AGGRESSION AND PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOUR IN PSYCHOLOGY

AGGRESSION AND PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOUR IN PSYCHOLOGY

AGGRESSION Unfortunately, violence toward others is another form of social interaction. When one person hurts or tries to destroy another person deliberately, either with words or with physical behavior, psychologists call it  aggression.

             One common cause of aggressive behavior is frustration, which occurs when a person is prevented from reaching some desired goal. The concept of aggression as a reaction to frustration is known as the    frustration–aggression  hypothesis  (Berkowitz, 1993; Miller et al., 1941). Many sources of frustration can lead to aggressive behavior. Pain, for example, produces negative sensations that are often intense and uncontrollable, leading to frustration and often aggressive acts against the nearest available target  (Berkowitz, 1993). Loud noises, excessive heat, the irritation of someone else’s cigarette smoke, and even awful smells can lead people to act out in an aggressive manner (Anderson, 1987; Rotton & Frey, 1985; Rotten et al., 1979; Zillmann et al., 1981).

     Sigmund  Freud (1930),  believed that aggression  was a basic human instinct, part of our death instinct. Famed sociobiologist Konrad Lorenz (1966) saw aggression as an instinct for fighting to promote the survival of our species. In evolutionary terms, those early humans who were most successful in protecting their territory, resources, and offspring were probably more aggressive and so survived to pass on their genetic material (Buss, 2009b; Cosmides & Tooby, 2013). Modern approaches include explanations of aggression as a biological phenomenon or a learned behavior.

AGGRESSION AND BIOLOGY

some evidence that human aggression has, at least  partially, a genetic basis.certain areas of the brain seem to control aggressive  responses. The frontal lobes, amygdala, and other structures of the limbic  system, have been shown to trigger aggressive responses when stimulated in both animals  and humans (Adams, 1968; Albert & Richmond, 1977; LaBar et al., 1995; Scott et al., 1997;  Yang et al., 2010).

 There are also chemical influences on aggression. Testosterone, a male sex hormone, has been linked to higher levels of aggression in humans (Archer, 1991).This may help explain  why violent criminals tend to be young, male, and muscular. They typically have high levels of testosterone and low levels of serotonin, another important chemical found in the brain (Alexander et al., 1986; Brown & Linnoila, 1990; Coccaro & Kavoussi, 1996; Dabbs  et al., 2001; Robins, 1996). Glutamate and serotonin, neurotransmitters found in the brain, may also play a part in aggressive behavior (Takahashi et al., 2015).

    Alcohol does have an impact on aggressive behavior. Psychologically, alcohol acts to release inhibitions, making people less likely to control their behavior even if they are not yet intoxicated. Biologically, alcohol affects the functioning of many neurotransmitters and in  particular is associated with a decrease in serotonin (Virkkunen & Linnoila, 1996).

SOCIAL  LEARNING  EXPLANATIONS FOR  AGGRESSION

The social learning theory explanation for aggression states that aggressive behavior is learned (in a process called observational learning) by watching aggressive models get reinforced for their aggressive behavior  (Bandura, 1980; Bandura et al. the, 1961).

THE  POWER  OF SOCIAL  ROLES :  Some evidence suggests that even taking on a particular  social role, such as that of a soldier, can lead to an increase in aggressive behavior.  A social role is the pattern of behavior that is expected of a person who is in a particular social position. For example, “doctor” is a social role that implies wearing a white coat, asking certain types of questions, and writing prescriptions, among other things. A deeply disturbing experiment was conducted by famed social psychologist Philip Zimbardo at Stanford University in 1971. The experiment  was recorded on film from the beginning to its rather abrupt end. About 70 young men, most of whom were college students, volunteered to participate for 2 weeks. They were told that they would be randomly assigned the social role of either a guard or a prisoner in the experiment. The “guards” were given uniforms and instructions not to use violence but to maintain control of the “prison.” The “prisoners” were booked at a real jail, blindfolded, and transported to the campus “prison,” actually the basement of one of the campus buildings. On Day 2, the prisoners staged a revolt (not planned as part of the experiment), which was quickly crushed by the guards. The guards then became increasingly more aggressive, using humiliation to control and punish the prisoners. For example, prisoners were forced to clean out toilet bowls with their bare hands. The  staff observing the experiment had to release five of the prisoners who became so upset that they were physically ill. The entire experiment was canceled on the sixth day (Zimbardo, 1971). The conclusions of Zimbardo and his colleagues highlighted the influence that a social role, such as that of “guard,” can have on perfectly ordinary people. Although history is full of examples of people behaving horribly to others while filling a particular role, one need not travel very far into the past to find an example.

VIOLENCE IN THE  MEDIA AND AGGRESSION :  Bandura’s early study in which small children viewed a video of an aggressive model was one of the first attempts to investigate the effect of violence in the media on children’s aggressive behavior (Bandura et al., 1963).

    social psychologist Craig  Anderson and colleagues found clear and consistent evidence that even short-term exposure to violent media  significantly increases the likelihood that children will engage in both physical and verbal aggression as well as aggressive thoughts and emotions  (Anderson et al., 2003).

PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

social interaction is prosocial behavior, or socially desirable behavior that benefits others rather than brings them harm.

ALTRUISM  One form of prosocial behavior that almost always makes people feel good about other people is altruism, or helping someone in trouble with no expectation of prosocial behavior socially desirable  behavior that benefits others. altruism prosocial behavior that is done with no expectation of reward and may involve the risk of harm to oneself. reward and often without fear for one’s own safety.

         Sociobiologists, scientists who study the evolutionary and genetic bases of social organizations in both animals and humans, see altruistic behavior as a way of preserving one’s genetic material, even at the cost of one’s own life. This is why the males of certain species of spiders, for example, seem to willingly become “dinner” for the female mates they have just fertilized,  ensuring the continuation of their genes through the offspring she will produce (Koh, 1996).

       A brain region known as the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) is larger in individuals  who make altruistic choices,  particularly in the right hemisphere  (Morishima et al., 2012). This area was also more active during decision making that involved a greater cost of helping the individual.

THE  BYSTANDER EFFECT  refers to the finding that the likelihood of a bystander (someone observing an event and close enough to offer help) to help someone in trouble decreases as the number of bystanders increases. If only one person is standing by, that person is far  more likely to help than if there is another person, and the addition of each new bystander decreases the possibility of helping behavior even more (Darley & Latané, 1968; Eagly & Crowley, 1986; Latané & Darley, 1969).

         Diffusion of responsibility is the phenomenon in which a person fails to take responsibility for  either action or inaction because of the presence of other people who are seen to share the responsibility (Leary & Forsyth, 1987). Diffusion of responsibility is  a form of attribution in which people explain why they acted (or failed to act) as they did because of others. Contrary to popular belief, bystanders who fail to act do not typically do so out of apathy (a lack of caring about the victim) but instead may care quite deeply.

   

FIVE  DECISION  POINTS IN HELPING  BEHAVIOUR