Social psychological explanations for aggression

Social psychological explanations for aggression

1. Social learning theory

   • Bandura's Bobo doll study
     • No ecological validity
     • High experimental realism
   • Supporting evidence given from:
     • Huesmann
       • Vicarious learning and the media
     • Phillp
       • Proof of vicarious learning in adults
     • Differences within and between cultures
       • Within: Wolf Gang and Ferracuti's cultre of violence
       • Selective reinforcement and context-dependent learning
   • Cultural evidence
     • Mead
       • The Arapesh (non aggressive)
       • The !Kung San (aggression is rare)
       • Mundungor (violent culture)
   • Nature verses nurture
     • Over simplistic
     • Ignores biological explanations
     • Emphasis on nurture

2. Deindividuation

   • Gustav Le Bon: The classic crowd theory
     • Anonymity
     • Contagion
     • Suggestibility
   • Supporting evidence
     • Zimbardo
       • Stanford prison experiment
         • Lacking it ecological validity
         • High experimental realism
         • Ethical issues
         • Temporal validity
         • Real world applications
       • Electric shocks as an aid to leading
     • Johnson and downing
   • Watson: Cultural relativism