Assignment Helping Agression

Assignment
Introduction
• Introduce what is pro social behavior. Describe behavior. Describe anti
social behavior. Behaviors that can be described as pro-social include
feeling empathy and concern for others and behaving in ways to help
or benefit other people (Anon., 2015)
• Aggression is example of anti-social behavior . Define aggression .
Include citations. The expression of aggression can occur in a number
of ways, including verbally, mentally and physically (Cherry, 2015).
Body
• 3 main theories – Instinct Theory of Aggression
• Frustration Aggression Hypothesis
• Social Learning theory – explain what is social learning theory and
examples.
Instinct Theory of Aggression
• Summarize the theory –
• According the theory , what is aggression
• Main essence of the theory- what is theory trying to convey
• What are the experiments done for this theory
• First theory and second theory
• APA format
• I will to look for some experiments where this theory is applied.
Body
• Theory in detail – SLT –

• Social learning theory of aggression states that aggression is not innate; it is learned through
the environment (Gross & Rolls, 2009, p. 136).
• Bandura he says humans are not born aggressive but acquire these behaviours through
direct experience or by observing the actions of others
• The theory suggests that for an individual to learn new behaviours this can only occur
through direct experience (Gross, 2005, p. 425). Direct experience (which is based on
operant conditioning) is where aggressive behaviour is reinforced and is therefore more
likely to be reproduced. Bandura believes that humans are active information processors and
think about the relationship between their behaviour and its consequences.
• human behaviour is learned observationally (indirect) through modelling: from observing
others, one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this
coded information serves as a guide for action
4 dimension of SLT
• Attention: The degree to which we notice the behavior. A behavior must grab our attention
before it can be imitated. Considering the number of behaviors we observe and do not
imitate daily indicates attention is crucial in whether a behavior influences imitation.
• Retention: How well we remember the behavior. We cannot perform the behavior if we do
not remember the behavior. So, while a behavior may be noticed, unless a memory is formed,
the observer will not perform the behavior. And, because social learning is not immediate,
retention is vital to behavior modeling.
• Reproduction: The ability to perform the behavior. This is the ability to reproduce a behavior
we observe. It influences our decision about whether to try performing the behavior. Even
when we wish to imitate an observed behavior, we are limited by our physical abilities.
• Motivation: The will to emulate the behavior. This mediational process is referred to as
vicarious reinforcement. It involves learning through observing the consequences of actions
for other people, rather than through direct experience.
SLT and aggression
• Child learns by observing others
• Iikely to pay attention to a role model
• Child witness many examples of aggressive behavior and observes the
consequence
• Children learn whether such behavior is worth repeating(give them a
motivation to repeat the behavior)
• Motivation can occur as a result of different types of reinforcement
SLT EVALUATION
• Nature vs Nurture – Twin studies have shown a genetic factor in
aggression levels, McGue et al, +0.43 for
• Aronson- Evidence from non-violent societies e.g. Pygmies of Central
Africa who live in cooperative friendliness- any biological factors can
be overridden by learning
• Phillips – daily homicide rates always increased in the week following
a major boxing match-viewers were imitating the behavior they’d
watched, SLT can still happen in adults
• Bandura -
Strength of the SLT
• One of the primary strengths of social learning theory is its flexibility in explaining the differences in a person’s behavior or learning,
i.e., when there is a change in a person’s environment, the person’s behavior may change.
• An additional strength of the social learning theory is that it allows for different ways of learning. A person can learn through
observation or direct experiences.
• Huge implications for society -provides a key to understanding causes of good and bad behavior. Based on clear research in lab and
followed up by many studies into TV violence, video games etc
• The “Bobo doll” studies by Bandura, demonstrated how children learn and imitate aggressive behaviours they have witnessed in other
people(adult).
• Weakness
• it neglects the importance of accountability in one’s actions. By placing greater weight on the environment, the theory assumes one’s
behavior and actions are determined by society, not by how a person handles or processes information.
• The social learning theory further ignores ordinary developmental milestones. Although children do not mature at identical rates,
some normal milestones may still occur irrespective of the environmental setting.
• The experiments was conducted in the lab- may lack ecological validity. Children may have known that the Bobo Doll was designed for
punching and therefore more open to suggestion, also they may have been aware of the experiment from other children in the group
2nd Theory -deindividuation theory
• humans have a natural tendency to be aggressive if they think they can get away with it. Being
disguised, or part of a crowd, will therefore lead to increased aggression.
• The loss of one’s sense of individuality
• Festinger (1952) invented the term “Deindividuation”, defined by Fraser and Burchell (2001) “A
process whereby normal constraints on behavior are weakened as persons lose their sense of
individuality.”
• LeBon suggested that when in a crowd, the combination of anonymity, suggestibility and contagion
(likelihood of behavior being copied) mean that a ‘collective mind’ take control of the individual
• Contagion Theory: Starting point for deindividuation
• Le Bon 1896: People in groups become infected with a kind of group hysteria and act in ways they
would not do on their own.
• Blumer 1939: Circular reaction where the people add to the crowd and the crowd fires up the
