AGGRESSION
Bandera and
Walters believed that aggression could not be explained using traditional
learning theory.
SLT
suggests we learn by observing others. Our biological makeup creates potential
for aggression, the actual expression of aggression is learned.
Observation = learn aggressive
responses through observation. We watch behaviours of our role models then
imitate this behaviour. Whereas skinners operant conditioning claims that
children take place through direct reinforcement.
A01
·
Mental representation =
Bandura claimed that in order for social learning to take place a child must
form a mental representation of events in social situations. A child must
represent the rewards and punishments for aggressive behaviour in terms of
expectancies of future outcomes. Appropriate behaviours arise as the child
displays learned behaviours.
Production of behaviour=
·
Maintenance through direct experience if a child is rewarded
for a behaviour they are likely to repeat it. A child who has a history of
successfully bullying other children will come to attach value to aggression.
·
Self efficiency expectancies In addition to forming
expectancies of the likely outcomes of aggression, children develop confidence
in their ability to carry out aggressive actions. If the behaviour has been bad
in the past they have less confidence to use aggression.
DEINDIVIDUATION (when you lose your identity as part of a crowd)
Deindividuation is a combination of
anonymity, suggestibility and contagion. The theory was based on Gustave le
bon’s 1895 crowd theory. It explains how an individual can be transformed when
they were part of a crowd. The
combination of anonymity, suggestibility and contagion form a collective mind
that takes possession of the individual. The individual looses self control and
acts against social norms.
Deindividuation is a psychological state characterised by lower
self evaluation. It is aroused when a person joins a large group. If you are
part of a group you feel a sense of shared responsibility. If you have a mask
or are anonymous, you may not evaluate your actions as you know you won’t be
judged.
Institutional Aggression
Importation model
·
Interpersonal factors Irwin
and Cressey = prisoners bring their own personal social histories with them
into prison; this influences adaption to prison environments. Prisoners are not blank slates. Many of the
normative systems developed would be imported with them into prison.
·
Gang membership = gang
membership is related to violence members of street gangs offend at higher
levels
·
Situational Factors =deprivation model this model argues that prisoner or patent aggression is the
product of stressful or oppressive conditions. This could be overcrowding and
how it increases fear and frustration.
·
Pains of imprisonment Skyes
described deprivations that imitate experience within prison which could be
linked to an increase in violence. These included loss of liberty, loss of
autonomy, and loss of security.
The importation model argues that the
reason why aggression exists is because people bring past aggression with them
into prison. Irwin and Cressy = prisoners do not enter as blank slates.
The deprivation model argues prison
aggression is the result of oppressive and stressful conditions inside such as
overcrowding. The loss of freedom and lack of opportunity leads to aggression
and frustration.
Institutional aggression: Genocide
Institution may refer to a whole section of
society defined by ethnicity, religion etc
Violence may occur when institution
relationships with another is characterised by hatred and hostility.
Dehumanisation = may make humans feel
worthless and not worthy of moral consideration
Obedience
to authority = milgram believed holocaust was a result of situational
pressures that faced Nazi soldiers to obey their leaders
5key stages:
·
Difficult social situations leading to
·
Scape-goating (someone who takes blame) less
powerful groups
·
Dehumanisation of less powerful groups
·
Moral values and rules incapable to less
powerful groups = this is where killing begins
·
If others are passive in this violence the
process is enhanced
Neutral and hormonal mechanisms in aggression
Neurotransmitters = chemicals in the brain which transmit
messages
Serotonin = reduces aggression as
you are less reactive to emotional stimuli. Low levels of serotonin associated
with increased impulsive behaviour, aggression and violent suicide.
Mann et al used questionnaires and found that
serotonin reducing drugs increased hostility and aggression in males but not in
females.
Dopamine
The link between dopamine and aggression is less
well established than the link between serotonin and aggression.
A01
Lavine said that giving amphetamines which increase
dopamine increases aggression. Buitelaar said that giving antipsychotics which
reduce dopamine reduced aggressive behaviour in violent delinquents
A02
Raleigh – velvet monkeys. Individuals with a diet that increased
serotonin exhibited decreased aggression and vice versa. This suggests the
difference in aggression could be linked to serotonin
Coupis and Kennedy – dopamine link may be a
consequence not a cause of aggression. In mice dopamine is a positive reinforce
in response to aggressive events. This suggests individuals will seek out
aggressive situations because they are rewarded for them.
Hormonal Mechanisms
Testosterone
is thought to influence aggression from early adulthood due to its action on
the brain areas which control aggression.
Dabbs et
al = measured salivary testosterone levels. Those with high levels had a
history of violent crime. Measure 692 prisoners, higher levels in rapists and violent
offenders than in burglars.
Cortisol
mediates aggression related hormones such as testosterone. High levels of
cortisol inhibit testosterone, so low levels of cortisol are associated with
increased aggression.
Virkuunen
found low levels of cortisol in habitual violent offenders. Tennes and Kreye
found the same in violent school children.
A02
Mazur – need to distinguish between aggression and
dominance. Aggression is one form of dominant behaviour. In humans the
influence of testosterone on dominance is likely to be expressed in more subtle
ways than in non human animals where the influence of testosterone on dominant
behaviour may be shown through aggression.
Mc Burnett et al = longitudinal study on the effect
of cortisol on aggressive behaviour in boys with behavioural problems. Those
with low cortisol began antisocial acts at a lower age and exhibited three
times more aggressive symptoms than boys with high cortisol levels.
