Aggression: social psychological, institutional and media influences

Aggression: Social Psychological, Institutional, and Media Influences

Welcome to this chapter of your Psychology A-level! While other parts of the course look at the biology of aggression (like genes or brain structure), this chapter explores the social world. We will look at how our environment, the groups we belong to, the institutions we live in, and the screens we watch influence how and why people act aggressively.

Don’t worry if some of these terms seem long—we will break them down into simple, everyday ideas. By the end of these notes, you will understand the "why" behind human conflict from a social perspective.

1. Social Psychological Explanations of Aggression

Psychologists in this area believe that aggression isn't just something we are born with; it is something triggered by our experiences and social environment. There are three main theories you need to know:

A. The Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

This is a classic theory that suggests aggression is the result of frustration. Frustration happens when something blocks us from reaching a goal we want to achieve.

• The Concept: When we are frustrated, it creates an aggressive drive. This leads to aggressive behavior, such as a physical or verbal outburst. This outburst is "cathartic" (it provides a sense of relief).
• Displacement: Sometimes we can’t be aggressive toward the source of our frustration (e.g., your teacher or the government). In these cases, we "displace" our anger onto a "scapegoat"—someone or something else that is safer to attack.

B. Social Learning Theory (SLT)

Social Learning Theory suggests we learn to be aggressive by watching others. If you remember Bandura’s research from the "Approaches" chapter, you are already halfway there!

• Observation and Imitation: We watch "models" (like parents, peers, or TV characters). If they act aggressively, we may imitate them.
• Vicarious Reinforcement: We are more likely to imitate aggression if we see the model being rewarded for it (e.g., a bully gets the lunch money they wanted).
• Mediational Processes: Before we imitate, we think. We consider Attention (noticing the act), Retention (remembering it), Reproduction (being able to do it), and Motivation (wanting to do it).

C. De-individuation

Have you ever noticed how people sometimes act more aggressively in a large crowd or when wearing a mask? This is de-individuation.

• Loss of Self-Identity: When we are part of a crowd, we lose our individual self-awareness. We feel "anonymous."
• Reduced Responsibility: Because we feel like "just a face in the crowd," we feel less personal responsibility for our actions. This lowers our inhibitions against being aggressive.

Quick Review: The Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis is about blocked goals; SLT is about watching and copying; De-individuation is about losing yourself in a group.

2. Institutional Aggression in the Context of Prisons

Aggression often happens within specific "institutions," like prisons. Psychologists want to know: is the aggression caused by the people or the place?

A. Dispositional Explanations (The Importation Model)

This explanation argues that prisons are aggressive because the people inside them were aggressive before they arrived. They "import" their subculture, values, and violent tendencies from the outside world into the prison. In this view, aggression is due to the disposition (personality) of the inmates.

B. Situational Explanations (The Deprivation Model)

This explanation argues that the prison environment causes aggression. Life in prison is characterized by deprivation. Inmates are deprived of:

• Liberty (freedom).
• Autonomy (the ability to make their own choices).
• Goods and Services.
• Heterosexual relationships.
• Security (feeling safe).

The stress and frustration caused by these deprivations lead to violence as a way of coping or gaining control.

Key Takeaway: Is it the "bad apples" (dispositional) or the "bad barrel" (situational)? Most psychologists now use an interactionist approach, suggesting it's a bit of both.

3. Media Influences on Aggression

In the modern world, we spend hours consuming media. Does this change how we behave?

A. Effects of Computer Games

Research often focuses on whether playing violent video games increases aggressive behavior. Unlike movies, games are active—the player chooses to perform the violent act and is often rewarded for it (vicarious reinforcement).

B. Desensitisation

Normally, when we see violence, we feel a "jolt" of anxiety or sympathy (a physiological arousal). Desensitisation happens when we are exposed to so much media violence that this jolt disappears. We become "numb" to it, making us more likely to accept aggression as "normal" in real life.

C. Disinhibition

Most of us have strong "inhibitions" (internal rules) against being violent. However, media often portrays violence as justified or hero-like. This disinhibition weakens our social constraints, making us feel that aggression is an acceptable way to solve problems.

D. Cognitive Priming

This is like a mental "script." If we watch a lot of violent media, we store memories of how people react in those scenes. Later, if we find ourselves in a real-life conflict, these memories are "primed" (triggered), and we follow the "script" we saw on screen.

Did you know? Cognitive priming suggests that even a small cue, like a specific word or an image of a weapon, can trigger these aggressive scripts in our minds!

Summary Table: Media Influences

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Confusing SLT and Cognitive Priming: SLT is about copying a specific person's behavior. Priming is about a stored "script" or "memory" that is triggered by a cue.
• Mixing up Dispositional and Situational: Remember—Dispositional is about the Dude (the person); Situational is about the Setting (the place).
• Ignoring Research Methods: In Paper 3, you are expected to evaluate. When discussing media, remember that much of the research is correlational. For example, if a study finds \( r = +0.45 \) between gaming and aggression, it doesn't prove that gaming causes aggression—it might be that naturally aggressive people just choose to play more violent games!

Note: For biological explanations of aggression (like the MAOA gene or testosterone), please refer to the "Aggression: biological and ethological explanations" chapter.