AQA Psychology - Aggression (imported)

what is aggression?

All aggression is behaviour intended to harm another person. It can be physical or verbal, proactive or reactive. This can be proactive (planned and cold-blooded) or reactiv

What are neural mechanisms in aggression?

Anything related to neurotransmitters and neural structures linked to aggression

Neural mechanisms in aggression

- serotonin - neurochemistry

- limbic system - neuroanatomy

Limbic system

Large set of neural structures processes emotional responses

The most important structure in the limbic system associated with aggression is the amygdala.

role of amygdala

responsible for quickly evaluating the emotional importance of sensory formation and prompting an appropriate response, including aggression.

Orbital frontal cortex

Outer skin layer of the brain that regulates the emotional responses driven by the amygdala.

what happens if the amygdala malfunctions?

If the amygdala malfunctions in any way due to a tumour, damage or atypical development, aggressive behaviour may be more likely.

Evaluation of role of amygdala - Gospic et al (2010)

Gospic et al (2010) conducted a laboratory study in which participants had their brains scanned by fMRI whilst they played a game whereby they could accept or reject an offer of money given to them. The brain scans showed heightened activity in the Amygdala when the participants rejected offers of money because they felt it was unfair (an aggressive reaction to social provocation). This is strong evidence of a link between reactive aggression and amygdala activity.

Evaluation of limbic system

However, the amygdala does not operate in isolation. The orbitofrontal cortex (not part of the limbic system) regulates the emotional responses driven by the amygdala and damage to the orbitofrontal cortex results in impulsivity and loss of control. This suggests the limbic system is not the only area of the brain involved in aggression. This can be supported by Raine et al (1997) who investigated brain activity in 41 murderers using PET scans, and as well as abnormal amygdala activity, found reduced glucose metabolism in the orbitofrontal cortex, suggesting this brain area is less active than in normal controls.

Role of serotonin in aggression

Neurotransmitter that regulates mood, sleep, eating and cognitive functions

Normal levels of serotonin - linked with aggression

Normal levels of serotonin are associated with greater behavioural control as it typically inhibits the firing of the amygdala.

normal levels of serotonin in the OFC are linked with reduced firing of neurons and this is associated with a greater degree of behavioural self control.

Therefore low levels are associated with low behavioural control, impulsivity and aggression.

Evaluation of role of serotonin in aggression - Passamonti

manipulated the tryptophan (a protein needed to make serotonin) level in healthy participants' diets. The participants had fMRI scans to measure their reaction to pictures of angry, sad or neutral expressions. On low serotonin days communication between the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system was weaker. So, when serotonin levels are low, it is more difficult for the prefrontal cortex to control emotions generated by limbic structures.

Evaluation of the role of serotonin in aggression - Practical applications

Diets to raise serotonin levels, such as tryptophan, could be given to juvenile delinquents and unpredictable institutionalised patients in order to help calm their aggressive impulses. However, this may have ethical implications in terms of whether we should modify people's behaviours in this way.

Higher levels of serotonin influence on aggression - evaluation

This suggests that the role of serotonin in aggression is complicated. It may suggest that a mixture of neural and/or hormonal influences are involved. In a comprehensive meta-analysis of studies into serotonin and aggression, Dukes et al (2013) found the relationship, although significant, to be very small (-.12). They proposed that serotonin accounts for about 1% variance in aggression.

Hormonal mechanism in aggression

- Testosterone

what is testosterone?

Testosterone is a an androgen (a male sex hormone) secreted by the testes in males and to a lesser degree, the ovaries in females. Males have about 8 times more testosterone than females.

Testosterones link to aggression

.Typically, the higher the levels of testosterone, the higher the level of aggression.

Males of a species are typically more aggressive than females

Evaluation of testosterone's role in aggression - Dabbs (1987)

measured testosterone in the saliva of 692 adult male prisoners and found higher levels in violent offenders than in non-violent offenders, suggesting that aggression is increased when testosterone is high. Dabbs also found a similar effect in women prisoners. Testosterone was higher in those that that had committed an unprovoked act of violence compared to those whose violence had been an act of self defence. However, this evidence is correlational.