A02C
Gender bias – most research done on animals and
males however it is known that there is biological differences between men and
women
Deterministic – ignores human choice in how we
behave. Implies people are not personally responsible for their behaviour.
Genetic Factors in Aggression
Trying to
determine the role of genetic factors in aggression is a question of nature
nurture.
Monozygotic= identical twins share genes
Dizygotic = non identical twins share 50% of genes
Coccaro et al – tested adult twins nearly
50% of the variance in direct aggressive behaviour is down to the genetics
A02 – Miles
and Carey = Meta analysis 24 twin and adoption studies genetic influence
accounts for 50% of variance in aggressive antisocial behaviour
ROLE OF MAOA – no specific gene has been identified in human
aggression. The gene responsible for the production of MAOA which regulates the
metabolism of serotonin has been related to aggression. Low levels of serotonin
are linked to depression and aggressive behaviour.
Genetics and
violent crime – Brunner et al = studied dutch family many male members were
violent, aggressive and had been involved in crime. These men had low levels of
MAOA in their body.
Why is it difficult to
establish genetic contributions to aggressive behaviour?
·
More than one gene is usually responsible and contributes to the
behaviour
·
As well as genetic factors there are non genetic such an
environmental
·
These influences interact with each other – genetic factors may
affect which environmental factors have an influence ( gene environment
interaction)
Problems assessing aggression in terms of criminal inheritance:
Many
studies of aggression have relied on parental or self report; where as other
studies have used observational techniques
Ø Methodological limitations
Ø Inconclusive evidence
Using
non human animals is important as you can use experimental manipulation. This
could be selective breeding programs to eliminate a specific gene. Young et al
identified genetic mutation that causes violent behaviour in mice. A
counterpart does not exist in humans although its function is not known.
Evolutionary
explanations of aggression
Evolutionary psychologists argue that the different
reproductive challenges faced by our ancestors lead to sex differences.
Male sexual jealously as a result of suspected infidelity
is the cause of violence in interpersonal relationships.
In many cultures the murder of an adulterous wife is
encouraged.
A01
·
Daly
and Wilson
They claim that men have evolved
different strategies to deter female partners from having an affair. These
range from vigilance to violence and are all fuelled by jealously. This is an
adaption that has evolved to deal with uncertainty.
Unlike
women, men can never be 100% sure that they are the father of their children;
men are at risk of cuckoldry. The consequence of cuckoldry is that men might
unwillingly invest his resources into a child that is not his own.
Buss suggests male partners have
strategies that have evolved for the purpose of keeping a mate. These include
restricting their partner’s autonomy. ‘Direct guarding’ and negative
inducements in the form of violent threats to prevent them from straying.
Male sexual jealously is claimed to
be the biggest motivation for killings in domestic disputes in the US.
Another
problem linked to male violence is sexual infidelity. This could be the
voluntary sexual relations between someone married and someone who is not their
partner.
A consequence of men’s perceptions or
suspicions of their wives sexual infidelity is sexual correction or partner
rape.
A02
Uxoricide
= wife killing
Jealousy = early indication that man
could be violent = real world application to friends and family to alert them
of the danger signs
Shackelford et al = this study shows
clear relationship between sexual jealously, mate retention strategies by males
and violence towards women
Physiological basis for jealousy based
aggression = Takanshi et al
Group displays as an adaptive response
Social
psychological theories such as Deindividuation don’t tell the whole story about
aggression in groups. Aggressive group displays are a product of external
stimulus that triggers behaviour.
Sports
Wilson claims xenophobia is the fear and hatred of strangers
or foreigners. This has been documented in every group of criminal’s displayer
higher forms of social organisation.
Natural
selection has favoured those genes that caused altruistic behaviour to people
in our group but intolerant to outsiders.
Podalari
and Balestri = found evidence of xenophobic tendancies in analysis of Italian
football crowds
Territorialitly
– Threat display
Another explanation for the
evolution of group’s displays in sport is based on territoriality, the
protective response to an invasion of one’s territory. Territorial behaviour is common in animal
species which show threat to outsiders. This can be seen in football matches to
make the opponents feel intimidated. It is an adaptive as our ancestors would
have been protecting valuable resources.
Testosterone and territorial behaviour
Neave
and Wilson found that football teams playing at home were more likely to win
than visiting players. This could be evolved from defending home territory
which leads to aggressive responses. An increase in testosterone did not occur
before away games.
Evolutionary
explanation for war is that any behaviour are because of adaptive benefits for
the individual and their offspring.
Benefits
of aggressive displays = sexual selection
In
societies that experience frequent warfare, males are more likely to escape
infanticide than females because of their usefulness in the battle. Displays of
aggression and bravery are attractive to females.
Acquisition of the status within groups
= displays of aggression could lead to peers respecting them more and would
strengthen bond in group
Costly displays signal commitment – Anthropologists suggest one of the primary functions of
ritual displays is the promotion of group solidarity in terms of collective
action.
A02
+ Foldesi – provides evidence to support the link between
xenophobia and violent displays among Hungarian football crows = racist conduct
lead to an increase in violence
This could have a cultural bias as it was done in Hungary
Lewis et al = among football fans crowd support rated
most important factor contributing to home advantage
Research
has provided support for the importance of aggressive displays in determining
sexual attractiveness of male warriors. Palmer and Tilley found male youth
street gangs have more sexual partners than ordinary males.
War is not in the genes –
war emerged when moved from nomadic to settle lifestyle. People could no longer
walk away from their troubles as they were tied down to one single settlement.
