1. Development of
Aggressive Behavior

2. Aggression Behavior – In childhood
Biology/Physiology (last two chapters)
(pre-birth)
Environment (this chapter)
(post-birth)
Chapter 1
Instinctive Drives – Evolutionary Perspective
Externally created Motivations
Frustration-Aggression model
Aggressive Cue Theory
Excitation Transfer Theory
Cognitive Models
Cognitive Neoassociation Model
Cognition-Excitation Interdependencies
Learned Behavior
Social Learning Theory

3. Social Learning Theory
Aggression is Acquired through
Biological factors (mechanisms)
Learning (activation)
Aggression is Regulated through
External rewards/punishments
Vicarious Reinforcement
Self-regulatory Mechanisms

4. Acquisition - Learning
Direct experience
After doing it yourself, experience feedback (Rewards and Punishments) such as material incentives, money, desired objects, toys, candy, social approval, increased status
Observational Learning
What?
Who?

5. Regulation External – Rewards and punishments
Successful aggression
Tangible rewards
Social rewards and approval
Reduction in pain/mistreatment
Emotions like pride, guilt
Vicarious – Rewards and punishments
Self-administered – Rewards and punishments

6. Four conceptual categories for rewards and punishments:
Positive reward, which increases the frequency of approved behavior by adding something desirable to the situation
Negative reward, which increases the frequency of approved behavior by removing something distressful from the situation
Positive punishment, which decrease the frequency of unwanted behavior by adding something undesirable to the situation
Negative punishment, which decreases the frequency of unwanted behavior by removing something desirable form the situation

7. Acquisition – Learning (cont)
Family
Primary source of early socialization
Family level
Parent-child
Sibling
Punishment (learning, arousal, not internalize standards)
Monitoring (supervision)
Consistency (follow-up on commands same way every time)

8. Acquisition – Learning (cont)
Peers
“I didn’t know all these different ways to hurt someone, but now I do!”
More peer interactions = more aggression
More victimization = more aggression (provocative victims, not passive)
Media
Bobo doll – but problems…no generalization?
Experimental – but problems…no generalization?
Real-world – but problems…

9. Implications: Eron & Heusmann, 198550
Females
Males 40 30 20 10
Low
Med
High
Low
Med
High
Frequency of TV Viewing at Age 8
DV: Seriousness of Criminal Act by Age 30

10. Problem
Many anti-social role models

11. Modeling (summary)
Learn new information – new and different ways to be aggressive
Learn new information – cultural rules about what is appropriate, when, whom, etc.
Learn new information – the more you witness, the more desensitized, disinhibited
Learning new information – alter image of reality, as more violent, more hostile expectations

12. “Using” Social Learning
Path model of being able to use it
Attention (pay attention to model)
Retention (remember the behavior)
Motor Reproduction (ability to replicate)
Motivational (want to do it)
Path model of knowing what to do
Textbook’s version is Dodge & Crick
Encode (aware)
Interpret (hostile)
Response search (options)
Response evaluation (choose one)
Response enactment (do it)