics, for example; high proportions of female staff, high proportions of African-American and Hispanic inmates, and high proportions of inmates in protective custody for their own safety. The higher the percentage of these characteristics, the more aggression. Link: These findings are a strength of the situational explanation of aggression because they suggest it is possible to predict aggression when certain characteristics are present. However it is not possible to separate out which of the situational factors are a more important predictor of subsequent aggression. Point: One strength of this research is that it has clear practical applications. Explain: In the early 1990s, Wilson set up two units at HMP Woodhill that were less ‘claustrophobic’ and gave a view of the outside world, masked prison noise with music from a local radio station and lowered the temperature so it was no longer so extremely hot. It was found that these changes virtually eradicated assaults on prison staff and other inmates. Link: This suggests that the deprivation model can be used to help improve safety and security for staff and inmates alike by improving the prison environment.

Answer 28

Point: There is contradictory research that criticises the situational explanation for aggression. Explain: Hensley et al (2002) studied two prisons in Mississippi where inmates were allowed ‘conjugal visits’, meaning they were not deprived of sexual intimacy with their romantic partner. Expand: These prisons had the same levels of aggression as those who did not allow conjugal visits. Link: This is a problem as it suggests the deprivation of heterosexual relationships does not affect prison violence.

Answer 29

However, Jiang and Fisher-Giorlando (2002) found support for both dispositional and situational explanations of prison violence. They found that the deprivation model was better able to explain violence against prison staff, whereas the importation model was better able to explain violence against other inmates. This suggests both explanations are effective at explaining different forms of institutional aggression.

Answer 30

Experimental Studies: Conducted in a lab, short term effects of media on aggression Bartholow and Anderson (2002) Procedures: Student volunteers were randomly allocated to one of two conditions; they either played a violent game ‘Mortal Kombat’ or a non-violent game ‘PGA Tournament Golf’ for ten minutes then carries out a standard task that measures aggression (delivering blasts of white noise at chosen volumes to an opponent). Findings and conclusions: Those who played the violent game gave significantly louder blasts of noise to their opponent (mean of 6.0 compared to 4.6 decibels). It was concluded that violent computer games can cause an immediate increase in aggressive behaviour.

Answer 31

Correlational Studies: Relationships between real life variables in media and aggression DeLisi et al (2013) Procedures: Used structured interviews to study 227 juvenile offenders with histories of serious aggression such as hitting a teacher, parent, or gang fighting. Findings and conclusions: The offenders’ aggressive behaviour was significantly correlated with how often they played violent computer games, and how much they enjoyed them. It was concluded that computer game violence is a serious risk factor for aggression.

Answer 32

Meta-Analysis Greitemeyer and Mugge (2014) performed a meta-analysis of 98 studies and found that violent video game use was linked to an increase in aggression whilst exposure to prosocial games was linked to an increase in prosocial behaviour. It was concluded that a range of evidence supports the link between violent computer games and aggression.

Answer 33

Point: One strength of the laboratory experiment research is that it had a high degree of control over variables. Expand: This means the research is conducted in the controlled setting of a laboratory which allows extraneous variables to be controlled. For example, the type of violent game played and for how long. Link: This is a strength as the research has high internal validity. It is therefore it is more likely we can make a cause and effect conclusion i.e. to say that it is the playing of an aggressive computer game that has led to the aggressive behaviour. Point: A strength of research into media influence on aggression is that it has practical applications. Explain: This means it shows the negative effects violent media can have, but also the positive influence prosocial media can have on people which can be used to ensure the media has a positive influence on society. Expand: For example, greater censorship of aggressive media and promotion of prosocial media (e.g. computer games where the aim is to help others) may well have positive effects on people. Link: This is positive as ongoing research can help ensure the media is a force for good in society as much as possible.

Answer 34

However, a major weakness of these laboratory experiments is that researchers have not measured ‘real-life’ aggression. Expand: This means that ethical issues have restricted researchers to alternative measures of aggression. For example, administering ‘noise blasts’ has been used in place of real aggression which is very different, not least because it does not involve any fear of retaliation. Link: This is a problem as the research may not represent real-life aggression. Point: Additionally, it is argued research has overstated the effects of the media: Expand: This means, although many results have been significant, they typically report only small-medium effect sizes. Furthermore, when focusing on the small of number of studies that measure aggression towards another person (as opposed to alternative measures), the influence of the media on aggression is actually close to zero. Link: This suggests the influence of the media on aggression many be much smaller than is often thought. Point: One weakness of correlational studies is that they do not establish cause and effect: Expand: This means that correlations only establish a relationship between two co-variables but cannot say that one co-variable ‘caused’ the change in the other. For example, although they might seem to show that violent computer games cause people to become more aggressive, they might also only show that people who are already aggressive select aggressive media. Link: This is problematic as it limits the extent to which the researcher can draw firm conclusions from the research.

