Social Psych theories of Aggression

-subject learns agg beh by observing others' agg beh- eg a parent/peer they can IDENTIFY with. 

-Gabriel farde- our susceptibility to mimicing beh of others depends on: their status, their degree of contact + degree of understanding of the subject. 

-Subs beh becomes influenced by observing the consequences of the agg beh, ie if they are likely to be rewarded (vicarious reinforcement)

Bandura-become aware of consequences by having mental representation of social environment - if expected rewards for doing beh outweigh the poss punishment, they are more likely to repeat the beh- direct reinforcement

Self efficacy exp- higher confidence in self competence if agg beh works out well for them 

Bandura et al: ind groups design- children observe agg beh and non-agg beh from adults towards a bobo doll and then their own beh towards the doll is observed. Findings =children mimic the beh of the adult they observed on the bobo doll --> supports notion that agg can be mimicked via SLT.
->low int validity- findings biased by demand characteristics, children may have insinuated that they had to mimic adults beh
->low ext. val- mundane realism- in that exhibiting agg to a doll who was supposed to bounce straight back up is a poor representation of agg IRL 
-->Bandura+Walters- vicarious learning of the consequences of the beh played a big part in the mimicking of agg beh- supports self-efficacy exp, in that child is directly reinforced by the consequences too. 
-->low eco. val- only looks at the short term consequences of agg beh in the bobo doll- doesnt look at the long term consequences- would the same results still be retained months later? 

IDA: cultural bias - all exp's conducted in the USA - imposed etic of western culture- would similar results be retained in collectivist cultures eg in Japan?
Reductionist- doesnt take into account the influence of genetics- studies have shown heredity does play a role in expression of violent crime. 

The loss of one's sense of individuality or personal identity leading to reduced inhibitions about using violence 

Le Bon's Crowd Theory: the subject is anonymous and a part of the contagion of the collective mind. 3 Factors: anonymity, suggestibility (easily influenced)+contagion (easily spread) , make up the collective mind.

-The nature of deindividuation-decreased concern about the evaluation of their beh by others=lowered self-evalutation + increase in antisocial beh which is normally prohibited by social norms 

Factors that contribute- uniforms- you can hide behind the anonymity and status of a uniform..drugs+alcohol- after u lose sense of conciousness, one loses sense of responsibility +becomes part of the group identity - larger the crowd, greater the anonymity +therefore more deindividuation

Reduced private self-awareness- Prentice-dunn: reduced PSA is KEY to deind- if indi has self focus -beh reflects moral attitudes; when  part of group, u lose self focus - less PSA. 

Zimabrdo: Ps who were deindividuated prison guards (ie dark glasses) in a set-up prison would exhibit more agg beh towards the 'inmates' - supporting of notion that deindivduation leads to agg beh. Ps college undergrads who hadnt engaged in any explicitally violent beh before- so personality shouldnt be biasing findings (supportive).

-Demand characteristics- given prison officer outfits, felt it was expected of them to behave in a certain manner. 

-however unethical- risk of physcial and psychological harm (which was actually demonstrated by the p's). 

Spears- meta analyiss of 60 studies, disinhibition + antisocial beh not more common in large groups/anonymous settings - not supportive of deindividuation. 
-> meta analysis- low int vall, 60 studies- large sample- high ext val. 

Mullen content analysis- 60 lynchings - larger group= more savage attacks - lacks historic and external val- only looks at attacks in the us only during one specific period. 

Gergen - 12 Ps, dark room, equal no's of men and women- after 60 mins men sexually aroused not agg! small sample size- low pop val. 

The findings as far as group size is concerned is MIXED . (CONTINUATION) 

Gender bias: male + females are different - males are more agg when deindividuated - Cannavale et al - we shuold find out the degree to which women are less deindivduated - or the difference between the two. 

Cultural info- robert Watson- warriors who wore outfits more destructive - supportive of deind - they have uniforms- hide behind status 

Real world- Mann- in 10 cases of baiting there was a large crowd- this could mean more deind in these situations - but secondary info and so lacks int validity. 

deterministic- suggests that when we are deind we are automiatically agg- no free will?  many ppl would object- runs contrary to the notion that non-violent ppl maintain their stance in violent situaitons!