Aggression may continue because the responsibility for the aggression comes from an individual who has convinced themselves that they are only obeying orders. This can then lead to dehumanisation in acts of aggression where they see their aggression as justified, for example the German army following the orders of Hitler during the Holocaust. Milgram’s research undertaken in 1965 tested “what happens when the demands of authority clash with the demands of conscience” (Myers David G, p215). The results of the experiment showed that simply by a person appearing as an authority figure, that the power of authority can be underestimated. The participants felt less responsible for their aggressive actions as they felt they were working as an agent for the experimenter known as the Agentic state, and with the victim not being in their immediate viewpoint they could dehumanise their actions of administering electric shocks.
Aggression could be seen as a failure of the ‘normal’ social process which is supposed to teach children how to behave. It is the social norm that children learn how to behave from adult role models primarily, be associating hostile aggression with a fear of the repercussions it may entail. “Trasler (1978) suggested that an inability to acquire conditioned fear responses may produce inadequately socialised children from ineffective parental strategies” (Harrower Julie 2003, p27).
Bandura set out to demonstrate through his experimental Bobo doll study undertaken in 1961 that if children are exposed to an aggressive role model, they will, through the use of imitation, replicate this aggressive behaviour when an opportunity arose. The laboratory experiment was undertaken in the University where he worked. The children were placed into three locations. In the first location the children were placed into one of three conditions. One of the three conditions was the ‘aggressive model condition’ where the children would be in a room with toys, a five foot Bobo doll and the adult role model who would be witnessed by the child showing extensive aggressive behaviour towards the doll. In the second location, the children were subjected to ‘mild aggression arousal’ and were taken to a room with nice and shabby toys, but were only allowed to play with the shabby toys. Finally, the third location was used for observation of the children’s behaviour through a one way mirror. The children were taken to a room with a three foot Bobo doll and other toys with no adult role model present.
The results from this location showed that replication of aggression took place, and therefore Bandura reached the conclusion that aggression can be learned by imitation. The findings from this experimental study have been used to support the argument with media violence contributing to violence in society which will be discussed later. The research undertaken by Bandura et al support the social learning theory that if children are exposed to an aggressive role model they will through the use of imitation replicate the behaviour when an opportunity arises.
“The increase in violent crime reported between 1960 and the early 1990’s, especially amongst juveniles”, prompts us to wonder: Why the change? What social influences have caused the mushrooming violence?” (Myers David G 2005, p398).
There are, however, within social influence other influences of aggression. “Bandura believes that everyday life exposes us to aggressive models in the family, the subculture and the mass media” (Myers David G 2005, p391). If this quotation is taken literally, then it should be believed that physically aggressive children tend to have been subjected to physically disciplinary parents, who according to Patterson in 1982, “disciplined them by modelling aggression with screaming, slapping and beating” (Myers David G 2005, p391). Aggression, it could be said, is breeding aggression, which leads to the culture viewpoint, in communities where there is a predominant gang culture, especially that of teenage gangs who often give the newly joined junior members aggressive role models, to grow up, worship, imitate and follow, and the newly joined member’s desire to comply with the group majority.
There is no doubting the fact that children are exposed to a great deal of media violence. There are many influencing categories of media; newspapers, magazines, books, records, films, television, DVDs, and more recently that of interactive computer games. Media is used very cleverly to direct an individuals attention towards particular issues and away from others. Children playing an aggressive computer game is being drawn towards the issue of aggression and fighting to kill, and drawn away from the social norm of aggression and fighting to kills is not usual behaviour. There have been a number of occasions where ‘copycat’ crimes have caused concern as to the possible relationship between media violence and violence within society.
As has already been discussed, in Bandura’s Bobo doll study, he demonstrated that children imitate aggressive role models. However, Bandura’s study in 1965 showed that if a person is seen to be punished for acting aggressively, then children are unlikely to imitate them. This study will be discussed later.
This leads on to the consideration of what can be done to reduce the negative impact of social influence on human behaviour.
Catharsis is a psychoanalytic approach pioneered by Freud. Freud believed that aggression was the result of a pent up libido which needed to be released. Sport is often seen as a helping factor in reducing aggression, which is a form of catharthic thinking.
