Aggression

Aggression

Social Learning Theory
1. According to Berkwitz and Bandura, aggressive behaviour in non-human animals can be explained in terms of instinctual drives, however, aggression in humans is the product of learning
  1. They claim that this behaviour is either learned via direct experience or observation
    1. Learning by direct experience is derived from Skinner's principles of operant reinforcement.
    2. Learning by observation is vicarious reinforcement.
2. The main study related to the SLT of aggression is Bandura's (1963) Bobo doll experiment. 66 nursery children were put into three groups. All three groups watched a video of an adult hitting Bobo doll. Condition 1- saw the adult model being rewarded by a second adult. Condition 2- children saw adult model being told off by second adult. Condition 3- the adult model was neither rewarded or punished
  1. The children were then allowed to play in the room with Bobo doll. The results showed that children in condition 1 behaved most aggressively whereas children in condition 2 behaved least aggressively.
  2. From this experiment, Bandura was able to construct a model of the way children process behaviour: Children observe aggressive behaviour --> The model is rewarded for aggressive behaviour --> Other adults show approval of model's aggressive behaviour --> Other children imitate the behaviour of the model.
3. SLT leads us to consider the various ways in which children my be exposed to aggressive behaviour. The main way is Television. Huesmann (1988) suggests that children may use TV models as a sourse of scripts that can act as a guide for their own behaviour. These scripts are stored in memory, strengthened through repetition and rehearsal.
  1. This appears to be influenced by several factors which Manstead et al (1995) constructed suggesting that aggressive behaviour is more likely to occur: If the observed violence is thought to be real behaviour; If viewers can empathise with the aggressor in some way; If aggression is motivated by desire or revenge; If aggressive behaviour is justified
Defining aggression
1. Anti-social aggression- defined by Penrod (1983) as 'all behaviour that is intended to inflict psysical or psychological harm on another individual who does not want to be so treated
2. Pro-social aggression- when an aggressive act is carried out for the greater good of the people e.g. a policeman shooting a terrorist
3. Sanctioned aggression- when an aggressive act is taken in self defence.
Biological explanation for aggression
1. Higher levels of male hormone Testosterone is said to be linked to aggressive behaviour. In addition, Premenstrual syndrome for women has also been associated with aggression as Flanagan (2000) found that women in criminal trials suffered from this
2. In humans, evidence for genetic link to aggression come with twin studies and adoption studies.
3. A twin study into aggression conducted by Christiansen (1977): a concordance analysis of 3586 pairs of twins born between 1881 and 1910 in a region of Denmark were used. From this sample, 926 individuals were registered by the police for criminal activity. MZ and DZ twins were compared.
  1. Male MZ twins showed 35% concordance for criminality, compared to the 12% concordance shown between DZ twins. However, due to the fact that for MZ twins the concordance rate was not 100% despite sharing genes, it suggests that it is not down to genetics. There may have been environmental factors.
4. An adoption study into aggression was constructed by Mednick et al (1984). They to did a concordance analysis of 14,427 Danish adoptees. Rates of concordance for criminality between the adoptees and adopted and biological parents.
  1. Results showed that 13.5% of adoptees with parents (adopt and biological) without criminal conviction had criminal conviction themselves, compared to 14.7% of adoptees with at least one criminal convicted biological parent. However, if the adoptee had one criminal convicted adoptive parent and one criminal convicted biological parent, the rate went up to 24.5%
5. Areas of the Brain have been linked to aggression which include the Temporal lobe and the limbic system. One part of the Limbic system is the Amygdala, has been found to have a strong connection to aggression. Animal studies have shown that an electrical stimulation of different parts of the amygdala can either cause or reduce aggression. There is some evidence that the amygdala has a link in human aggression too. Charles Whitman, a sniper who killed 14 innocent people and wounded 31 others asked to have his brain destroyed after death. An autopsy revealed that he had a temporal lobe tumour, pressing on his amygdala.
Deindividuation
1. Hogg and Vaughan (1998) define deindividuation as: 'a process whereby people lose their sense of socialized individual identity and engage in un-socialized, often anti-social behaviour.
2. According to Zimbardo, being part of a crowd can diminish awareness of individuality. In a large crowd, each person is faceless and anonymous. There is diminished fear of retribution and a diluted sense of guilt. The larger the group, the greater the anonymity and a greater difficulty in identifying a single individual.
3. The concept of deindividuation can also be applied to the victim of aggression.
  1. Milgram (1965) found that participants were more likely to administer higher levels of shock when they could not see the victim. When the victim was in the room, the participants were more reluctant to give the higher shocks to someone they could seee (or could see them)
Environmental factors
1. Temperature
2. Noise
3. Crowding
Evolutionary Explanations of aggression
1. Group Displays of aggression
  1. Group behaviour can be an adaptive advantage for individuals within a group, explaining why they are more common in social situations.
  2. Xenophobia is the hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers. Within sports crowds where natural selection prefers genes that cause human beings to be altruistic towards members of their own group, yet intolerant of outsiders as the over-estimating of the treat is less costly than under-estimating it.
    1. Foldesi (1996) suggests that there is a link between sports displays and xenophobia. He discovered that racist chants and banners from extreamist supporters among Hungarian football crowds, led to an increase in spectator violence in general. However, it was particularly aimed at gypsies and Jews who did not meet social norms.
2. Jealousy is aggression to deter a partner's infidelity.
  1. A survey by Kinsey (1948), 50% of married men and 26% of married women reported having had sex with somebody else while married. Infidelity can be seen as an evolutionary adaptive strategy
  2. Indications that a partner is being unfaithful often lead to jealous rage. Jealousy has been explained as a product of evolution, although this response is triggered differently in each sex
Institutional aggression
1. The Importation model by Irwin and Cressey implies that inmates in prison import their social histories and traits into prison with them. This in turn influences their adaptation to their new environment, suggesting that prisoners more aggressive outside the prison are likely to be more aggressive inside.
2. The Deprivation model suggests that aggression in prisons and other institutions is the result of stressful and oppressive conditions inside the institution itself. It may be argued that the aggression is stemmed from deprivation of liberty, lack of goods, deprived of heterosexual relationships and absence of ample security.

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