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AGGRESSION - Coggle Diagram
AGGRESSION
GENETIC
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- Lack internal validity (twins raised the same)
- Androcentric research
ADOPTION STUDIES
Meta analysis of aggression and anti-social behaviour found genetics accounted fro 40% variance in aggression
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MAOA GENE
MAOA enzyme soaks up excess neurotransmitters
Low variant linked to aggression
- MAOA-L in 56% of maori men, 34% of caucasioans
- 28 men of a violent Dutch family had MAOA-L
- Research support - Maori men or Dutch family
- Opposite also evident MAOA-H causes low aggression
- Reductionist
- No responsibility for Aggressive behaviour
- Conflicting evidence (low serotonin causes aggression), but MAOA-L causes disruption to serotonin (not low
GENE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION
(diathesis-stress)
MAOA-L gene only activated when the person had an early life trauma (without trauma they had less aggression)
MEDIA - NOT TV
DESENSITISATION
Reduction in physiological responses
Aggressive media promotes the belief that aggression is acceotable
Lab study showed that Straw Dogs watchers (rape scene), ppts then watched a trial, male viewers were more likely to to find the perpetrator innocent
COGNITIVE PRIMING
Provides a script for how an aggressive situation will play out
Primed to be aggressive
Song lyrics, men listened to derogatory lyrics about women - they were then more aggressive toward women
Research support
Ppts who were typical viewesrs of aggressive media had less physiological reaction to aggressive films
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NEURAL AND HORMONAL
NEURAL
THE LIMBIC SYSTEM
Hypothalamus, amygdala and hippocampus
Responsiveness of the amygdala linked to aggression - key factor in predicting aggressive behaviour
Gospic et al
fMRI showed heightened repsonse of amygdala
Benzodiazepine (reduces ANS) led to decrease in amygdala and halved the levels of aggression
SEROTONIN AND ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX
Serotonin in OFC link to reduced neurone firing which leads to higher behavioural control
Serotonin
Comparison of serotonin break down product (5-HIAA) in violent vs non-violent ppts
Lower levels in violent ppts
- Contributions to research
- Biological basis of treatment
- Reductionism - biological but also, OFC is not in limbic system but they're both complicit
- Correlation is not causation
HORMONAL
TESTOSTERONE
Androgen responsible for development of masculine features
Men are most aggressive after age 20, when testosterone is at its highest
Castration of animals shown to reduce aggression - giving testosterone injections brings back aggressive behaviour
PROGESTERONE
During menstrual cycle, progesterone is lowest during and after menstruation - negative correlation between progesterone and self-reported aggression
Low progesterone causes aggression
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- Can lead to dangerous stereotypes of women
- Animal research lacks generalisability
- Ethics of animal studies
- Can lead to reduced responsibility for aggressive behaviour
- Reductionist
EVOLUTIONARY
NATURAL SELECTION
SEXUAL JEALOUSY
Paternity uncertainty
Cuckoldry
Investment into offspring that do not continue gene pool
Anti-cuckoldry behaviours MATE RETENTION STRATEGIES
- Direct guarding - vigilance over behaviour
- Negative indugements - threats
Women who reported mate retenition strategies more liili to have suffered physical violence
INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
Men's self report of their own MRS correlated with women's reports of violence
BULLYING
Adaptive strategy to increase survival
MALE BULLYING
Bullying behaviours are attractive for women, so they would be naturally selected
FEMALE BULLYING
to control partner and increase fidelity
- Real world application - Anti-bullying strategies based on bullying being adaptive eg increase punishment
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- Research support
Cross cultural questionnaire found men more jealous if partner had sex with someone else, but women more if emotional connection
Men jealousy because parental uncertainty but women jealous because of loss of valuable resources
- Deterministic - gives excuse, aggression is inevitable and ancestors
INSTITUTIONS
DISPOSITIONAL EXPLANATION
Importation Model
Subculture of criminality
Individual temperament (nature) and social environment (nurture)
Individuals import characteristics (childhood trauma, anger, drug issues) into prisons
Determinist - prisoners aggressive because of negative dispositions they import
Ignored key factors - how the prison is run and poor management
Research support - Half placed in low security and other in high security, no difference in aggressive behaviour
SITUATIONAL EXPLANATIONAL
Deprivation Model
Harsh conditions mean they resort to aggressive behaviour - deprivation of intimacy and goods/services
Inmate-on-inmate violence more common in prisons with overcrowding
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FRUSTRATION AGGRESSION
ORIGINAL HYPOTHESIS
Frustration always leads to aggression, aggression is always caused by frustration
Blocked by goals
Aggression is catharsis
Not always expressed at thing causing frustration:
Cause may be abstract, risk punishment, cause is unavailable
Aggression is displaced
WEAPON EFFECT
Presence of aggressive cues makes acting on frustration more likely
Lab study, ppts given shocks (create frustration), number of shocks given back were more likely when guns on table
JIGSAW EXPERIMENT For some, impossible, for some ran out of time because others interfered, others a confederate insulted ppts - the when given opportunity to electric shock, they did more than control group
Catharsis - may not be cathartic because aggression continues with punching bag
Aggression can be caused not by frustration
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ETHOLOGICAL
Aggression is innate
Aggression is adaptive:
- Survival
- Dominance Hierarchy
Ritualistic aggression
Lorenz saw little physical harm in animal studies -intra-species aggression will end with ritualistic appeasement displays eg bowing head
INNATE RELEASING MECHANISM Biological process which is activated by an external stimulus, which triggers an FAP
FIXED ACTION PATTERN
Sequence of stereotyped behaviours triggered by an IRM
- Stereotyped
- universal
- Unaffected by learning
- Ballistic
- Single-purpose
- Response to a releaser
TINBERGEN
Red belly of sticklebacks during mating season
Sign stimulus of IRM is red belly
Wooden sticklebacks - regardless of shape
Once triggered, the FAP always continued
Animal studies - not generalisable to humans Findings that in honour based societies, there is more aggression - is affected by learning
Humans can judge when aggression is necessary - affected by learning
MEDIA INFLUENCES
EXCESSIVE TV VIEWING
Any excessive TV viewing causes aggression - lower social interactions dn educational experiences VIOLENT FILM CONTENT
Bandura's study done on film COMPUTER GAMES
- Player takes an active role
Game playing is rewarding for player (positive reinforcement)
Ppts gave a blast of white noise (at their own volume) to non-existent ppt - those who had more hours on computer games were more aggressive
- Real World Application - awareness
- Findings can be explained by SLT
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SLT
Bandura's study
Vicarious reinforcement Cognitive conditions:
- Attention
- Retention
- Reproduction
- Motivation
Self-efficacy - belief that our actions will achieve desired outcome
- Individual differences
- Reductionist (no biological)
- Allows for cognitive factors
- Real World Application - to reduce aggression provide rewarding models
Understanding fo the influence of media
DEINDIVIDUATION
CROWD BEHAVIOUR Lose restraint and have freedom to behave in non-sociable ways, disregard laws and rules and experience less guilt
Zimbardo - individuated people are rational and normative, deindividuated people are emotional, impulsive, irrational and anti-normative
Anonymity shapes crowd behaviour
REDUCED SELF AWARENESS
Private self awareness - own feelings and behaviour
Public self-awareness - care about what others think
Dodd
'If you could do anything what would it be?'
35% antisocial behaviour
9% pro-social behaviours
Real world application - use of police at football stadiums
Explains crowd behaviour - suicidal jumpers
Explains online behaviour
Other suggest its not anti-normative, its conforming to norms of the group