Aggression
Any forms of behaviour directed towards the goal of harming or injuring another living being
who is motivated to such treatment (Baron and Richardson, 1993)
Two different views of aggression
A “natural behaviour” which has its basis in the animal world à understanding
aggression may help understand evolution
A “social problem” à may help reduce level of violence in humans
Aggression in the animal world
Aggressive behaviour can be found in most species
Major components of animal behaviour are..
FIXED ACTION PATTERN: innate behaviour, a triggered response to complex stimuli
(releaser). After the stimulation, it does not require any more stimuli for the
continuation of the event.
INNATE RELEASING MECHANISM (IRM): which links sensory system to motor system
so that releaser activates the FAP
1) To describe and evaluate Konrad Lorenz’s hydraulic model of aggression
Konrad book: "the subject of this book is aggression, that is to say the fighting instinct in
beast and man which is directed against members of the same species."
Aggression is INNATE, an inherited fighting instinct in animals as well as humans
Aggression is BENEFICIAL à it allows for the survival of the strongest species over the
course of evolution
In humans, suppression of aggressive instincts allow these instincts to build up à
when aggressive instincts are suppressed for too long, they eventually will be
released
Lorenz’s Hydraulic Model (1950)
Aggression is a function of the amount of accumulated energy and the sign stimuli
Energy, represented by water, accumulates in a reservoir until it is released by an
appropriate sign stimulus
After an attack, an organism will be less aggressive until energy accumulates again
Lorenz’s theory of aggression:
Ritualization is a way of discharging aggression in a fixed, stereotyped pattern.
Ritualised fights between members of the same species result in little physical harm
but allow a victor to emergy
, Appeasement rituals: are gestures which prevent the other animal from engaging in
actual conflict
Humans have developed a technology of aggression; the use of new weapons has
removed interpersonal interactions from combat and reduced the role and
effectiveness of appeasement rituals amongst men
Evaluation of Lorenz’s Theory
This theory is based on study of non primates (fish and insects)
Animals do not always stop before blood is spilled
Lorenz ignored impact of learning and cultural differences
Ethologists believe that aggression does not occur spontaneously but is “reaction” to
stimulus
Evolutionary perspective
In more recent times there has been agreement that aggression has biological basis
without need for a “drive”
Aggression has been considered as advantageous evolutionary response to certain
stimulus or situation
Archer (1988) argues that “aggression is best viewed as a range of behavioural
solutions to certain types of problems animals encounter in their relationship with
environment
o Protective Aggression: responses to an attack by a predator or conspecific
o Parental Aggression: response to predation directed towards offspring
o Competitive Aggression: success in competition allows one to achieve ends
such as eating more, breeding more etc
Instrumental Aggression: (murder)
Premediated, calculated behaviour
Harm is the means to some other end
E.g. obtain money, restore justice
Anger is not evident by the time of the aggressive act
Hostile Aggression: (voluntary manslaughter)
Impulsive, unplanned behaviour
Harming someone is primary goal
No secondary goal
Anger is present
2) To describe and evaluate the main theories of aggression including (i) frustration
aggression theory, (ii) aggressive-cue theory and (iii) social learning theory
Frustration-Aggression Theory
, Aggression is always the result of frustration, and the existence of frustration always
leads to some form of aggression
Frustration arises when the way to a goal is blocked but disappears when the goal
can be achieved again
When we cannot vent out frustration directly, we do so indirectly by displacing it to a
substitute target or scapegoat (“displacement”)
Displacement
Recent studies show that when someone is provoked but cannot express aggression
against the provoking agent, they will express aggression against a third party
The choice of scapegoat is not random, displaced aggression often focuses on a
weaker, safer target
Evidence for/against Frustration-Aggression Theory
Frustration is linked with physiological reaction such as a higher blood pressure,
sweating etc which are also associated with aggression
Not all frustration causes aggression
Not all aggression is caused by frustration
The theory ignores cognitive factors; e.g. failure to achieve goal is unexpected and
