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social psychological explanations of human aggression - Coggle Diagram
social psychological explanations of human aggression
frustration agression hypothesis
suggested by Dollard et al.
all agression is the result of frustration
frustration is any event or stimulus that prevents an individual from attaining some goal and its accompanying reinforcing quality
leads to the arousal of an aggressive drive, which then leads to aggressive behaviour
aggressive urges can be relieved through the production of aggressive behaviour which has a cathartic effect on the individual
catharsis= process of releasing and thereby providing relief from strong, repressed emotions
Frustration increases when our motivation to achieve a goal is very strong, when we expect gratification, and when there is nothing we can do about it
hypothesis recognises that aggression not always expressed directly against the source of frustration as the cause may be too powerful and we risk punishment by aggressing against it or because the source is unavailable at the time. Therefore, aggression often displaced onto an alternative object/person and end up shouting or slamming the door.
drive to goal
obstacle to goal
frustration
anger
agression
catharsis
evaluation
supporting evidence- Green, male ptpts completed jigsaw. 3 frustration conditions: impossible to solve; ran out of time due to student interfering; confederate insulted ptpt while they failed to solve it. found those in group 3 gave highest shock followed by interfering group. all gave higher shocks than control group. demonstrates link between frustration and aggressive behaviour
social learning theory
suggested by Bandura
aggressive behaviour learned through direct experience (child is aggressive and as a result gets something they want)
agressive behaviour is learned through vicarious reinforcement (child watches another person being reinforced for a behaviour)
meditational processes
learning of behaviour
attention
retention
performance of behaviour
motor reproduction
motivation
models
likely to be imitated if powerful and similar to child. bandora believed family members main source of behaviour modelling
self efficacy
Aggression more likely to be imitated if the person believes they are capable and in possession of necessary skills and strength. explains why aggression most likely to be shown where the individual believes it will be successful.
bobo doll study
children who observed the model being rewarded were more aggressive than the children who observed the model being punished.
evaluation
limitation- makes little reference to biological factors on learning. consistent finding was boys more aggressive than girls regardless of condition- may be explained using hormonal factors such as difference in testosterone levels. limits SLT's application
strength- can explain inconsistencies in individuals use of agressive behaviour. people may be aggressive in a situation which increases their status but not in a situation which has negative implications.supports the predictions of SLT because the expectation of consequences in each situation determines the likelihood of aggression being used.
deindividuation
zimbardo
suggests that deindividuation happens because being in a large group/crowd provides a degree of anonymity, which allows us to avoid responsibility for our aggressive actions.
Gustav Le Bon
crowd theory
individual transformed when part of a crowd. claimed that in a crowd, the combination of anonymity, suggestibility and contagion mean that a ‘collective mind’ takes possession of the individual
individual loses self-control and becomes capable of acting in a way that goes against personal or social norms, meaning they are more likely to be aggressive
Normal constraints on behaviour are weakened when a person loses their sense of individuality. This is because the person feels less likely to be evaluated as an individual
contributing factors
under influence of drugs/alcohol
darkness
wearing a uniform
sensory overload
wearing a mask/disguise
anonymity
being in large crowd of people
Prentice-Dunn and Rogers
suggest not really anonymity that causes people to engage in antisocial behaviours when in a group.
argue someone who is anonymous to others may still be self-focussed and self-aware so that they can still act according to their internal attitudes and moral standards
suggest when individuals become submerged within a group, may lose their self-focus and become less self-aware, so that their internal attitudes and standards no longer have an influence on their behaviour due to a reduction in private self awareness
evaluation
limitation- is examples where crowds are not aggressive eg. cinemas or peaceful protests
strength- supporting evidence from Mann. analysed 21 suicides. in 10/21 suicides where crowd had gathered to watch, taunting had occurred. these 10 incidents happened at night with the crowd being some distance from the jumper. this deindividuated individual members of the crowd and adds to the validity of the explanation