ethological explanations of aggression

Question 1

what is ethology

Answer 1

study of animal behaviour in natural settings

Question 2

what does the ethological explanation propose

Answer 2

• aggression is innate and adaptive
  as an aggressive animal id more likely to survive, and become dominant in thier heirarch, which can provide other benefits

Question 3

what does the ethological explanation propose about intra species aggression

Answer 3

• its ritualistic
• aggression within species involves very little phsyical fighting and instead consist of ritualised signalling of aggression
• these signals intend to intimidate the opponent and display their strength without engaging in physical contact

Question 4

what is an innate releasing mechanism

Answer 4

• inbuilt neural mechansim which is activated by a sign stimulus
• an enviromental sign stimulus such as certain facial expressions that is percieved as a threat, triggers the IRM which then realses a specifc sequence of behaviours
• sequence is known as a fixed action pattern

Question 5

what are the 5 main characteristics of a FAP

Answer 5

1. stereotyped - unchanging sequence of behaviour
2. universal - same behaviour is found in every species member
3. independent of individual experience - behaviour is innate and not learnt
4. ballistic - once triggered the FAP behaviour cannot be stopped and is automatic
5. specifi triggers - a certain ‘sign’ stimulus activates behaviour

Question 6

example of FAP’s

Answer 6

• Tinbergen stickleback fish
• during mating seasons male sticklebacks develop a red spot on its underbelly. male prepares his territory for nest building
• a FAP is displayed in the wild when a rival approaches a territory border and the defending male sees rivals red underbelly
• defending male with display its spines to the opp and make jerky movements then retreat
• if opp acc entrs the territory defedning male becomes more aggressive and does not retreat
• in labs stickleback males attack models with a red underbelly even if they dont look very realistic

Question 7

Strength: supporting

Answer 7

I: supporting evidence for ritualsitc aggression being innate and adaptive from human studies
E: ritualistic aggression prevents conflicts esculating into dangerou physical aggression
In Yanomamo ppl of South America chest pounding and club fighting settles conflicts before more extreme forms of aggression develop (Chagnon)
inuit eskimos song duels are used to settle grudges and disputes (Hoebel)
C: findings from aggression in humans can be extrapolated to explain animal aggression - ritualistic aggression is linked to survival and dominance

Question 8

weakness: contradictory

Answer 8

I: contradictory evidence suggesting that animals do engage in killing of their own species
E: study on tanzania chimpanzees, male chips from one community, systematically slaughtering all members of another group. these attacks seemed to be co-ordinated and premeditated
one example saw a male chimp being held down and systematically hit and bitten during a 20 minute attack. these attacks continued despite singals of appeasment and defencelessness which did not inhibt the aggression (Goodall)
C: challenges the idea that most animal aggression is ritualistic for survival purposes

Question 9

weakness: FAP

Answer 9

I: fixed actions patterns may not be completely innate behaviour
E: enviromental factors such as learning and experiences can influence aggressive behaviour patterns in animals. the term FAP, has now been replaced with ‘nodal action patterns’ indicating that there are differences among individuals within the same species regarding the aggressive behaviour displayed
C:aggression in animals not completely linked to surivial, and could be reduced through training