social psychological explanations

Question 1

the social psychological explanations

Answer 1

1. frustration aggression hypothesis
2. social learning theory
3. de-individuation

Question 2

frustration aggression hypothesis

Answer 2

formulated by Dollard
- frustration always leads to agg
- agg is always a result of frustration

Question 3

what is the FAH based on

Answer 3

the psychodynamic concept of catharsis
- views agg as a biological drive like hunger

Question 4

aggression as a biological drive

Answer 4

if our attempt to achieve a goal is blocked by some external factor we experience frustration which creates an agg drive which leads to agg behaviour
- cathartic bc agg created by frustration is satisfied

Question 5

why is aggression not always expressed directly against the source of frustration

Answer 5

1. could be an abstract cause
   - the government
2. cause is more powerful than us so risk of punishment
   - teacher
3. cause is unavailable -
   - teacher not there when you go to speak

Question 6

research into FAH

Answer 6

Green et al

Question 7

Green et al

Answer 7

• male uni students given task to complete puzzle
• frustration was manipulated
  1. puzzle was impossible (missing pieces)
  2. conf acting as a ppt kept interfering so ran out of time
  3. conf insulted ppt while failing
• then ppts could give shocks to conf
• insulted ppt gave strongest shocks
• then interfered, then impossible
• all 3 gave more intense shocks than control w no frustration

Question 8

environmental cues

Answer 8

Berkowitz says frustration merely creates a readiness for aggression
- presence of aggressive cues in environment make acting on the frustration more likely

Question 9

Berkowitz and LePage

Answer 9

arranged for student ppt to be given electric shocks in a lab sitch
- person who gave shocks was conf
- ppt then had chance to give electric shocks to conf
- number of shocks given depended on presence or absence of weapons in lab
1. 2 guns present on table next to shock machine = 6.07 shocks
2. no guns = 4.67 shocks

Question 10

supporting evaluation for FAH

Answer 10

research support, Marcus-Newhall
- meta of 49 studies of displaced agg
- investigated situations where agg b targeted toward someone other than cause
- displaced agg is a reliable phenomenon
- ppt who were unable to direct anger toward cause, were more likely to aggress against innocents at a party

Question 11

opposing evaluation of FAH

Answer 11

1. aggression is not cathartic
2. agg not just caused by frustration

Question 12

aggression is not cathartic

Answer 12

Bushman found ppl who vented their anger by repeatedly punching a bag became more angry
- doing nothing was more effective to reduce agg
- casts doubt ab central assumption of FAH, reducing validity

Question 13

Berkowitz’s reformation, frustration is not the only cause

Answer 13

• Berkowitz argued any neg feeling can trigger aggression
  > jealousy, loneliness
• frustration can lead to a range of responses, not just aggression
  > despair, hopelessness

Question 14

social learning theory

Answer 14

a way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement
- combines learning theory w role of cognitive factors

Question 15

direct reinforcement

Answer 15

direct forms of learning that one action can lead to a certain result
- if a child snatches a toy they want to play w, they learn that agg brings results

Question 16

indirect reinforcement

Answer 16

through observational learning
- not all behaviour can be explained by direct forms of learning

Question 17

observational learning

Answer 17

ppl acquire specific agg behaviour through observing agg models
- work out how b is performed but also the consequences of it
- if agg b of model is rewarded, teaches child agg is effective to get what they want

Question 18

vicarious reinforcement

Answer 18

reinforcement based on observing the consequences of a models behaviour
- aggressive or not

Question 19

cognitive conditions needed for observational learning to take place

Answer 19

Attention
Retention
Reproduction
Motivation

Question 20

self efficacy

Answer 20

extent to which we believe our actions will achieve a desired goal
- child’s sense of self efficacy develops w each successful outcome
- confident that their agg will be effective be it was in the past

Question 21

research into SLT for aggression

Answer 21

Bandura’s bobo doll study

Question 22

Bandura bobo doll study

Answer 22

children observed model interact w bobo doll
- some watched male model
- some watched female model
- some had non-agg model
- taken into a room w nice toys and told they cant play w them bc they’re for good kids
- taken into another room w bobo doll, agg and non-agg toys
- observed interaction
- boys were more physically agg
- girls more verbally agg
- repeated phrases heard from model ‘sock him’
- basically no agg from control

Question 23

supporting evaluation for SLT

Answer 23

1. research support
2. practical application

Question 24

research support, Poulin and Boivin

Answer 24

applied social learning analysis to boys 9-12 and found most agg boys made friends w other agg boys
- described as training grounds for agg bc they had frequent exposure to agg models (each other)

Question 25

practical application

Answer 25

SLT says ppl dont just react to the environment, they also influence it - they choose/ create the situations they are in and how they behave - a way to reduce agg is to be in situations that dont reward agg b > encourage them to be friends w less agg ppl bc non-agg models - practical app of SLT that can help foster more prosocial behaviour

Question 26

opposing evaluation for SLT

Answer 26

cultural differences -diff cultures have diff normal ab which behaviour is reinforced - !Kung san ppl do not see direct reinforcement of agg b bc they're non-agg and dont use agg to discipline children - models of agg are unavailable for children but they still display agg b = not the only explanation

Question 27

how does deindividuation lead to aggression

Answer 27

behaviour when deindividuated is emotional, impulsive and irrational - we lose self-awareness, stop monitoring and regulating our own behaviour

Question 27

deindividuation

Answer 27

originated by LeBon - a psychological state where a person loses their sense of personal identity and takes on the identity of a social group

Question 28

anonymity

Answer 28

a major condition of deindividuation - Dixon and Mahendran said 'anonymity shapes crowd behaviour'

Question 29

the role of self-awareness

Answer 29

Dunn and Rogers say deindividuation leads to agg not directly bc of anonymity but as a consequnce of anonymity

Question 30

private self-awareness

Answer 30

concerns how we pay attention to our own feelings and behaviour - reduced when we are in a crowd

Question 31

public self-awarness

Answer 31

how much we care ab what other ppl think of our behaviour - also reduced when in a crowd

Question 32

research into deindividuation

Answer 32

Dodd's psychology student study

Question 33

Dodd's psychology student study

Answer 33

asked students what they would do if they could do anything humanly possible w/o any consequences - answers were anonymous - 36% involved ant-social behaviour - 26% were actual criminal acts - only 9% were prosocial behaviours like helping ppl - 3 independent raters who didn't know the hypothesis decided which category each answer went into

Question 34

what did Dodd's study find

Answer 34

a clear link between anonymity, deindividuation and aggression

Question 35

supporting evaluation for deindividuation

Answer 35

research support - Douglas and McGarty looked at agg online b in chatrooms and the use of instant messages - found strong correlation between anonymity and threatening/ hostile messages - the most agg sent by those who hid their real identity

Question 36

opposing evaluation for deindividuation

Answer 36

1. disagreeing research 2. deindividuation doesn't always = agg

Question 37

disagreeing research

Answer 37

deviance in the dark, Gergen et al - ppts in groups of 8, in completely dark rooms for an hour - told they could do whatever they want and they would be impossibel to identify after - ppl started kissing and touching intimately - repeated but told they would meet the group members after the hour - kissing and touching reduced - of all the behaviours deindividuation would have resulted in, agg just wasn't one of them

Question 38

deindividuation doesn't always = agg

Answer 38

Johnson and Downing - female ppts, dressed as KKK or nurses, control in own clothing - KKK were significantly more agg and delivered higher-intensity shocks to conf than nurses - nurses were also more compassionate towards victims - prosocial behaviour is also an outcome of deindividuation