perceived as the result of “improper” or “unfair” behaviour, aggression expressed is
greater
Aggressive-Cue Theory
Berkowitz (1966) proposed that frustration produces anger rather than aggression
For anger to be converted into actual aggression, certain “trigger cues” are needed
These trigger cues are environmental stimuli which are associated with aggressive
behaviour or with the frustrating object or person
Thus, aggressive behaviour is partly a reaction to specific stimuli which evoke
aggressive responses
The Weapons Effect
Berkowitz argued that people’s aggressive actions can be influenced in a relatively
thoughtless, automatic way by particular details of the immediate situation
In particular, the physical presence of a weapon, even when not used for aggression,
may increase occurrence of aggressive behaviour
Participants who were in the room with the revolver delivered more electric shocls
than those in a room with badminton rackets
People can identify aggression-related words faster after seeing a weapon name or
picture (Anderson 1998)
This suggests that weapons make aggressive thoughts more accessible
Violent media are likely to have the same effect
Evidence for/against Berkowitz’s Theory
Results have been replicated across many countries
In some cases, the weapons effect has been found even when participants were not
angered
, Correlation between availability of firearms and firearm homicide rates in the USA
and Europe
Participants exposed to weapons may have realised that the experimenter expected
them to show aggression
But Berkowitz argues that when participants recognize the experimenter’s
expectation, they showed less aggression
Social Learning Theory
People acquire complex behaviours by observation of others and reinforcement
(Bandura 1965;1973;1994)
Thus, SLT explains acquisition of aggressive behaviour in terms of 1) learning through
observation and 2) reinforcement
Reinforcement is provided by payoffs in the form of:
o stopping aggression by others
o Getting praise or status from others
o Getting self-praise
o Reducing tension
Bandura found that 88% of the children in the study imitated aggressive behaviour
Violent TV and Aggression
Fiske (2004) : “the link of violent media to aggression is one of the most reliable
findings in social psychology
Bensley et al. (2001) reviewed 28 published studies
Types of designs:
Descriptive
Correlational
Natural experiments
Experimental
Age groups:
Preschool and elementary school
Middle and high school students
College students and young adults
Measures of aggression:
Behavioural observations during free play or experiments
Self reports
Projective tests and scenarious
FOUND THAT
Preschool and elementary kids -->studies that used behavioural observations suggest that
violent video game play causes increased aggression
BUT à studies that used self-reports and projective tests did not find an effect
Any forms of behaviour directed towards the goal of harming or injuring another living being
who is motivated to such treatment (Baron and Richardson, 1993)
Two different views of aggression
A “natural behaviour” which has its basis in the animal world à understanding
aggression may help understand evolution
A “social problem” à may help reduce level of violence in humans
Aggression in the animal world
Aggressive behaviour can be found in most species
Major components of animal behaviour are..
FIXED ACTION PATTERN: innate behaviour, a triggered response to complex stimuli
(releaser). After the stimulation, it does not require any more stimuli for the
continuation of the event.
INNATE RELEASING MECHANISM (IRM): which links sensory system to motor system
so that releaser activates the FAP
1) To describe and evaluate Konrad Lorenz’s hydraulic model of aggression
Konrad book: "the subject of this book is aggression, that is to say the fighting instinct in
beast and man which is directed against members of the same species."
Aggression is INNATE, an inherited fighting instinct in animals as well as humans
Aggression is BENEFICIAL à it allows for the survival of the strongest species over the
course of evolution
In humans, suppression of aggressive instincts allow these instincts to build up à
when aggressive instincts are suppressed for too long, they eventually will be
released
Lorenz’s Hydraulic Model (1950)
Aggression is a function of the amount of accumulated energy and the sign stimuli
Energy, represented by water, accumulates in a reservoir until it is released by an
appropriate sign stimulus
After an attack, an organism will be less aggressive until energy accumulates again
Lorenz’s theory of aggression:
Ritualization is a way of discharging aggression in a fixed, stereotyped pattern.
