explanations of aggression

explanations of aggression

1. biological/ physiological

   • Ethology
     • evolutionary
     • instinct
       • drive/motivation
     • common to a species
       • Nisbett: Southern states
     • adaptive- survival of a gene pool
     • extrapolation
     • dominance hierarchies, ritualistic aggression, new territories
       • Petitt- Play groups
         • not apply to adults due to more developed PFC
         • socially sensitive
     • sign stimulus
       • innate releasing mechanisim
         • neural network- linked to PFC and amygdala
           • fixed action pattern
             • 1. Stereotyped unchanged sequence 2. universal within a species 3. unaffected by learning 4. same sequence until completed 5. only happen in a specific situation 6. response to specific stimulus
             • Timbergen: Sticklebacks
             • Sackett Monkeys in isolation
             • reductionist- ignores cognition and social norms and personal values
             • But genetics in aggression MAOAL
               • 1 in three men have it not all display it
     • Individual differences vs stickleback
       • 0.3 homicide rate in Iceland per 100k 100 in every 100k murdered in Hondurus
   • biological
     • PFC + Amygdala lack of neuronal connections
       • culture: ! Kung San Kalahari learn to control agression
     • Bottom up Top Down
     • orbitofrontal cortex
     • thalmus
     • low serotonin, high dopamine
     • cortisol, testosterone
     • warrior gene, MAOAL
   • evolutionary
     • innate
     • adaptive
     • evolutionary modules
       • schemas
         • effect our perception
         • expectation
         • behaviour
       • formed in the environment of evolutionary adaptiveness
     • aggression- naturally and sexually selective (survival of the sexiest)
     • determined by ultimate causes not proximate causes

2. Psychological

   • frustration agression
     • Id- aggression Ego Super Ego
       • thanatos- death instinct
         • catharsis- displacement
     • goal--> reinforcement is blocked
       • leads to frustration which leads to aggression
         • anger
         • self preservation
         • protecting others
         • pleasure
     • beckowitz- frustration is neither necessary nor suffciciant for aggression
       • berkowitz- frustration+ aggressive cues= aggression
     • any negative affect will give rise to aggression
   • Social learning theory
     • observational learning and vicarious reinforcement
       • spontanious learning+ mediating cognitive factors+ Perform action or not
         • Paying attention
         • recording aggression
         • reproducing the aggression
           • self efficacy
         • motivation to be aggressive
     • reciprocial determanism
     • representations and expectations
   • deindividuation
     • 1. Lose our sense of identity 2. We lose our sense of responsibility 3. We have a greater disregard for norms and even laws 4. Responsibility is shared by the crowd and therefore we have less personal guilt at aggression to others.
     • Mullen- Lynching
   • institutional aggression
     • situational aggression
       • deprivation
         • Sykes
     • importation model- Irwin, aggression occurs because characteristics that prisoners bring import to the prison
     • dispositional explanation, emphasis on the cause being a persons personality or dispositon
     • cheeseman- men in prison have a certain way of behvaing
   • cultural difference
     • Aronson- central africa low aggression co-oporation must be due to learning
     • Mead- opposite forms of aggression in gender
   • media influences
     • desenitisation
       • repeated exposure reduced negative attiitude- Funk
     • disinhibition
       • normal social constraints- weakened by environmental triggers
         • Berkowitz- people shocked for longer after watching aggressive films
     • cognitive priming
       • repeated exposure can provide new scripts for violent situations
         • huesmann- stored in memory auto primed
     • computer games

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