Developing individual in society Lecture 11: 22/03/2021 Aggression Lecturer: Dr. Ava Horowitz No single and simple definition for aggression. Often includes intention to harm another individual. "Human aggression is any behaviour directed toward another individual that is carried out with the immediate intent to cause harm. The perpetrator must believe that the behaviour will harm the target, and that the target is motivated to avoid this behaviour." (Anderson & Bushman, 2002) Biological theories of aggression An aggressive instinct - Freud (1923) - The death instinct (Thanatos) exists in everyone. A death wish becomes a fuel for aggression. - Death instinct is directed towards others, leads to aggressive urges. - Therefore, Freud saw aggressive urges as normal, healthy and innate. Aggressive urges can produce: - Anti-social behaviour, such as murder and assault. - Or socially acceptable behaviours like sport. Catharsis: The reduction of aggressive urges via aggressive expression. Without regular catharsis, healthy people are pent up time-bombs of aggression. Aggression as a survival instinct - Lorenz (1966) - Argued aggression was innate & genetic. - Aided survival. - Promotes survival of the fittest through: o Dispersion of species for best use of natural resources. o Ensuring only the strongest & healthiest members of a species become parents and leaders.
Social theories of aggression Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis - Dollard et al (1939) & revised Miller et al (1941) - Aggression is NOT innate. - Frustration caused aggression. - Made two primary claims: o You only get aggression when there's been frustration. o Aggression is the dominant response to this frustration. - Aggression can be displaced: o To another target (Attacking a defenceless innocent) o Reaction (Shouting replaces hitting) Social Learning Theory - Bandura (1973) - Aggression is a learned behaviour. - Not just frustration which can cause aggression. - Negative experiences and emotional arousal can lead to many consequences, good or bad, one of which is aggression. Achievement Problem Solving Negative experiences Incentives: Rewards &/or punishments Emotional Arousal Anticipated Consequences of Behaviour Seek Help & Support Withdrawal Body Symptoms Seek drugs etc. Aggression - Two types of learning: o Instrumental (Operant conditioning) learning " Animals: (Ginsburg & Allee, 1942), (Scott and Marston, 1953) · Children: (Patterson et al., 1967) o Observational learning " (Bandura et al., 1961, 1963) Bobo doll studies.
- Bobo doll studies indicated to bandura aggression must be learned. - People can learn to aggress in: o Family o Sub-cultures o Mass-media · TV " Films · Music " Internet · Games - According to the SLT, aggression can sometimes be a solution to a problem. Without a need for arousal or frustration. It simply may be in your best interests to be aggressive. (Instrumental Aggression) Mass media and aggression Social learning mechanisms from mass media: - Arousal: We play a violent game or watch a violent film, we become quite energetic and aggressive. We could aggress to those around us. - Disinhibition: To get along within a culture, we should not be aggressive. We have learned things which inhibit