Evaluation of testosterone's role in aggression - Carre's (2011)

dual-hormone hypothesis claims that high levels of testosterone lead to aggressive behaviour only when levels of cortisol are low. When cortisol is high, testosterone's influence on aggression is blocked. This suggests that the link between testosterone and aggression is more complex than some studies have suggested.

Genetic factors in aggression

- MAOA gene

what does genetic theory propose about aggression?

Genetic theory proposes that genes are the cause of aggressive behaviour

How has aggression been passed down through generations?

through genetic transmission, aggression can be passed from one generation to the next. Social psychological explanations are played down as influences of aggression.

MAOA gene link with aggression

Recent research has focused on the gene responsible for regulating the enzyme MAOA. This enzyme breaks down the neurotransmitters serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine, removing excess amounts and allowing neurons to communicate more effectively.

The link between mood and these neurochemicals is well established and a build-up may cause people to respond excessively and aggressively to stressful situations. If there is a dysfunction in the MAOA gene then the enzyme doesn't regulate the levels of serotonin properly resulting in aggressive behaviour.

What are the different forms of MAOA gene

- Low activity version (L)

- high activity version (H)

Research suggests that it is the MAOA-L gene which predisposes a person to violence.

Evaluation of MAOA genes - link to aggression - Brunner

Supporting evidence comes from Brunner (1993) who investigated the case of a Dutch family whose male members had been particularly aggressive over many generations. Males in this family were found to have a rare mutated version of the MAOA gene. This led researchers to investigate the 2 normal variants.

Evaluation of MAOA genes - link to aggression - Caspi (2002)

studied 500 male children and looked at their anti-social behaviour when they grew up. He found support for the role of the MAOA -L variant in aggression, but only if they had been maltreated as children. This suggests that aggression is only likely to occur if a person has the MAOA gene and the right environmental factors are present. This suggests an interactionist approach should be used when explaining aggression.

What does the ethological explanation suggest about aggression

The ethological explanation believes that animals are born with an innate releasing mechanism (IRM) that when triggered by sign stimuli causes a series of fixed action patterns.

what are Innate releasing mechanisms?

Built in structures in the brain that respond to specific stimuli

what are Fixed action patterns?

sequence of stereotyped pre-programmed behaviours

examples of FAP

eg. exposing teeth or claws or puffing out.

function of FAP

designed to deter another male from entering an animals territory and potentially taking away access to females which would prevent genes being passed on.

Lorenz's perspective on FAP's

Lorenz believed that these behaviours are not designed to entice actual physical fights and harm. Instead animals will show appeasement displays whereby they will signal to the other animal that they surrender

Ethological explanations of aggression - evaluation - Tinbergen

Tinbergen's research with sticklebacks demonstrated the idea of an innate releasing mechanism, fixed action pattern and sign stimuli. During mating season, when male sticklebacks are presented with an object that is partially red, they will attack it, regardless of whether it is fish-shaped or not. This supports the idea that animals are innately programmed to respond aggressively in certain environmental conditions.

Ethological explanations of aggression evaluation - Lehrman

Lehrman argues that fixed action patterns are not completely innate. Learning and experience interact with genetic factors in complex ways. In addition, it is wrong to assume that action patterns are 'fixed' since subtle variations have been observed within members of the same species

Ethological explanations of aggression evaluation - Goodall

A major problem for the ethological theory is that killing members of own species is not as rare as Lorenz suggested. For example, Goodall found that male chimpanzees worked together to slaughter another group of male chimpanzees even though appeasement displays were shown, which suggests that aggression is not always adaptive, contradicting the ethological explanation. This contradictory evidence could be due to the fact that the explanation is based on lower order species such as birds and fish and does not relate to higher order species, like chimpanzees, suggesting the explanation may be invalid.

what does the evolutionary explanation of human aggression suggest

present day behaviours came about because they were adaptive for our remote human ancestors because they gave them the advantage of surviving, reproducing and passing on their genes.

acts of aggressions that are seen as evolutionary

- sexual competition

- sexual jealousy

how is sexual competiton seen as evolutionary?