people.
• Deindividuation, phenomenon in which people engage in seemingly
impulsive, deviant, and sometimes violent acts in situations in which they
believe they cannot be personally identified (e.g., in groups and crowds and on
the Internet). The term deindividuation was coined by the American
social psychologist Leon Festinger in the 1950s to describe situations in which
people cannot be individuated or isolated from others.
• Experiments - Zimbardo and his colleagues also carried out what became a
landmark experiment, the Stanford Prison Experiment, in which student
participants were deindividuated as prisoners or prison guards in a simulated
prison setting at Stanford University. The students in the position of guards
were physically brutal to the students who were deindividuated as prisoners,
so much so that the experiment had to be terminated early.
Strengths of deindividuation in relation to
violent behavior
• There is evidence showing that sometimes it may produce violent behavior
• High ecologocial validity(field studies) – sample size quite big
• Annoymity was high and the blame was not rested on a single person but dispersed
throughout the crowd of rioters
• Deindividuation in crowd can lead to increased pro-social behavior – in religious
gatherings.
• Not all increased aggression are influenced by individual characteristics
• Experiments- Another study on deindividuation was done by Diener et al (1976), she
observed that 1300 trick-or-treating children on Halloween were some wore large
costumes and masks. The study shows that those children who remained anonymous
were more likely to engage in anti-social behaviour, such as stealing money when they
were briefly left alone and stealing candy or sweets (Gross, 2005, p. 430).
Experiments
• Malamuth & Check (1981)- Questioned male students at an American
University found that almost 1/3 of them admitted there was a
chance they might commit rape if there were no chance of
identification – Moral responsibility shifts from the individual person
to the group, of which they are a member
• Zimbardo (1969) – Hooded electric shock study -
Deindividuation examples
• Deindividuation can occur in a wide variety of situations that involve groups of people. Some
healthy and unhealthy examples of deindividuation include:
• A regular member of an Eastern Orthodox church finds spiritual fulfillment in participating in
the weekly liturgy because she feels she is becoming “one” with her fellow worshipers.
• A group of people from the same town hunt down and punish “witches,” driven by the shared
religious conviction that those accused as witches are a threat to their spiritual well-being.
• Like-minded volunteers join together to plant trees in an effort to combat climate change,
and their camaraderie allows them to plant many more than they would have had the energy
to plant on their own.
• A political rally escalates people’s emotions about an issue, causing a number of them to form
a mob and vandalize local businesses.
• Cyber bullying and crowd baiting
Effects of de-individuation
• When a person de-individuates within a non-destructive group, the benefits can be
positive and may include a sense of belonging and camaraderie. Deindividuation can be
extremely emotional, and some people feel exhilarated when they return to a sense of
self-awareness. However, deindividuation can also contribute to destructive group
behavior. Political oppression, mass violence, riots, and bullying can all stem from
deindividuation.
• Anyone is susceptible to deindividuation, but a strong desire to belong and a strong
group identity can increase a person’s likelihood of deindividuation. An individual with
strong political convictions, for example, is much more likely to de-individuate in certain
social settings than someone who does not identify strongly with any political identity.
• Highly stimulating groups—such as sports games with lots of action or military missions
—can increase the likelihood of deindividuation, and some research indicates that large
groups are more likely to cause members to deindividuate.
Weakness of limitations
• Failed to distinguish between the effects of the anonymity of those being aggressed against( etc.
the victim) as opposed to the anonymity of those doing the aggressing
• Reductionist approach – as It fails to consider other factors which may influence aggression such
as biological causes such as neurotransmitter
• It has been found that male and female groups respond differently under deindividuation.
• An increase in aggression has been only been found in “all male groups”
• Male may be more prone to aggressive behavior when disinhibited, than females.
• Mixed evidence
• Deindividuation can also increase the incidence of prosocial behaviour
• - Roland (1993) could not replicate the findings in another part of Norway- a studies conducted in
the Bergen area in Norway after three adolescents committed suicide as a result of bullying. A
sample of 2500 children from 5th -8th grade (observations and questionairres-teachers n students)
Conclusion
• In conclusion social learning theory has shown to convincingly point up that the
acquisition and behavioural expression of aggression is socially influenced.
Taking from Bandura social learning theory give central place to observational
learning and modelling.
• Social learning theory is evident in both children and adults. People learn about
behaviour differently along with the circumstances in which they are
appropriate, and so these differences should be a result of social learning
• Deindividuation suggests that anonymity increases the possibility of an individual
conforming to the social group norms, but they are not all social groups which
will be aggressive for instance religious groups, they are mainly form of pro-
social behaviour of which other groups such as soccer hooligans will be mostly
form of anti-social behavior.

Assignment Helping Agression

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Assignment Helping Agression

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Assignment Helping Agression

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Assignment

• Theory in detail – SLT –

You might also like