Aggression

PPT 12

name 4 person-centred determinants of aggression

• personality

• gender differences

• alcohol use

• disinhibition (deindividualisatioin/dehumanisation)

name 5 situation-centred determinants of aggression

• temperature

• crowding

• noise

• frustration

• weapons effect

• social disadvantage

• cultural influence

according to soreff, what is aggression?

any behaviour which involves attacking another person, animal, or object with the intent of harm

BIOLOGICAL THEORIES

who founded the psychodynamic theory?

freud

BIOLOGICAL THEORIES

what are the two instincts in the psychodynamic theory?

• life instinct (eros)

• death instinct (thanatos)

BIOLOGICAL THEORIES

what is thanatos responsible for in the psychodynamic theory?

aggressive urges and self-destruction

BIOLOGICAL THEORIES

what is eros responsible for in the psychodynamic theory?

creativity, growth, and self-preservation

BIOLOGICAL THEORIES

how does outward aggression arise in the psychodynamic theory?

when these instincts are imbalanced

what are the two biological theories of explanation for aggression?

• psychodynamic theory

• evolutionary social psychology

BIOLOGICAL THEORIES

how does the theory of evolutionary social psychology explain aggression?

aggression is innate to our survival and has been throughout evolution due to the struggle for existence. we have evolved it for mating rights, social and economic advantage, etc.

what are 3 limitations of biological theories for aggression?

• they do not take into account social factors

• purely theoretical- no empirical evidence

• does not explain aggression towards close family members

what are the four social theories for aggression?

• frustration-aggression hypothesis

• cathartic hypothesis

• cognitive neoassociationalist model

• excitation-transfer model

what are the two learning theories of aggression?

• operant conditioning

• social learning theory

SOCIAL THEORIES

what does the frustration-aggression hypothesis state?

aggression is always underpinned by some sort of frustrating event or situation

SOCIAL THEORIES

what is displacement in the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

when aggression cannot be appropriately expressed towards the cause of frustration, and therefore it is directed towards another, more accessible target

SOCIAL THEORIES

state 3 situations in which displacement may occur

if the source of frustration is

• an authority figure

• unavailable to the aggressor

• an indeterminate object

SOCIAL THEORIES

name 3 limitations of the frustration-aggression hypothesis

• empirical evidence provides mixed results

• it is difficult to measure frustration accurately

• has been criticised for being too simple

SOCIAL THEORIES

what does the cathartic hypothesis state?

aggression reduces pent-up feelings of anger and frustration, restoring emotional balance

SOCIAL THEORIES

how may catharsis be achieved within the cathartic hypothesis? (2)

• acting out aggression via direct action or displacement

• vicarious experience of aggression via book, movie, etc

SOCIAL THEORIES

what is the key study of the cathartic hypothesis?

bushman et al (1999)

SOCIAL THEORIES

describe bushman et al’s study of the cathartic hypothesis (1999)

students wrote an essay which was heavily criticised, and were then either allowed or not allowed to hit a punch bag for a certain amount of time. they were then allowed to punish the students who they believed to have graded their essay during a competitive reaction time task. students who had hit the punching bag were less aggressive towards other students than students who had not

SOCIAL THEORIES

what does the cognitive neoassociationalist model state?

underlying aggressive thoughts and feelings can be triggered by environmental cues such as disliked people, weapons, or aggression in media

SOCIAL THEORIES

what is the key study of the cognitive neoassociationalist model?

berkowitz and lapage (1967)

SOCIAL THEORIES

BERKOWITZ & LAPAGE (1967)

what was the aim of the study?

to investigate whether the likelihood of aggression was increased by the presence of aggression

SOCIAL THEORIES

BERKOWITZ & LAPAGE (1967)

describe the method

male college students were administered electric shocks from a confederate (the more shocks they received, the angrier they were). they were then given a chance to shock the confederate back, either in the presence or not in the presence of two guns

SOCIAL THEORIES

BERKOWITZ & LAPAGE (1967)

what were the results

participants in high-anger conditions administered more shocks in the presence of a weapon.

participants in low anger conditions experienced little change

SOCIAL THEORIES

what are the three stages of the excitation-transfer model?

1. arousal occurs (EXCITATION)

2. arousal is interpreted as AGGRESSION

3. this may either be carried out or transferred into another situation (RESIDUAL arousal)

SOCIAL THEORIES

who created the excitation-transfer model and when?

zilmann, 1979-88

LEARNING THEORIES

who founded the theory of operant conditioning?

skinner (1953)

LEARNING THEORIES

describe skinner’s (1953) theory of operant conditioning

we learn whether or not to be aggressive through reward and punishment. for example, if we are not punished for hitting other children as a child, we are more likely to be aggressive in future

LEARNING THEORIES

what is the key study in social learning theory?

bandura (1977)

LEARNING THEORIES

describe social learning theory

social learning theory acknowledges operant conditioning through direct experience, and also states that behaviour can be learned through vicarious experience

LEARNING THEORIES

describe bandura’s (1977) study of aggression

4-5 year old either played with a doll of their own accord or played with the doll after watching an adult play with it aggressively through video or live experience. children who watched the adults play live were the most aggressive, closely followed by the video condition- both of which were far more aggressive than the control