Ancestral males seeking access to females would have had to compete with other males (ie sexual competition). One way of eliminating the competition would have been through aggression. More aggressive individuals would be more successful in gaining mates and therefore more successful in passing on genes.

how is sexual jealousy seen as evolutionary?

The need to find and retain a mate is the root of much male aggressive behaviour. Female infidelity needed to be deterred at all costs as it may result in her leaving for a new partner or bearing the child of another man. Therefore sexual jealousy is an adaptive response which has led to a number of mate-retention strategies such as threats and guarding.

why are females less aggressive?

because her survival is crucial for survival of her offspring.

Evolutionary explanations for aggression - evaluation - Daly and Wilson (1988)

claim that men have evolved different strategies to deter their partners from acts of infidelity. These range from direct guarding, spying, vigilance, threats and violence, but all are fuelled by male sexual jealousy. They found sexual jealousy was the underlying factor in 58 out of 214 cases of murder.

Evolutionary explanations for aggression - evaluation - female jealousy

Studies of women who have been beaten by their male partners has shown that in the majority of cases the women cite extreme jealousy on the part of their husbands or boyfriends as the key cause of aggression. (Dobash 1984). This supports the evolutionary idea of sexual jealousy.

Evolutionary explanations for aggression - evaluation - determinist view

A criticism of the evolutionary explanation could be that this is a determinist view. This would be the view that sexual jealousy is determined by inherited genetic factors over which we have no control. However, both nature and nurture could be involved. It is likely that genes predispose males to sexual jealousy but other factors such as the culture in which we live, childhood experiences, etc influence how this manifests itself. It is hard to assess the extent to which free will influences violence associated with sexual jealousy, and there is the danger that lack of free will can be used to justify crimes against women.

Frustration aggression hypothesis

This explanation suggests that all aggression was a result of frustration and the greater the frustration the greater the aggressive response

Hypothesis was proposed by Dollard

When does frustration occur?

when we are prevented from doing something we really want or need to do.

Frustration increases when our motivation to achieve a goal is very strong, when we expect to get what we want or when there is nothing we can do about

catharsis - frustration aggression hypothesis

Acting aggressively allows a person to release their emotions, providing a cathartic effect and reduction in aggression.

Displacement - frustration aggression hypothesis

Aggression is usually taken out on the source of the frustration, but may be displaced onto a more available source if source is not available

e.g. A man's boss has asked him to stay another hour when he is close to finishing. He can't take out his frustration on his boss so he might go home and take it out on his family.

FAH - evaluations - Geen

There are numerous laboratory studies that support the FAH. For example, Geen (1968) found that when participants were deliberately frustrated by a confederate while trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle, they gave stronger shocks to him when he failed a task compared to a non-frustrated control group.

FAH - evaluations - real world application

The frustration-aggression hypothesis has real world applications in sport: Priks (2010) found that football supporters were more likely to throw missiles on to the pitch and fight with opposition supporters when they were frustrated by a poor performance from their team. This suggests that fans become more aggressive when expectations of good performance were frustrated which supports the FAH.

FAH - evaluations - concept of catharsis

A major weakness of the FAH is that the concept of catharsis has little research support. The frustration-aggression hypothesis (Dollard 1939) predicts aggression leads to catharsis and a reduction in aggression. However, Bushman (2002) found participants who repeatedly hit a punch bag became more angry and aggressive. In fact, doing nothing was more effective at reducing aggression. This goes against the frustration-aggression hypothesis

SLT in aggression

Suggests that we learn to be aggressive by observing others in a social context.

