Aggression

Question 1

what is aggression?

Answer 1

a behaviour intended to cause physical or psychological harm to another person.

Question 2

what can aggression be classified as?

Answer 2

hostile (reactive) aggression: driven by anger, with the primary aim to harm

instrumental (proactive) aggression: used as a means to an end, often premeditated and goal-orientated

Question 3

what are the 3 factors of SLT for how we learn behaviour?

Answer 3

• modelling
• vicarious reinforcement
• mediational processes / cognitive conditions

Question 4

what are the mediational processes / cognitive conditions?

Answer 4

• attention
• retention
• motor reproduction
• motivation

Question 5

what is self-efficacy?

Answer 5

motivation and identification are not, alone, sufficient to guarantee future behaviour. Self-efficacy is also crucial. Belief in our ability to complete a task

Question 6

how does Social Learning Theory suggest we learn aggression?

Answer 6

• mixture of direct and indirect reinforcement
• observing and imitating aggressive role models
• child is more likely to replicate behaviour if role model is rewarded (vicarious reinforcement), less likely if model is punished (motivation)
• more likely to carry out behav if they are rewarded when they do the behav (direct reinforcement), less likely if punished (punishment)
• need an internal representation of behav in our heads (retention)
• high self-efficacy: more likely to replicate any new behav you see

Question 7

key study

when was Bandura’s Bobo Doll study?

Answer 7

1961

Question 8

key study

what was Bandura’s procedure?

Answer 8

• male and female children aged 3-5
• half exposed to aggressive role model, half to non-aggressive
• after shown aggressive behav, children fustrated by being shown room full of toys but not allowed to play with
• taken to other toys with Bobo doll

Question 9

key study

what were Bandura’s findings?

Answer 9

• aggressive condition reproduced physical and verbal behav
• non-aggressive children reproduced no aggressive behav
• biys reproduced more physical aggression than girls, no difference in verbal aggression

Question 10

what implicatons could SLT have on media and aggresssion

Answer 10

• children’s access to violent media, e.g. ‘watershed’ on TV - violent programmes/films only after 9pm
• age certificates on films: 12, 15, 18
• media may promote the modelling of aggresion, even if unrealistic (e.g. fantasy), especially if it appears to be: a) a route to succes, b) associated with positive role-models