The Ethological Explanation of Aggression (OCR A-Level Psychology): Revision Notes
15.2.1 The Ethological Explanation of Aggression
Attempts to understand aggression in humans by looking at aggression in other animal species in their natural habitat.
- Can also be considered an evolutionary explanation of aggression as it believes aggression is a behaviour that has evolved through natural selection. Therefore, it is adaptive. Adaptive: Beneficial for survival
Purposes of aggression:
- Enables animals to gain access to resources such as food and protect territory
- Ritualistic
Innate releasing mechanisms and fixed action patterns:
- Aggression is a fixed action pattern Fixed action pattern: An innate, fixed set of behaviours that occur in response to specific sign stimuli (triggers in the environment).
This is universal within the species so all members show the same behaviour.
Ballistic: cannot be stopped once initiated
Innate releasing mechanisms: The specific set of neurons that produce a fixed action pattern.
- Innate-releasing mechanisms lead to fixed action patterns which are ritualistic behaviours Ritualistic aggression: A series of behaviours used to threaten other animals without harming them.
Human ritualistic behaviours = Clenched fist, gritted teeth, raised voice.
Evaluation:
(1)
P: The need for aggression is more present in animals than in humans
E: For example, humans don't have as much of a need to fight to survive or for mates and have more control over their behaviour that helps to prevent aggression
E: As a result, this explanation may not generalise to humans and thus has limited usefulness in explaining aggression in humans
(2)
P: There are cultural differences in aggression
E: This suggests that aggression is not an innate behaviour and is perhaps learned. This contrasts with the ethological explanation which argues that aggression is an innate behaviour. However, cultural influences can override this.
E: Therefore, although this explanation may apply to humans, it may not be universal.
(3)
P: Certain aspects of the explanation cannot be applied to humans
E: For example, innate releasing mechanisms are only present in animals
E: Therefore, this explanation is unable to be generalised to humans
(4)
P: There are some similarities between humans and animals within the explanation
E: Humans have biological responses similar to fixed action patterns e.g. fight or flight and there are several patterns of aggression in men that are highly ritualised and are similar to behaviour found in animals
E: Therefore, this theory has high face validity
The ethological explanation argues that the behaviour is universal to the species, however this is not the case with humans, 1 person may react aggressively to some situations and others will not. Therefore, the presence of an innate releasing mechanism and fixed action pattern seems unlikely
Timbergen 1951
Found there were innate fixed action patterns in stickleback fish during mating season. When another male entered their territory, they displayed an innate fixed action pattern of aggressive behaviour.