Aggression

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Social Learning Theory
Direct Reinforcement - Child performs behaviour, and repeats if rewarded. Vicarous Reinforcement - Child sees another person being rewarded for a behaviour, likely to imitate it themselves.
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Bandura et al (1961)
Child observed aggressive non-aggressive model, if they watched the aggressive model, the child would act aggressively to the Bobo doll.
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Bandura and Walters (1963)
Motivation to aggress, child watched the adult get punished or rewarded for aggressive behaviour. If rewarded, child more likely to produce aggressive behaviour
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Noble et al (1975)
There was demand characteristics with Bandura's study, as children may have been aware that they had to hit the doll. One child reportedly said 'that's the doll we have to hit'.
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Phillips (1986)
Daily homiide rates in the US almost always increased in the week following a major boxing match. Suggests that viewers were imitating behaviour they watched (SLT in adults)
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Issues, Debates, Arguments (IDA)
Reductionist - reduces a complex behaviour to one factor (vicarous or direct reinforcement). Deterministic - suggests that everyone who sees aggressive behaviour will learn it. Behavioural Approach - important factors are not considered.
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Deindividuation
Based on Le Bon's crowd theory. Individual becomes anonymous, loses self-control and becomes capable of going against personal/social norms.
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Zimbardo (1969)
Half of the participants wore bulky lab coats and hoods, others had large name tag and introduced to 'learner'. Those who were deindividuated shocked the 'learner' twice as long.
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Mullen (1986)
Analysed lynchings in the US, found that the more people in the mob, the greater the savagery of which they killed the victim.
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Mann (1981)
Analysed 21 suicide leaps in US, found that in 10/21 cases, a crowd had gathered and urged the potential suicider to jump. Most cases at night, with a large crowd and the jumper was high up)
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Postmes and Spears (1998)
Meta-analysis of 60 studies, suggests that there is insufficient support for deindividuation. Disinhibition and antisocial behaviour are not more common in large groups and anonymous settings.
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Spivey and Prentice-Dunn (1990)
Deindiviuation could lead to prosocial or antisocial behaviour depending on the situaional factors.
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Issues, Debates & Arguments (IDA)
Ethical Issues - socially sensitive research, Gender Difference - increase in aggression only found in all-male groups, Real World - baiting crowds (Mann)
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Institutional Aggression
May occur within groups or institutions , such as the armed forces, prisons or mental institutions.
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Irwin and Cressey (Importation Model) (1962)
Prisoners bring their own history/traits into prison, this influences their adaption to the prison. Aggression is then brought in/imported in.
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Hodgkinson et al (Deprivation Model) (1985)
Trainee nurses are more likely to suffer violent assault than experienced nurses, and in the prison setting, length of service was a significant factor, more experienced officers less likely to suffer an assault.
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Harer and Steffenmeiser (2006)
Collected data from 58 US prisons, black inmates had higher rates of violent behaviour, but lower rates of alcohol/drug misconduct than white inmates.
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McCorkle et al (1995)
Overcrowding, lack of privacy and lack of meaningful activity all influence peer violence.
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Nijman et al (1999)
Increased personal space failed to decrease the level of violent incidents among patients.
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Issues, Debates & Arguments (IDA)
Sample Bias - Mostly prison inmates, not generalisable, Dispositional Hypothesis - person's characteristics determine their behaviour, Environmental Factors - prison based studies.
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Neural and Hormonal Mechanisms in Aggression
Biological Explanation, assumes that aggression is within the biological make-up of the individual rather than the environment around them.
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Mann et al (1990)
35 participants took drug which depletes serotonin, used a questionnaire to assess hostility and aggression levels, only males appear more aggressive/hostile.
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Raleigh et al (1991)
Monkeys ate a diet that was high in serotonin, showing a decrease in levels of aggression. Those fed on a diet with low serotoninshowed increased aggressive behaviour.
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Dabbs et al (1987)
Measured testosterone through saliva in non-violent and violent criminals. Highest levels of testosterone found in violent criminals.
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Albert et al (1993)
Despite many studies show a positive correlation between aggression and testosterone, other studies find no relationship. If there is a positive correlation, usuall a small sample of men within prison, using self-report methods or severity of crime.
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Archer et al (2005)
Association between aggression and testosterone is higher in female rather than male samples.
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Issues, Debates & Arguments (IDA)
Biological Approach - ignores important factors (environment/evolutionary), Sample Bias - predominantly men, Gender Bias - Male and testosterone (Archer).
