Aggression (08-Sep-2003)
Pro- and anti-social behaviour
Pro-social behaviour has been defined as " "those behaviours that,
without any prospect of an external reward, favour other people, groups or
social objectives and increase the probability of generating a positive
reciprocity which will in turn promote solidarity on the following
interpersonal and social relationships, safeguarding the identity, creativity
and the initiative of the individuals or groups involved" (Roche, 1991).
Here are some examples of pro-social behaviour:
- group support (e.g. at a funeral)
- bystander intervention ("I'm a doctor - let me through")
- courtesy
- friendship
- sharing
- cooperation
Anti-social behaviour is defined by the UK Crime and Disorder Act 1998
as acting "..in a manner that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or
distress to one or more persons...". Baron and Richardson (1994) define
anti-social behaviours as those "which show a lack of feeling and concern for
the welfare of others"
Here are some examples of pro-social behaviour:
- football hooliganism
- violence
- lack of consideration for others (e.g. noisy neighbours)
- bullying
- vandalism
- behaviour that may upset or disturb others (as in "failure to function
adequately")
Aggression
Aggression has various forms, and may be:
- antisocial - defined by Penrod (1983) as "all behaviour that is
intended to inflict physical or psychological harm on another individual who
does not want to be so treated"
- sanctioned - for example, self-defence
- pro-social - for example, a policeman wrestling a football
hooligan to the ground
Aggression can also be overt - i.e. obvious to all observers, or
covert, where the aggression is not obvious, or for example may be
explained away by the aggressor as a misunderstanding.
Explanations for Aggression
There are many different approaches to understanding what causes aggression,
for example:
- The frustration-aggression hypothesis suggests that
aggression is a consequence of the individual experiencing frustration.
Freud saw this as a cathartic response to the frustration; behaviourists
(e.g. Dollard) suggest that the frustration occurs when an expected
re-inforcer does not occur, and that such a situation stimulates an
aggressive drive which motivates the person to injure the object or person
which caused the frustration.
- It has been argued that physiological factors may play a part in
aggression. There is some evidence (e.g. Mark & Ervin, 1970) of a
correlation between levels of aggression and neurological defects, and Jacobs
et al (1965) argued from a study of prison inmates that aggression might be
genetically determined, but this research has not been supported by
subsequent studies
- Studies show that environmental factors can play a part in aggressive
behaviour - for example loud noise, extreme temperature, overcrowding. Many
of the studies into these effects seem to show that the environmental factors
do not themselves cause aggressive behaviour, but may make it more
likely when combined with other factors, e.g. situational conditions or
heightened arousal (e.g. from drugs)
- Social Learning Theory explains aggression by suggesting that
individuals are imitating behaviour that they have seen (observational
learning) which has appeared to produce rewards (vicarious
reinforcement). Bandura (1965) conducted a series of experiments where
children viewed an adult being violent towards a "bobo doll"; when let loose
themselves with the doll, the children who had seen the adult being
"rewarded" for his behaviour were much more likely to imitate the violent
behaviour towards the doll, compared to the children who had not seen the
adult receive any reward.
Bandura himself said "Most human behavior is
learned observationally through modeling."
Homework
Read about how Social Learning Theory relates to aggression, and write 4-6
lines about this including one quote (see above)
Web links
C. George Boeree's page on Bandura
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