1. Social Psychological Explanations of aggression
Recap
What are the 3 topics youll be covering with me in PSYA3?What is
A01?What is A02?What is IDA (A03)?Outline neural mechanisms in
aggression (4 marks) how many are A01,2,3?Outline and evaluate 1
social psychological theory of aggression (20 marks)What does
GRENADE stand for?
1. Social Psychological Explanations of aggressionSLT
theoryBandura studies revisedEffects of violence in the media
Aggression
The intent to harm someone through verbal or physical
actions
3
Social Learning Theory (SLT)What is Social Learning Theory?
How can SLT explain incidents of aggression?
Observe LearnRole Model
Positively/Negatively reinforced
Punishment Bandura Imitation
Modeling Bobo doll
Social Learning Theory
Bandura et al, (1961)
Children do imitate aggressive behaviour they have seen adult
role models do
Factors that affect the likelihood of imitation
Gender
Age
Status
Gender of role model and childSimilar age to us
8
Bandura, (1965)After the success of his first experiment,
Bandura wanted to see whether aggressive behaviour would increase
if the children saw the role models being reinforced for their
behaviour
There were 3 conditions;1: CONTROL: Role models were not
reinforced for their behaviour2: PUNISH: Role models were punished
for their behaviour3: REWARD: Role models were positively
reinforced for their behaviour
Bandura et al, (1963)
Bandura, (1963) Results
Bandura, (1963)Results:
The most aggression shown came from the REWARD conditionThe
least amount of aggression came from the PUNISH condition
When children in the punish condition were positively reinforced
with sweets to behave aggressively, they demonstrated aggressive
behaviour seen previously by the model.
Evaluation of Banduras studies Shows the power of role models
and the media
Helps explain factors which increase the likelihood that
children will imitate aggressive behaviour
Ethical guidelines is it aggression or play? long term effects?
Eco. Val.13
SLT and AggressionAttention
Retention
Reproduction
Reinforcement
14
Is SLT any good at explaining aggressive behaviour?Summarise the
evaluative points on page 116-117 of SLT
Does Violence in the media cause us to behave more
aggressively?
Does Violence in the media cause us to behave more
aggressively?
The case of Jamie Bulger
Does violence in the media cause us to behave more
aggressively?Children aged 2-11 watch over 24 hours of TV per week,
while adults aged 35-49 watch more than 33 hours, according to data
from Nielsen that suggests TV time increases the older we get.
Number of murders seen on TV by the time an average child
finishes primary school: 8,000Number of violent acts seen on TV by
age 18: 200,000Percentage of Americans who believe TV violence
reflects real life mayhem: 79%
Does violence in the media cause us to behave more
aggressively?
YES violent media DOES cause increased aggressionEron (1972)
Aim: To see the effects of watching violence in the media on
aggressive behaviour
Eron (1972)
Procedure: Sampled 427 male and female 8 9 year olds (3rd
grade)Established a baseline for each child so they not only
observed each child but asked how aggressive the child was to the
participant, their peers, their mother and their fatherDiscovered
which 3 TV programmes were the participants favourite and rated
these programmes for violence
A follow up study when the child was in 13th grade was completed
and each participant was asked to rate their own level of
aggression and their peer group was also questioned
Eron (1972)Results: They found a positive correlation between
amount of violent media watched and levels of aggressive
behaviour
Eron (1972) evaluation
Eron (1972) Evaluation
Eron (1972) Evaluation
Eron (1972) Evaluation
NoViolent media does not cause increased aggression
Charlton et al (2000)
EP Pg. 77
Charlton et al (2000) quiz1. Which year did Charlton and
colleagues begin collecting data for this study?2. What
experimental design did Charlton use in their study?3. What was
their independent variable (IV)?4. What was their dependent
variable (DV)?5. How was child behaviour monitored in the study?6.
What results did Charlton et al obtain?7. What was the conclusion
drawn from Charltons study?8. What are 3 evaluative points
(positive or negative) for this study? (3 marks)
Charlton et al (2000) evaluationIts difficult to behave
antisocially because everybody watches you, everybody knows you,
you just got to behave
Quote from a child observed in Charltons study
Exam prepDiscuss research into violence in the media, does this
research support or challenge SLT? (3+3 marks)
