Discuss one or more socio-psychological eplanations of aggression
Discuss one or more socio-psychological explanations of aggression. (24 marks)
Social learning theory (SLT) is just one of the few theories that attempt to explain aggression, in regards to social psychology. SLT implies that all behaviours are learned, and that is by watching, or ‘observing’ others. Therefore children learn aggressive behaviours by observing others aggressive behaviours. However, it is not that simple. For a child to learn this, they must first notice a potential role model, in which they would identify with, to even want to think about copying their behaviour. Once identification has taken place, and the child believes that he can do anything that their role model can do, vicarious learning can begin. This makes imitation much more likely, if they witness the person be rewarded for their behaviour, resulting in them learning when it is appropriate to act aggressively (i.e when they think they will be rewarded in some way). This is known as vicarious reinforcement. Before the child does carry out this aggression, however, they must form a mental representation of the events observed and also represent an expectancy of possible outcomes, rewards or punishments for their aggressive behaviour. As long as the expectation of reward is greater than that of punishment, the child should display the learned behaviour, or ‘imitate’ it. When using the behaviour themselves, they will experience direct reinforcement, rather than vicarious, as they are learning actions and consequences first hand this time. If the child is successful in using this behaviour, and is given a reward, they will develop good self-efficacy, becoming more confident in using aggressive behaviours for what they want. They therefore also produce a higher expectation in terms of rewards in future outcomes. Those who are not successful in this using aggression (i.e they are punished), they will lack in self-efficacy with aggression and resort to other behaviours.
Social learning theory (SLT) is just one of the few theories that attempt to explain aggression, in regards to social psychology. SLT implies that all behaviours are learned, and that is by watching, or ‘observing’ others. Therefore children learn aggressive behaviours by observing others aggressive behaviours. However, it is not that simple. For a child to learn this, they must first notice a potential role model, in which they would identify with, to even want to think about copying their behaviour. Once identification has taken place, and the child believes that he can do anything that their role model can do, vicarious learning can begin. This makes imitation much more likely, if they witness the person be rewarded for their behaviour, resulting in them learning when it is appropriate to act aggressively (i.e when they think they will be rewarded in some way). This is known as vicarious reinforcement. Before the child does carry out this aggression, however, they must form a mental representation of the events observed and also represent an expectancy of possible outcomes, rewards or punishments for their aggressive behaviour. As long as the expectation of reward is greater than that of punishment, the child should display the learned behaviour, or ‘imitate’ it. When using the behaviour themselves, they will experience direct reinforcement, rather than vicarious, as they are learning actions and consequences first hand this time. If the child is successful in using this behaviour, and is given a reward, they will develop good self-efficacy, becoming more confident in using aggressive behaviours for what they want. They therefore also produce a higher expectation in terms of rewards in future outcomes. Those who are not successful in this using aggression (i.e they are punished), they will lack in self-efficacy with aggression and resort to other behaviours.