Ritualised fights between members of the same species result in little physical harm
but allow a victor to emergy
, Appeasement rituals: are gestures which prevent the other animal from engaging in
actual conflict
Humans have developed a technology of aggression; the use of new weapons has
removed interpersonal interactions from combat and reduced the role and
effectiveness of appeasement rituals amongst men
Evaluation of Lorenz’s Theory
This theory is based on study of non primates (fish and insects)
Animals do not always stop before blood is spilled
Lorenz ignored impact of learning and cultural differences
Ethologists believe that aggression does not occur spontaneously but is “reaction” to
stimulus
Evolutionary perspective
In more recent times there has been agreement that aggression has biological basis
without need for a “drive”
Aggression has been considered as advantageous evolutionary response to certain
stimulus or situation
Archer (1988) argues that “aggression is best viewed as a range of behavioural
solutions to certain types of problems animals encounter in their relationship with
environment
o Protective Aggression: responses to an attack by a predator or conspecific
o Parental Aggression: response to predation directed towards offspring
o Competitive Aggression: success in competition allows one to achieve ends
such as eating more, breeding more etc
Instrumental Aggression: (murder)
Premediated, calculated behaviour
Harm is the means to some other end
E.g. obtain money, restore justice
Anger is not evident by the time of the aggressive act
Hostile Aggression: (voluntary manslaughter)
Impulsive, unplanned behaviour
Harming someone is primary goal
No secondary goal
Anger is present
2) To describe and evaluate the main theories of aggression including (i) frustration
aggression theory, (ii) aggressive-cue theory and (iii) social learning theory
Frustration-Aggression Theory
, Aggression is always the result of frustration, and the existence of frustration always
leads to some form of aggression
Frustration arises when the way to a goal is blocked but disappears when the goal
can be achieved again
When we cannot vent out frustration directly, we do so indirectly by displacing it to a
substitute target or scapegoat (“displacement”)
Displacement
Recent studies show that when someone is provoked but cannot express aggression
against the provoking agent, they will express aggression against a third party
The choice of scapegoat is not random, displaced aggression often focuses on a
weaker, safer target
Evidence for/against Frustration-Aggression Theory
Frustration is linked with physiological reaction such as a higher blood pressure,
sweating etc which are also associated with aggression
Not all frustration causes aggression
Not all aggression is caused by frustration
The theory ignores cognitive factors; e.g. failure to achieve goal is unexpected and
perceived as the result of “improper” or “unfair” behaviour, aggression expressed is
greater
Aggressive-Cue Theory
Berkowitz (1966) proposed that frustration produces anger rather than aggression
For anger to be converted into actual aggression, certain “trigger cues” are needed
These trigger cues are environmental stimuli which are associated with aggressive
behaviour or with the frustrating object or person
Thus, aggressive behaviour is partly a reaction to specific stimuli which evoke
aggressive responses
The Weapons Effect
Berkowitz argued that people’s aggressive actions can be influenced in a relatively
thoughtless, automatic way by particular details of the immediate situation
In particular, the physical presence of a weapon, even when not used for aggression,
may increase occurrence of aggressive behaviour
Participants who were in the room with the revolver delivered more electric shocls
than those in a room with badminton rackets
People can identify aggression-related words faster after seeing a weapon name or
picture (Anderson 1998)
This suggests that weapons make aggressive thoughts more accessible
Violent media are likely to have the same effect
Evidence for/against Berkowitz’s Theory
Results have been replicated across many countries
In some cases, the weapons effect has been found even when participants were not
angered
, Correlation between availability of firearms and firearm homicide rates in the USA
and Europe
Participants exposed to weapons may have realised that the experimenter expected
them to show aggression
But Berkowitz argues that when participants recognize the experimenter’s
expectation, they showed less aggression
Social Learning Theory
People acquire complex behaviours by observation of others and reinforcement
(Bandura 1965;1973;1994)
Thus, SLT explains acquisition of aggressive behaviour in terms of 1) learning through
observation and 2) reinforcement
Reinforcement is provided by payoffs in the form of:
o stopping aggression by others
o Getting praise or status from others
o Getting self-praise
o Reducing tension
Bandura found that 88% of the children in the study imitated aggressive behaviour
Violent TV and Aggression
Fiske (2004) : “the link of violent media to aggression is one of the most reliable
findings in social psychology
Bensley et al. (2001) reviewed 28 published studies
Types of designs:
Descriptive
Correlational
Natural experiments
Experimental
Age groups:
Preschool and elementary school
Middle and high school students
College students and young adults
Measures of aggression:
Behavioural observations during free play or experiments
Self reports
Projective tests and scenarious
FOUND THAT
Preschool and elementary kids -->studies that used behavioural observations suggest that
violent video game play causes increased aggression
BUT à studies that used self-reports and projective tests did not find an effect