The social learning approach believes that rewarding positive behaviour is more successful than punishing negative behaviour, encourage not discourage, and that the imitation of positive “praise” should help reduce aggression. Therefore, if aggressive behaviour can be learned, then surely there is an opposite that the same learning approach can be applied to its control and reduction.
“Aversive experiences such as frustrated expectations and personal attacks, predispose hostile aggression. So it is wise to refrain from planting false, unreachable expectations in people’s minds. Anticipated rewards and costs influence instrumental aggression” (Myers David G 2005, p417). Therefore it can be deduced that non-aggressive behaviour should be rewarded.
Bandura in 1965 studied the ‘Influence of Models’ Reinforcement Contingencies on the Acquisition of Imitative Responses. His aim was to observe children’s responses to seeing a television presentation of an aggressive model who is seen to be either punished, rewarded or to have no consequences for the behaviour; and to see how many of the novel aggressive responses the child would imitate when induced by rewards to do so”. (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1 (6) cited in Dwyer Diana, “Angles on Criminal Psychology”, p96).
The results showed that children in the ‘no consequences’ and the ‘model rewarded’ condition imitated more aggressive behaviours than the ‘model punished’ group. However, the results from the second part of the study, when children were offered to receive rewards to recall the behaviour of the model, there was no difference between the groups. The children had a high recollection of the number of aggressive actions they had witnessed. Rewarding the children had erased any previous differences in results. Bandura’s conclusion was that the giving punishment reduced whether or not a child would imitate aggressive behaviour witnessed. (Dwyer Diana, 2001).
The study was important, because much media violence is seen to be rewarded, in films for example the fighting hero or the good guy using violence to combat violence, and in computer games each time a child successfully kills they can continue onto the next level, and hopefully, eventually win the game, and gain much self satisfaction and pride for themselves.
If it has been proven that observing aggressive role models induces aggression, so reducing violence and aggression shown in films and in children’s computer games, would help shelter children against the negative effects of media violence.
In a study undertaken by Eron and Huesmann in 1984, they taught 170 children that television isn’t showing the world realistically, and that aggression is not as normal and common as media would have them believe. They also taught that aggressive behaviour is objectionable. When Eron and Huesmann restudied the same children two years later, the children were still less influenced by television violence that a control group. (Myers David G, 2005). This is a positive argument for reducing the amount of aggression shown in all areas of media, particularly for computer games.
“The social learning approach suggests controlling aggression by counteracting the factors that provoke it, by reducing aversive stimulation, by rewarding and modelling non aggression, and be eliciting reactions incompatible with aggression” (Myers David G, 2005, p419).
A large amount of aggression is not pre-planned, but is impulsive, an outcome of a big argument, having been insulted, or an attack. So therefore, aggression must be prevented before it actually occurs. With children threatening punishment only works if the punishment is strong, consistent and actually carried out, and most importantly, works when the recipient is not angry.
Punishment for aggression has to be carefully considered, and concerned that it does not simply model the behaviour it is trying to avoid. Also, as mentioned previously for many violent teenagers and children they are the result of learning from physically punishing parents.
“To foster a gentler world, we could model and reward sensitivity and cooperation from an early age, perhaps by training parents how to discipline without violence” (Myers David G, 2005, p418). Positive parenting skills would be an influencing factor in reducing aggression. In families, parents would be raising less aggressive children by themselves not rewarding acts of violence from the child, by rewarding good non aggressive behaviour, and by not using punishing behaviour themselves towards the child. (Hogg Michael et al, 2005).
There has already been evidence that at the interpersonal level social skills training, non aggressive modelling, anger management and assertiveness training has been effective in teaching people self control, however, it will be linked to a number of varying factors, such as a person’s individual learning history, alcohol abuse, the way they handle their own frustration for example. However, much hope for reducing the negative impact on aggression, can be drawn from the social learning approach to aggression which allows changes to take place over a period of time. (Myers David G, 2005)
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world” (Mead Margaret, Anthropologist, cited in Myers David G, 2005, p285).
In conclusion, the study of social influence, using the social learning theory as the tool, has shown how acts of aggression can be learned through imitation and reward, and how through reversing the process using the social learning theory, the negative impact of social influence on human behaviour can be achieved.
Total word count: 2200
Student No: 120136 December 2007
Foundations to Psychology 1
