Aggression unit 3

Aggression unit 3

1. Social learning theory

   • learning through direct experience- Aggressive behaviour is learnt through operant conditioning
     • vicarious learning- Aggressive behavior is imitated from role model
     • Bandura et al- Bobo doll experiment- 1)3 groups of 22 school children, 2) all the groups watched a film in which an adult modle kicked and expressed verbal aggression towards a toy, 3)- Group 1 observed no punishment or reward for adult, group 2 observed adult being rewarded, Group 3 observed punishment for adult, 4) Children were left to play with the Bobo Doll
       • Findings- Group 1&2 were more likely to hit the doll but froup 2 was the most aggressive and group 3 the least

2. Deindividualistation

   • A process where by people lose their sense of socialised individual identity and engage in unsocialised, often anti behaviour
   • Individuated behaviour- we are rational and conforming when on our own or with others aware of who we are.
   • Deindividuated behaviour- individuals became deindividualised when they gain anonymity, loss of self awareness
   • Zimbardo, stanford prision: the anonumity of the guard made it easier for guards to treat prisons badly
   • Mullen: analysed 60 lynchings and found the greater the size of the mob the greater the deindividuation thus more violent
   • Watson: found that 12/13 tribes that aggressively killed opposition changed their apperance, but 7/10 less brutal tibes didnt change apperance thus less violent

3. Institutional aggression

   • Imporation model: inmates bring their aggressive views into the prision
     • Imprtation = Dispositional: Behaviour caused by internal characteristics
     • Poole & Regoli: A prisinors level of violence before entry to the prison is the best way to predict how violent they will be regardless of what institution they go to
     • Horer and Steffensmeier: black inmates had higher levels of aggression, reflection racial differences in society
     • Allender and Marcell: found gang membership prior to presion meant inmate was more aggresive than those with no gang relations.
     • limitation: Mcorkle- the importation model fails to offer a solution to institutional aggression
   • Depravation model: characteristics of the prison lead to the aggression
     • Sykes: 1) liberty, 2) security, 3) goods and services, 4) Autonomy and hetrosexual relation. the absense of these lead to aggression
     • situational: the situation causes aggression
     • initiation rituals: McCorkle- dominace of strong over weak is essential in maintaining status.

4. Biological explanations for aggression

   • Neural- Neurotransmitters: chemicals that enable impulses within the brain to be transmitted from one area to another
     • Serotonin: low levels of serotonin leads to increased aggression, impulsitvity and suicidal tendancy
       • Mann et all: gave 35 ppt dexfenfluramine (depletes serotonin levels). using a questionnaire to asses hostility -> treatment in males was shown to incresas levels of hostility
     • Dopamine: high levels have been associated with increased aggression.
       • Lavin: increase in Dopamine via use of amphetamines showed signs of increased aggression
       • Buitelaar: Antipsychotics, which reduce levels of dopamine showed reduced levels of aggression.
   • Hormons: chemical messengers which are triggered by certain stimule
     • Testosterone: high levels of testosterone stimulate aggressive behaviour due to its reaction on areas of the brain involved in controlling aggression
       • Olweus et al: found that adolecents with naturally high levels of testosterone responded more aggressively to challenges from teachers and peers.
         • Mazur: suggest that aggression is a form of dominace behavior not intent to inflict injury thus we are are more concerned with status.
         • Bain et al: found no real difference between testosterone levels of prisoners charged with volient crimes and those charged with non violent crimes
     • Cortisol: low levels of cortisol increase the likelihood of aggressive behaviour as high levels of Cortisol inhibit testosterone levels, thus inhibiting aggressive behaviour.
       • McBrunetl et al: found boys with lower levels of cortisol exhibited 3x the number of aggressive symptoms compared with boys of higher cortisol levels.

5. Genetic Factors of Aggression

   • Enzyme Monoamine oxidas (MAOA): regulates the metabolism of serotonin. - low levels of MAOA => low levels of serotonin . -> The MAOA-L variant has be associated with decreased volume and activity of the Anterior Cingulate correx (regulates aggressive behaviour)
     • Burnner et al: looked a dutch family and found that the male members were increasingly aggressive and had commited serious crimes. Found that the all had low levels of MAOA
       • Caspi et al: After looking at 500 children found that those with low levels of MAOA and had been maltreated as a child grew up to be anti. and those with high levels of MAOA and had ben maltreated as a child along with those who had low levels of MAOA and had not been maltreated as children were not anti. => link between enviroment and genes.
     • The implecations of this are that we could use GE to prevent this. - DETERMANISTIC, REDUCTIONIST
   • Twin & adoption studies
     • MIles and Cary: meta-analysis of 24 adoption studies. found that as the child grew the environmental influence on aggression decreased and genetic increased.
       • Mason and Frick: looked at 12 twin studies (3795 twins) and found 50% of the difference between anti-social and non-anti-social behaviour was due to genetic factors
       • Coccaro et al: 182MZ/118DZ found that genes accounted for; 40% of individual differences in overall aggression, 50% physical aggression and 70% in verbal aggression.
       • Hutchings and Mednick: 14000 adoption cases, found a link between convictions of the biological father and the adopted son.

6. Group desplays of Aggression

   • Evolutionary explanations of aggression.
     • innate desires: - to protect our self - to protect our offspring - to pass on our genes
     • CRED violence (CRedibility Enhancing Displays of violence)
       • 1) if one has proven his loyalty to the group then inturn the group will protect them and their offspring
       • 2) prevents free-riders: people that will not take advantage of the groups resources.
       • 3) the group is altruistic (unselfish) thus more chances of survival as everyone is commited
       • Sosis et al: -> religious groups are more likely to impose CRED violence than secular groups. -> the groups life span is positively correlated definition with the levels of CRED violence. => looked at 60 geographically dispursed communities and found that levels of CRED violence would increase and if there was an external threat they displayed permanent displays of CRED.
   • Aggression in sport
     • sports involve displays of skills and strength, this is attractive to females who will select the winning males for reproductive succes on the bases of their display of genetic fitness.
     • Xenophobia: in sports it is fear or hatred of the opposition team
       • Podaline & Balesti: found that xenophobic responses are evidant in sporting events. From the end of the 80's xenophobic organisations such as the north league of Italy had led to a growth in exterm right wing movement with racist chants,
       • Blalock: the power threat hypothesis
     • MacDonald: suggest that from an evolutionary perspective it is adaptive to exaggerate the negative qualities of outsiders.
     • Shaw & Wang argue that mechanisms that promote suspicions towards strangers would have been favoured by natural selection.