Children watch parents, peers or powerful role models acting aggressively and then may imitate this, depending on the mediational processes they go through.

(attention, retention, reproduction and motivation)

mediational processes - SLT agression

attention - if we saw a friend punch another child

retention - remembered what they did and how they did it

reproduction - If we then feel capable of reproducing that aggressive behaviour

motivation - we are motivated to imitate i

going through these stages make it more likely to imitate the behaviour.

what makes a person more likely to imitate aggression

- if it is someone who we identify with

- if we see the models being rewarded for the aggression we are more likely to imitate behaviour (vicarious reinforcement)

-if the aggressive behaviour is punished then the observer won't imitate it. This is known as vicarious punishment.

evaluation of SLT as an explanation or aggression - Bandura Bobo doll

Bandura found that 3-6 year olds who had been exposed to a role model behaving aggressively to a bobo doll were far more aggressive towards the doll than children who had not observed the aggressive model. This study supports SLT as many of the children who observed aggressive behaviour showed imitation when in similar circumstances. Bandura also showed that children exposed to the aggressive model were more likely to imitate the behaviour if they had seen it rewarded rather than punished. This supports the principle of vicarious reinforcement.

evaluation of SLT as an explanation of aggression - nurture

SLT supports nurture in that it believes aggression is a product of learning and the environment. Therefore it ignores the role of biological factors for which there is much evidence. In reality it is more likely that our biology creates the potential for aggression, but that the expression of aggression is learned. (An interactionist approach.)

De-individuation

De-individuation occurs when a person is in a crowd or large group. Zimbardo believed that being in a large group gives people 'a cloak of anonymity' that diminishes any personal consequences for their actions.

factors that contribute to a state of deindividuation

- anonymity (uniforms)

- altered consciousness die

evaluation of de-individuation for aggression - Zimbardo

Zimbardo (1969) used groups of 4 female undergraduates as participants. They were asked to give another student electric shocks "to aid learning". There were 2 conditions. Participants in the deindividuated condition wore bulky lab coats, were addressed as a group when given instructions and were not introduced to each other, whereas those in the individuated condition wore normal clothing, were given instructions individually and were introduced to each other by name. The deindividuated participants shocked the learner for twice as long as those in the individuated condition, thereby supporting deindividuation theory of aggression.

evaluation of de-individuation for aggression - Johnson and Downing

In a similar experiment Johnson & Downing (1979) dressed participants in a mask & overall (reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan) or as hospital nurses. Participants in a mask and overall gave higher shocks than a control group, but participants in nurses uniforms gave lower shocks. This suggests deindividuation is a possible cause of aggression, but that other factors like the social role we are playing may affect how aggressive we become.

evaluation of de-individuation for aggression - Watson

Watson (1973) carried out a cross cultural study of the extent to which warriors in 23 societies changed their appearance in conflict situations. He found warriors who changed their appearance through war paint & tribal costumes were more aggressive than those who didn't, supporting deindividuation theory.

The importation model - dispositional explanation for aggression

This suggests that prisoners are not 'blank slates' when they enter prison and therefore many of the norms they developed on the outside are 'imported' into the prison.

These previous behaviours may be gang membership, low self-control, impulsivity, anger and anti-social personality style.

Therefore the importation model argues that aggression is not a product of the prison, but of the prisoners themselves.

Evaluation of importation model - Harer & Steffensmeirer

There is evidence to support the importation model. For example, Harer & Steffensmeirer (2006) analysed data from 58 US prisons, including importation variables such as criminal history. They also looked at situational variables such as staff to prisoner levels and security levels. They found that only the importation variables were significant predictors of prison violence. Similar support comes from Poole & Regoli (1983) who found for juvenile delinquents the best predictor of inmate aggression was pre-institutional violence, therefore adding further support to the importation model.

Evaluation of importation model - prison environment

However, the importation model ignores the role of the prison environment as a factor in aggression (The deprivation model). It is likely that both situational and dispositional factors contribute to the high level of aggression in prisons.

