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:

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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.