Answer 35

repeated viewing of aggressive media leads to a reduction in anxiety, empathy and physiological arousal Physiological responses to aggression are based on the fight or flight response; when someone witnesses violent actions, their sympathetic nervous system is activated, raising heart rate and blood pressure ready to respond to the threat. However, the more often people are exposed to aggression, the less sensitively their nervous system reacts to it, meaning the more they play violent computer games, or watch violent media, the less of a physiological arousal they show. This in turn suggests that people, particularly children, who have large exposure to violent media show less emotion in response to aggression in real life.

Answer 36

normal restraints against using aggression are weakened after viewing violent media, especially if aggression is portrayed as justified. The normal belief is that aggression is harmful and unacceptable in a society; children are taught that aggressive behaviour will receive punishments (i.e. formal or informal sanctions) directly through operant conditioning or indirectly through social learning theory. If children continue to interact with violent media, especially if they perceive that the aggression was rewarded or not punished, then their usual moral restraints become looser; they minimise the effects of violence and justify its use meaning they may act aggressively themselves in future.

Answer 37

viewing aggressive media gives us a 'script' for how violent situations begin and develop. stored in the memory and makes us more readily aggressive According to Huesmann (1998), our life experiences help to write our schema or ‘script’ about violent situations which is stored in our memory ready to ‘play out’ when we encounter such situations in the future. For people who have had large amounts of exposure to violent media, including violent computer games, music and other media, they show more of a readiness to act aggressively. They are primed for aggression which means their schema may be ‘triggered’ by cues that they perceived to be more aggressive than others.

Answer 38

Point: Support for the role of desensitisation comes from Krahé et al (2007): Expand: They found that participants who reported regularly viewed violent media (including violent films and computer games) showed lower levels of arousal (e.g. sweating) when shown violent film clips than non-regular viewers. Lower arousal was correlated with unprovoked aggression in a ‘noise blast’ task. Link: This supports the view that regular exposure to media aggression does serve to ‘desensitise’ the viewer, but also that this desensitisation is linked to higher levels of unprovoked aggression. Extra: However, this research has been criticised for not measuring real-life aggression. This is because, delivering blasts of white noise at chosen volumes to punish a (non-existent) opponent is very different to real aggression, not least because it does not involve any fear of retaliation. Furthermore, as aggression is only correlated with ‘desensitisation’, we cannot say desensitisation causes aggression, merely that they are linked.

Answer 39

However, desensitisation is thought to have both positive and negative real-life consequences: On the positive side, for army troops, they can become desensitised to the horrors of combat and therefore become a more effective soldier. One practical application may therefore be to use violent media such as computer games to desensitise soldiers as part of their conflict training. On the negative side though, Bushman et al (2009) suggest that exposure to violent media and the resulting desensitisation can reduce helping behaviour which might otherwise be offered. They become ‘comfortably numb’ to the pain and suffering of others and are consequently less helpful. This suggests awareness of the role desensitisation in people’s behaviour is important in a range of situations.

Answer 40

Point: Support for the role of disinhibition in aggression comes from Berkowitz et al (1973): Expand: They found that, participants that watched a film depicting aggression as vengeance gave more (fake) electric shocks of longer duration to a confederate. Link: This suggests that media violence may disinhibit aggressive behaviour when it is presented as vengeance, possibly because vengeance is seen as a strong justification for violence and therefore more socially acceptable. However, the chances of disinhibition occurring may depend on other factors. Heath et al (1989) found that children growing up in households with strong norms against violence are unlikely to experience sufficient disinhibition for them to exhibit aggressive behaviour, whereas the disinhibition effect is stronger in families where children experience physical punishment from their parents and where they identify with violent heroes. Link: This suggests there may be practical applications of this research in encouraging parents to prevent their children from feeling the effects of disinhibition by establishing clear household norms and expectations around violence

Answer 41

Point: Support for the role of cognitive priming in aggression comes from Bushman (1998). ExplaIn: They found that, when undergraduates watched a 15 minute segment of a violent film, they had faster reaction times to aggressive words than those who had watched a non-violent film. Link: This suggests that exposure to violent media does increase the ‘accessibility of violent thoughts and ideas, as predicted by the theory. Furthermore, Anderson and Dill (2000) found that participants who played violent computer games had more cognitively accessible aggressive thoughts than did those who played non-violent computer games. They concluded that a single incident of violent game play was enough to prime aggressive thoughts.

Answer 42

However, blaming aggression on the influence of the media may ignore the role played by biological factors. Explain: For example, it is possible that aggressive behaviour may be, at least in part, genetic. Brunner (1993) discovered a defective ‘MAOA gene’ in a Dutch family with a history of male violence. Furthermore, testosterone has been shown play an important role in determining some aggressive behaviour. Link: This suggests media influence explanations of aggression may be limited in the amount of aggressive behaviours they can successfully explain on their own and other approaches may be needed to explain all cases of aggression.

Aggression Flashcards

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