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Genetic Factors in Aggression
Biological Explanation - Aggression is down to genetic/hormones, looks at twin studies.
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Hutchings and Mednick (1975)
Looked at 14,000 adoptions in Denmark, found that significant number of adopted boys with criminal convictions had biological parents (fathers) with criminal convictions.
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Miles and Carey (1997)
Meta-analysis of 24 twin and adoption studies, most studies relied on self-report, results showed strong genetic influence that could account for 50% of variance in aggression.
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Coccaro et al (1997)
Adult twins pairs found that nearly 50% of the variance in direct aggressive behaviour (i.e. aggression towards others) could be attributed to genetic factors.
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Rhee and Waldman (2002)
Looked at 51 twin and adoption studies, then concluded that aggressive antisocial behaviour was largely a product of genetic contributions.
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Plomin et al (1981)
Found no difference in correlations between monozygotic and dizygotic twins, suggesting that individual differences in aggression were a result of environmental factors.
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Issues, Debates and Arguments (IDA)
Sampling - many studies based upon individuals convicted of violent crime, Individual differences - may play an important role upon the gene (age, gender, etc), Reductionist - reduces a complex behaviour to one gene.
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Evolutionary explanations of Human Aggression
Based upon sexual jealousy, causing violence in interpersonal relationships. Looks at the differences between male and female reactions.
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Shackleford et al (2005)
Men and women from the US, used a survey method to see mate retention strategies. Men use negative inducements and direct guarding were more violent in relationships, women confirmed this trend.
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Buss and Shackleford (1997)
Men who suspected their wives to be unfaithful over the next year exacted greater punishment for a known or suspected infidelity than men who did not anticipate future infidelities.
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Daly and Wilson (1988)
Death of a partner from physical violence may be an unintended outcome of an evolutionary adaption that was designed for control rather than death.
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Case Study (Thailand, 2002)
A male was given a 2 year suspended prison sentence after killing his wife due to sexual jealousy. This outraged women's groups within Thailand.
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Duntley and Buss (2005)
Evolved homicide module theory - By killing his wife, a male prevents a competitor from gaining a reproductive partner (a double loss if the female is fertile).
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Issues, Debates & Arguments (IDA)
Free Will VS Determinism - how much choice does an individual have? Gender Bias - studies mainly focus on males (female tactics?) Cultural Bias - look at people in the US and case study is Thailand Reductionism - evolutionary adapatations (complex)
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Group Display as an Adaptive Response
This area focusses on the relationship between group membership and displays of aggression.
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Myrdal (1944)
Cause of lynchings in the US was fear of the *****, leading to white mobs using 'lynch law' as a form of social control. Of 4742 lynchings, 3/4 of the victims were black.
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Blalock's Power-Threat Hypothesis (1967)
Groups that pose a threat to the majority are more likely to be discriminated against and subject to violent action.
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Clark (2006)
Contradicted the claim that the threat of 'dangerous classes' in society was a causal factor in lynchings. In San Paulo, Brazil, the percentage of Afro-Brazillians in the community was negatively correlated with incidents of lynch-mob violence.
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Zahavi and Zahavi (1997)
Religious rituals such as self flagellation serve as deterrents for those who don't believe in the teachings of a particular group but wants to take advantage of its benefits.
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Chen (2003)
As the crisis worsened, Muslim Indonesian families devoted a greater proportion of their financial resources to religious observance. This shows that religious institutions provide social insurance, minimising risk by supporting the needy.
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Issues, Debates and Arguments (IDA)
Evolutionary Approach - an adaptive response to promote survival, Ethical Issues - sensitive research due to racial discrimination, Reductionist - reduces a complex behaviour to an adaptive response, Cultural bias - lynchings in US, differing events?
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Child observed aggressive non-aggressive model, if they watched the aggressive model, the child would act aggressively to the Bobo doll.

Back

Bandura et al (1961)

Card 3

Front

Motivation to aggress, child watched the adult get punished or rewarded for aggressive behaviour. If rewarded, child more likely to produce aggressive behaviour

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

There was demand characteristics with Bandura's study, as children may have been aware that they had to hit the doll. One child reportedly said 'that's the doll we have to hit'.

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

Daily homiide rates in the US almost always increased in the week following a major boxing match. Suggests that viewers were imitating behaviour they watched (SLT in adults)

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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