Aggression

Aggression

1. what is it?

   • Social Learning Theory
     • seeing how other people behave and copying it.
       • one implication is that punishment can have the opposite effect of what is intended. parents are role models so if a child is hit, they will learn to hit others by experiencing this. the parent is unintentionally teaching aggressive behaviour.
     • for children there are lots of new situations for them to look for guidance and copy - imitation
       • furthermore, people monitor their own behaviour as being appropriate or not.
         • if we feel good about what we have done, it will strengthen it; if we feel good about aggressiveness, we will do it again
     • this stresses the importance of vicarious learning (learning by observation
       • e.g young children swearing. also, children are more ikely to imitate role models if they are similar - same age/sex/attractive/caring/powerful. if a child sees someone being reinfrced for being aggressive, it creates the epectation that they will be reinforced for being aggressive also. it is this expectation that motivates their behaviour. e.g. a film where the hero hits the villain ths defeating him. a child may learn that hitting is a successful way of geeting what you want - aggressive behaviour learnt.
   • Psychodynamic Explanation
     • FREUD
     • he suggested we have an unconscious drive that causes aggressive behaviour just like the unconscious drive that leads to sexual behaviour.
       • aggressive behaviour is caused by an internal force/instinc called Thantos which drives us towards self-destruction
         • all the time, it builds up creating pressure until we can't control it and it makes us do something aggressive
           • everyone has this instinc towards self destruction and we try to protect ourselves by sing the ego-defence mechanism, redirecting our aggression outwardly. rather than harming OURSELVES, we will either harm others (DISPLACEMENT) or redirect our energy into something safe (SUBLIMATION)
             • David et Al argued that it had to be triggered he proposed the frustration aggression explanation
   • Biological Explanation
     • due to hormones: males are generally more aggressive than females so hormones are thought to be responsible.
       • men have more testosterone than women
         • supported as violent criminals have higher levels of testosterone than non-violen criminals.
     • chromosomal abnormality is a dfference between violent and non vioken offendors.
       • men with an extra Y chromosome - occurs in a higher than normal proportion
         • When the sex chromosome fails to divide, men have an extra Y, having certain affects as well as making men more aggressive than normal
     • limbic system
       • this part of the brain influences: eating, seual behaviour and aggression.
         • the part of the brain that controls these and stops aggression is the prefrontal cortex.
           • brain disease affecting the limbic system or the prefrontal cortex may lead to abnormally high levels of aggression e.g. Charles Whitman shot 12 and a post mortem scan revealed a tumor in the limbic system (part that causes aggression)

2. reducing aggression

   • Biological methods
     • use of drugs - ADHD attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. if a drug can control ADHD, it is possible to reduce aggression. the drug Ritalin stimulates activity in the brain and reduces aggressive behaviour caused by ADHD - when prefrontal cortex is stimulated, aggressive instincts can be controlled caused by the limbic system
       • side effects
     • Psychosurgery: deals with brain disease by either renoving or destroying the part of the brain that isn't functioning properly - may be done by inserting a probe to a very precise location and heating up end to kill the nerves. because research shows the limbic system is responsible for aggression, part of it is destroyed. it is a very rare procedure as it is a last resort and brain tissue can't grow back and if there is an accident, consequences are permenant.
   • Psychodynamic methods
     • Freud suggested 2 ways of dealing with aggressive instincts.
       • redirect them into other safe activities using ego defence mechanisms such as displacement snad sublimation - martial arts
       • release them through catharis. playrights in ancient greece included plays with murders and unpleasant things. if people watched this on stage, it would get it out of their system and be less likely to commit murder themselves. Freud agreed because it fitted with his idea of aggression being caused by a build up of instincts. in the modern world, Freud would suggest it is good to watch violence as it is cathartic; gets aggressive instincts out of our system
       • release aggressive instincts by finding a safe activity for ourselves that requires a certain amount of energy - sublimation. if we put energy into a safe activity (sport) it will reduce build up of aggressive instincts making it less likely that we will suddenly have an aggressive outburst for no apparent reason
     • the frustration aggression theory is the best way to reduce aggression - avoid situations that cause frustration. this may be hard as we are often not in control of what causes us to be frustrated - football.. however, the theory suggests that since it is frustration that causes an outburst, avoiding it is most effective way of avoiding aggression
   • social learning methods.
     • as it stresses the influence of role models, it seems obvious to reduce aggression by observing non aggressive role models.
       • or it may be sufficient to see a role model being ounished for being aggressive
     • the am was to see if observing a role model being punished would reduce the chance of aggression being copied. the method used was that children were shown an adult role model either being punished or reinforced for acting aggressively. the results were that those children who saw the model being punished were less aggressive themselves than those who saw the model being reinforced. they concluded that if children see that aggression brings punishment, they will not copy it.
       • evaluation. it seems reasonable bur it was also found that when the children themselves received reinforcement for being aggressive, they all copied the aggression that they had seen earlier. this suggest that children know some behaviour is wrong but copy it anyway thinking they wont be punished,

3. development of Aggression

   • Biological
     • tests had been carried out on by injecting pregnant rhesus monkeys with testosterone to see how the offspring would be aggressive.. later on, as science progressed, brain scans could be used to compare the difference of the brains between murderers and non-murderers.
     • the aim was to see the effect of hormones on aggressive behaviour. the method used was that p. rhemus monkeys were injected with testosterone and they observed levels of aggression in their offspring as they matured. the results were that high levels of testosterone during pregnancy made the females grow up to behave like male monkeys, engaging in rough and tumble play and challenged males for dominance in their troop. their conclusion was that testosterone does seem to play a vital part in aggressive behaiviour
       • done on monkeys so it can't be applied to humans
   • Social Learning Theory
     • aim was to find if three to six year old children would imitate the aggressive behaviour they see role models performing towards an inflatable bobo doll. the method was that researchers divided 96 children into 4 groups. three of them were shown someone throwing kicking and punching the doll. their own behaviour was observed. the results were that those who witnessed the aggressive behaviour showed more aggression that the children who had seen none. they concluded that children will copy how others behave
       • lab - lacks ecological validity - not reflecting on what may happen in the real world.
       • there is contradictory evidence
       • witnessing aggression may not have an impact if the parents are there to explain why such behaviour is wrong - parents have great infuence
   • Psychodynamic
     • The frustration aggression theory was investigated by Barker.
       • Study:This was to see the effect of frustration on aggressive behaviour. The method used was that children were kept waiting a long time before being allowed to play in a room of attractive toys, their behaviour was observed and the results were that the children were more aggressive and destructive than other children who had not been frustrated by being kept waiting. Their conclusion was that frustration does lead to an increase in aggression.
         • it is difficult to standardise frustration. what is frustrating to one may not be for another