Describe and evaluate explanations of group displays in humans

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Describe and evaluate explanations of group displays in humans

There is a belief that people act differently when in groups compared to how they behave as individuals, for example people in groups may sometimes behave more antisocially but become more cooperative and selfless in the presence of other group members.

Lynch mobs are a group of people, without legal authority, that kill a person for some assumed offence, history tells us that there were 2000 victims of lynch mobs killed in 10 US states in the years 1882 and 1930. The vast majority of victims were African-American males, among the evolutionary explanations offered for behaviour in lynch mobs.

The power threat hypothesis by Blalock (1967) suggests that as minority group membership grows, majority group members will intensify their efforts to remain dominance, for example among the other reasons for Black lynching’s are: ‘trying to vote’ and ‘voting for the wrong party’, the fear of ‘Negro’ power meant that white mobs frequently turned lynch laws as a means of social control. However, this hypothesis does not explain any other factors, as it solely believes that lynchings are done to remain dominance.

Social learning theory can be an explanation for aggression, this is when members of a species learn how to survive through observation of a high member of the same species, for example, monkeys learn where to get food from by observing how other monkeys get there food. Social learning works in the same way for aggression. Monkeys learn how to fight by watching high status monkeys fight, and therefore know how to show there aggression. The same goes for humans. If a young child witnesses their parents being aggressive towards other members of public, then they themselves will adapt these characteristics. This form of adapted aggression was demonstrated in the Bobo Doll Study, conducted by Bandura in 1963. Two groups of children observed the behaviour of adults around a Bobo Doll.

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Deindividuation refers to a diminishing of one’s sense of individuality that occurs with behaviour disjointed from personal or social standards of conduct. For example, someone who is an anonymous member of a mob will be more likely to act violently toward a police officer than a known individual. In one sense, a deindividuated state may be considered appealing if someone is affected such that he or she feels free to behave impulsively without mind to potential consequences. However, deindividuation has also been linked to “violent and antisocial behaviour.”

Questions have been raised about the external validity of deindividuation ...

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Some good points - the essay could be more coherent with the addition of some topic sentences as mentioned here. The evolutionary theory is explained briefly but there is a need for debate and evidence to consider its contribution. Check spelling. 3*