AO3 - Research Flashcards
(20 cards)
PRO-NEURAL: Burns and Swerdlow + Sumer
- Burns & Swerdlow reported a case study in which pedophilia emerged following a tumour in the orbitofrontal cortex, which resolved after surgery. This demonstrates that disruption of the amygdala can lead to aggression.
- Sumer reported a 14-year-old girl with extreme aggression was shown to be the result of a tumour pressing on her amygdala.
[These are case studies and may not be generalisable to the wider population, it would be important to know which efferent and afferent connections to the amygdala in these cases were implicated, for example.]
ANTI-NEURAL: Much of the research is correlational
- Correlational studies are often necessary due to ethical constraints, as directly provoking aggression in a laboratory setting would not protect participants from harm.
- As a result, researchers frequently rely on brain scans to observe correlations between aggression and brain structures like the amygdala or orbitofrontal cortex (OFC).
- However, without experimental manipulation, it remains uncertain whether changes in the amygdala or OFC lead to increased aggression, or if aggressive behavior might induce changes in these brain regions.
- Limits the validity due to a possible third variable influencing both aggression and neural changes, such as fluctuating levels of neurotransmitters.
ANTI-HORMONAL: Carre & Mehta
- incomplete explanation
- Proposed the dual-hormone hypothesis, which only promotes aggression when cortisol levels are low.
- When cortisol levels are high, it appears to inhibit testosterone’s influence on aggression.
- attempting to explain aggression through the role of a singular hormone is overly-reductionist.
- limits the validity of testosterone-based explanations of aggression, as it does not account for the moderating role of cortisol, suggesting that a more nuanced, multi-hormone approach may better biological factors in the person’s environment,
ANTI-ETHOLOGICAL: Jane Goodall
Same species aggression is not always ritualistic.
- Jane Goodall investigated Chimpanzees in Tasmania - in the “four year war” male chimps in one community set about systematically slaughtering all the members of another group, sometimes pinning down their victim.
- Goodall observed aggressive attacks between rivals that continued despite victims offering signals of appeasement.
- this does not fit with Lorenz assertions and therefore challenges his suggestion about the role of appeasement signals and ritualistic aggression.
ANTI-ETHOLOGICAL: Nisbett
- Ignores the role of culture
- Nisbett found a north-south divide for homicide in USA with southern states having higher homicide rates. This was only true of reactive aggression triggered by arguments.
- Nisbett explained this as a culture of honour which is learned as a social norm.
- This provides evidence that cajole be explained by the ethnological approach and shows how potentially culture can override innate influences.
ANTI-EVOLUTIONARY: Thomas, Lee
Cultural variations in aggression
- Thomas (1958) noted that the !Kung San people of Kalahari have negative attitudes towards the use of aggression, where it is discouraged from childhood, and is rare because it results in loss of status.
- Whilst the Yanomamo people of Venezuela and Brazil have been described as the ‘fierce people’.
- If aggressive behaviours are evolutionarily determined, then they should be relatively unaffected by cultural influences as it would predict that aggression is present in all cultures because it increase survival chances through greater reproductive success.
- This challenges the validity of the explanation. However, Lee (1979) questions whether the !Kung San people are peaceful due to their high homicide rate. These differences may be explained by observer bias which reduces the validity of the findings.
ANTI-EVOLUTIONARY: Popper
Difficult to establish causality
- researchers have very limited evidence from the past to support its hypotheses. Most research is therefore based on correlation, which does not allow researchers to establish cause and effect, and relies on ‘post-hoc’ interpretation.
- According to Popper’s philosophy of science, a theory must be falsifiable to be considered scientific; by this standard, the evolutionary explanation may fall short since it cannot be rigorously tested or refuted in a controlled manner.
- Consequently, the theory has limited validity, as it relies on speculative reasoning rather than concrete evidence to connect sexual jealousy and aggression with evolutionary influences, limiting its scientific robustness and practical applicability
PRO-FRUSTRATIONAGGRESSION: Marcus-Newall
Supportive evidence of meta-analysis
- Marcus-Newhall (2000) examined studies of displaced anger, where aggressive behaviour was directed towards a ‘human target’ other than the source of the frustration
- Based on the findings of the meta-analysis, they concluded that displaced aggression is a reliable phenomenon: participants were significantly more likely to show aggression to an innocent party, when the source of the aggression was unavailable for retaliation
- This shows that frustration can lead to displacement of aggression against a weaker or more available target.
- Since this was a meta-analysis, it increases the validity of Dollard’s frustration theory, as it represents a finding that is reliable across multiple studies.
ANTI-FRUSTRATIONAGGRESSION: Berkowitz
Better accommodated within “negative affect theory”
- Berkowitz (1989) reformulated the frustration-aggression hypothesis to become ‘negative affect theory’: frustration is one of many aversive stimuli (eg loneliness, jealousy and pain) that create negative feelings generally, which may lead to responses which include, but is not limited to, aggression, such as withdrawal, anxiety, guilt or depression.
- This suggests that frustration does not automatically lead to aggression, that aggression can occur in the absence of frustration, and that frustration can lead to many outcomes.
- Therefore, according to Berkowitz, negative feelings, including aggression, form part of a wider explanation of what causes aggression, undermining the validity of Dollard’s frustration/aggression hypothesis.
