p3: aggression Flashcards

Question

ao3: ethological - killing conspecifics isnt that rare

Answer 1

- problem for this explanation of aggression is that it claims the predator species msust have instinctive inhibitors that prevent them using their natural weapons against members of their own species -in some predator species, the killing of their own is more systematic and not so accidental - e.g. lions kill off all cubs of other males these findings pose a challenge for the ethological explanation of aggression as they cast doubt on the claim that much of animal aggression is ritualistic rather than real

Answer 2

-would suggest this enabled our ancestors to better survive in a competitive environment -through natural selection, those that demonstarted aggressive qualities = able to acquire resources and mates effectively to improve survival and reproductive success -male aggressiveness may be attractive to females = appear strong to protect offspring sexual competition = jealousy is when an individual fears losing the affections of a mate to another individual -aggression develops out of need to ensure a partner is faithful -males are more likely to respond negatively to sexual infidelity and jealousy - they would run the risk of upbringing another males offspring (cuckoldry) if their partner cheated -this an evolutionary problem as the male would have to raise another mans child, spending less or no time helping reproduce his own genes Daly and Wilson: males have evolved aggressive tactics to avoid this - Direct guarding - Negative inducements (consequences) - Domestic violence (power) Dobash and Dobash: Studies of battered women show that women blame jealousy of their boyfriends or husbandds as the cause of violence key study: Buss Chagnon: aggression in warfare

Answer 3

Buss: investigated the nature of jealousy in men and women -cross cultural questionnaire -heart rate and GSR measurements -hypothetical question , "Would you be more jealous if your partner had sex with someone else or if they formed a deep emotional connection with another person?" -Found men 60% more jealous = sexual relationship -Women 85% jealous = deep emotional attachment Womens jealousy = man can leave for another woman, leaving her less resources for her and children Mens jealousy = uncertainty of paternity of children

Answer 4

-male warriors in traditional societies have mroe sexual partners and children suggesting reproductive benefit of wars as they show aggressiveness and bravery which is attractive to females -obtains valuable resources

Answer 5

-aggression confuring greater status is supproted by anthropological evidence - many tribal societies bestow increased status and honour men who have committed murder (Daly and Wilson). Also evident in industrialised societies like the US where most violent gang members often have the highest status among peers (Campbell) Suggests = aggression not only important way of gaining status among males, but a consequence of threats to that status

Answer 6

-an issue with aggressive behaviour being an effective way to meet challenges of social living is it may result in social rejection (otracism), injury, or death -violent males might be rejected as mates - might be considered maladaptive than adaptive Duntley and Buss: benefits of aggression must only have outweighed the costs on average relative to other strategies in the evolutionary past -if this is case, natural selection would favour evolution of aggression , despite its apparent maladaptiveness

Answer 7

-gender bias - physical aggression in warfare do not adequately reflect the behaviour of women Adams: claimed a woman warrior is unheard of in most societies theyd have less to gain and more to lose (reproductive capacity) this is fundamental to womens exclusion, as women do not increase their fitness as much as men do -our understanding of physical displays typically found in warfare is therefore limited to behaviour of males rather than females HOWEVER, gender differences - better explained by socialisation Prinz: differences in agg behav of male/female may be product of different socialisation experiences -Smetana found parents more likely to physically punish boys, and explain to girls why their actions are wrong

Answer 8

-based on mating success, sexual jealousy or the acquisition of status in warfare fail to explain levels of cruelty found in human conflicts, yet are not evident in non-human species -dont explain wide scale slaughter of whole groups - evident in the Rwandan genocide 1994. -dont tell us why humans torture or mutilate their opponents when theyve already been defeated and no longer pose a threat TOP: anthropological evidence suggests this may be more of a consequence of de-individuation effects than of evolutionary adaptations

Answer 9

this theory based on work of Dollard -aggression is consequence for feelings of frustration -this is when you are trying to achieve something and there are barriers preventing you from reaching your aim -unpleasant feeling which needs to be relieved -aggression allows for relief to happen which is cathartic to the individual, a form of emotional release when engaging in aggressive behaviour Factors affecting likelihood of aggression occuring: 1. Proximity to goal - closer = more likely for agg to occur 2. Whether the aggression will remove the barrier causing the frustration 3. Whether or not it is justified frustration. Pastore - bus stop not picking up passengers. Found levels of agg expressed in justified settings were lower than in unjustified settings The hypothesis recofnises might not always be expressed directly against the source of frustration because its inappropriate or risk punishment, so it needs to be deflected onto an alternative. to experience catharsis, a scapegoat needs to be found

Answer 10

Green (1968) male uni students given puzzle to complete level of frustration was experimentally manipulated in one of three ways 1. puzzle being impossible to solve 2. ran out of time as another student (confederate) kept interfering 3. confederate insulted the participant as they failed to solve the puzzle Next part involved giving electric shocks to confederate when they made a mistake on another task - found insulted participants gave strongest shocks, impossible task participants gave the lowest. all 3 groups selected more intense shocks than a control group TOP: Low ecological validity - not many people do puzzles - not app to real life Only males - gender bias - cant generalise

p3: aggression Flashcards

(34 cards)