Evaluation of importation model - androcentrism

Much of the research into prison aggression focusses on male inmates, so it may be androcentric. The importation model may not therefore, be a valid explanation of institutional aggression in female prisons.

The deprivation model - a situational explanation

Prisoner aggression is a product of the stressful and oppressive conditions of the institution itself. Deprivation associated with prison include loss of freedom, loss of heterosexual relationships, boredom, lack of security (fear of assault) and over-crowding

Suggests deprivation model claims situational aggression is a result of the prison environment

Evaluations of the deprivation model - McCorkle (1995)

There is substantial evidence to support the claim that peer violence is used to relieve the deprivation experienced in prisons. McCorkle (1995) looked at 371 state prisons in the US and found that factors such as overcrowding, lack of meaningful activity and lack of privacy significantly influenced inmate assaults on both other inmates and staff. This supports the deprivation model.

Evaluations of deprivation model - Harer and Steffensmeier

Harer and Steffensmeier (1996) collected data from more than 24, 000 inmates from 58 US prisons and found that age and criminal history were the main predictors of prison violence. This suggests the importation model provides a stronger explanation of institutional aggression than the deprivation model.

Conclusion: deprivation/ importation model

Evidence for whether the deprivation or importation model is the most likely explanation for institutional aggression is difficult to establish as research appears to be contradictory. This may suggest that an interactionist explanation is the most likely and best stance to take as it seems more likely that institutional aggression may be a combination of both dispositional and situational factors.

media influences on aggression

Media influences are changes in behaviour that are attributed to exposure to media such as TV or computer games.

explanations for media influences of aggression

- desensitisation

- disinhibition

- cognitive priming

desensitisation as explanation for media influences of aggression

When children frequently view aggression/play violent computer games, they become immune to its effects.

The violence has a diminishing impact leading to less arousal and anxiety. This impact is also psychological - negative attitudes towards violence weaken, less empathy is felt for victims and injuries are minimised or dismissed.

Evaluation of desensitisation as explanation for media influences of aggression - Bushman

There is research support from Bushman (2009), who found that P's took longer to help someone injured in a fight after 20 min of playing a violent video game, in comparison to P's playing non-violent games. This suggests a reduction in empathy.

Evaluation of desensitisation as explanation for media influences of aggression - CarnageEvaluation of desensitisation as explanation for media influences of aggression - Carnagey et aly et al

Carnagey et al (2007) demonstrated a physiological desensitisation after playing a 20 minute violent computer game. When shown a 10 minute film clip of real life violence, participants had lower heart rates and skin conductance response compared to a control group who played a 20 minute non-violent game.

disinhibition as explanation for media influences of aggression

According to Berkowitz (1962), people are naturally aggressive. Impulses to behave aggressively, however, are mostly held in check. There are powerful social and psychological inhibitions against using aggression that we learn through socialisation. We are taught that aggression is wrong, but repeated exposure to aggression in the media leads to new social norms where aggression appears to be socially sanctioned. Exposure during video games legitimises this aggression and the use of violence in the real world.

Evaluation of disinhibition as explanation for media influences of aggression - Berkowitch

Berkowitch found that P's who saw a film showing aggression as vengeance gave more (fake) electric shocks of longer duration to a confederate. Media violence may disinhibit aggression if it's presented as justifiable, as in the case of vengeance.

cognitive priming as explanation for media influences of aggression

This refers to the activation of existing aggressive thoughts and feelings, and explains why children observe one kind of aggression on television and commit another kind of aggressive act afterwards.

Immediately after a violent programme, the viewer is primed to respond aggressively because a network of memories involving aggression is retrieved.

Evaluation of cognitive priming as an explanation for media influences - Anderson and DIill

Anderson and Dill (2000) found that individuals who played violent computer games had more cognitively accessible aggressive thoughts than individuals who played non-violent computer games. They concluded that a single incident of violent game play had primed aggressive thought in these participants.