ANTI-SLT: Bandura
Does not account for biological influences
- While Bandura acknowledged an innate predisposition towards aggression, his theory primarily emphasises environmental factors like observation and reinforcement.
- However, research strongly supports the role of biological factors in aggression, such as genetic predispositions (e.g., MAOA gene), hormonal influences like testosterone, and neural mechanisms involving regions like the amygdala.
- This suggests that SLT may be insufficient as a standalone explanation, as it overlooks how biological and environmental factors interact in complex ways. Consequently, SLT’s validity is limited in fully accounting for aggression that is not purely learned but also biologically influenced.
ANTI-SLT: Poulin and Bolvin
- does not apply to reactive aggression.
- Poulin and Bolvin (2000)’s study found that in contrast to learned aggression, boys were less likely to influence each other’s reactive/impulsive aggression, which they observed, but didn’t imitate.
- This may be because the consequences of reactive aggression are less predictable, and less consistently positive, than for planned, proactive aggression (so less reinforcing).
- Therefore, SLT has limited generalizability because it is a relatively weak explanation of reactive aggression, because this behaviour is less explicable from a social learning perspective and may be better explained by Dollard’s frustration-aggression hypothesis, or Berkowitz’s negative affect theory.
PRO-DEINDIVIDUATION: Douglas and McCarthy
- evidence from social media
- Douglas & McCarthy (2001) analyzed interactions in chatrooms and instant messaging, finding that users who engaged in aggressive behavior, such as trolling, typically concealed their identities.
- This aligns with de-individuation theory, which posits that anonymity reduces self-awareness and accountability, increasing the likelihood of aggressive acts.
- However, a limitation of this evidence is its generalisability; online aggression may not fully reflect real-world behaviors, as face-to-face interactions involve additional social cues that may inhibit aggression.
- Nevertheless, the study’s real-world context in online settings enhances the theory’s ecological validity, providing robust support for the link between anonymity and aggression
ANTI-DEINDIVIDUATION: Gergen, Spears&Lea
- Gergen et al. (1973) demonstrated this in their “deviance in the dark” study, where strangers placed in a dark room with anonymity often engaged in sexually intimate behaviour, rather than aggressive behaviour.
- When participants were told they would meet afterwards, intimate behaviours declined, suggesting that anonymity alone does not dictate aggression.
- Spears and Lea (1992) further developed the Social Identity Model (SIDE), proposing that de-individuation leads individuals to conform to the specific norms of the group, whether pro-social or anti-social, rather than disregarding social norms entirely.
- L: This limitation has important application to the real-world, as it implies that applying de-individuation theory uncritically could lead to flawed interventions, such as aggressive policing of large crowds or over-moderation of online platforms, potentially misjudging group behaviors and increasing the risk of harmful outcomes.
PRO-DISPOSITIONAL ANTI-SITAUTIONAL - Camp and Gaes
Evidence that prison security does not explain aggression:
- Conducted a study of 561 male inmates with similar criminal histories and predispositions yo aggression: 50% were placed in low security prisons, and 50% in the second-highest category of prison.
- They found that involvement in the aggressive misconduct in 35% in both conditions.
- Field experiment
PRO-SITUATIONAL ANTI-DISPOSITIONAL: Cunningham
Shows that proximity can exacerbate aggression
- Analysed 35 homicides in prisons – over clashes such as boundary clashes (drugs, sexual activity, personal possessions) – escalated aggression.
- Underscores how proximity and enclosed quarters can induce aggression.
- Homicides are not generalisable to all instances of aggression
- May be valid but its scope may be context specific
ANTI-GENETIC: Stuart, Vassos, Tielbeek
- multiple genes involved makes it difficult to research
- Stuart – intimate partner violence in men was not just associated with MAOA-L, but also the serotonin transporter (it was a combination of BOTH genes) serotonin transporter overperforms and reuptakes it.
- Vassos could not find an association between aggression and a singular gene.
- Tielbeek found 40 genes associated with aggression.
- Limits the validity of the single-gene explanation
PRO-GENETICS: Rhee and Waldman
- empirical support
- rhee and waldman
- meta-analysis of twin and adoption studies – genetics accounted for 41% of aggression variance (must be partly genetic)
> CAVEAT: Not 100% - could be other social factors (like family dynamics and stress) diathesis model (genes convey vulnerability to disorders – predisposition to the disorder) - High validity – considers both genetic and environmental issues – interplay of factors.
ANTI-DESENSITISATION: Kestenbaum
Cathartic explanation
- Kestenbaum looked at the impact of playing aggressive at sport and violent video games
- Found a reduction in anger – suggesting that the use of violent media could be a catharsis to release the anger, not a stimulus causing anger releasing pent up anger
- Clinical application – can use the catharsis therapeutically
PRO-DISINHIBITION: Goranson
-an absence of negative consequences makes disinhibition seem more likely
- Participants watched a movie where either a boxer died or didn’t
- Participants who saw the non-fatal outcome were more aggressive afterwards
- Suggesting that if you don’t see the negative consequences, You become disinhibited (norms are not reinforced)
- Absence of realistic consequences increases Validity
ANTI-PRIMING: Zendle
Complexity may confound priming effects – Zendle
- Violent video games can influence aggression – but the complexity was an important part of it
- The complex nature of the games cause frustration, leading to the frustration aggression hypothesis
- Game complexity is a confounding variable
- Undermines the validity of the theory
