Discussion Board 4
Part 1– The Origins of Aggression
Click on the following hyperlinks to view a documentary on the origins of aggression. It is split
up into four separate segments. Watch all four parts)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BelCtlekuik (Links to an external site.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0Go3md35nA (Links to an external site.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae3D6kuQGh0 (Links to an external site.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxOoc7qMZfg (Links to an external site.)
Nature and nurture are complex forces that interact to shape development and human
behavior
1. Biological origins of aggression: From what you saw in the video are humans biologically pre-
wired for aggression? Why or why not? How is temperament linked with aggression? What
adaptive and maladaptive functions does aggression serve?
2. Social origins of aggression: The environment also plays a major role in shaping our
aggressive behavior. What are the most important environmental, social, and cultural variables
that shape the development of aggression? According to the documentary what pregnancy
conditions or early life experiences can negatively alter brain development in childhood?
3. Lifespan development: What did you learn about the results of longitudinal research on the
onset and development of aggressive behavior? At what lifespan period are we most
aggressive? Is there a sensitive period (age range) during which this socialization must take
place? Should we expose people to anti-aggression interventions during adolescence or early
childhood? Why?
4. The significance of the social group: How does anger and aggression evolve into
cooperation? What role does the social group play in this process of developing violence and
aggression? What social psychological concepts are relevant to understanding the role of
socialization in learning to regulate aggressive impulses?
5. Neuroscience, emotion regulation, and the rehabilitation of violent offenders: What did
you learn about the neuroscience of brain development and emotion regulation? If a child is
not able to have the necessary socialization experiences that help to facilitate emotional
control and regulation, what impact will this have on his or her brain? Based on what you have
learned do you believe that violent adults can be rehabilitated? Support your answer with
examples from the documentary.
Part 2 – The Science of Interpersonal Attraction
Watch the following documentary about heterosexual interpersonal attraction. This video
focuses on the role of beauty and status in interpersonal attraction (50 min, 5 sec)
1.What have you learned about heterosexual attraction after viewing the documentary? Give
TWO SPECIFIC examples of social psychological concepts or theories that were exemplified in the video.
2. In the video you saw a woman who attempted to make herself more physically attractive.
What did she do to try to achieve the golden ratio? In real life do you see examples of the
Golden Ratio standard of beauty? Have you ever witnessed or experienced the Halo Effect?
Give examples.
3. What did you think about the “experiment” where Peter stands in the shop window? Did his clothing and appearance affect they way others viewed his status? Does this happen in real life? The evolutionary theory of attraction suggests that men place a higher priority on youth and physical attractiveness while women place a higher priority on status and financial
resources and that both of these strategies serve to maximize reproductive fitness. Do you
think the evolutionary theory plays out in real life examples of heterosexual romantic
attraction? Give examples.
4.While the documentary you watched provides insights into the evolutionary forces that shape heterosexual attraction, it does little to describe or explain homosexual attraction. Read the
following article about some recent published studies. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26089486
Then, in your own words, write one paragraph describing what you learned about evolution and homosexual attraction.
Part 3 – Helping Behavior In the helping chapter you learned about Darley & Latane’s model of helping behavior. In this section you will find, analyze, and discuss a real-life situation of helping behavior.
1. Begin by posting a link to an “event” where a person is in need. This might be a crime, a
situation where someone is being bullied, or a situation where someone is experiencing an
emergency, as in the Kitty Genovese case. This link should be to an article or video clip that clearly describes the facts surrounding the event. Next, write a one paragraph summary of the “event”.
2. Darley and Latane’s model suggests that we will help others only when we have completed
the following steps:
-Noticing the event or “emergency”
-Interpreting the situation as an “emergency” (a situation where immediate action or
assistance is necessary).
-Taking responsibility to help
You also learned about how the attributions we make for people’s behavior can absolutely
influence these steps in the model (e.g., if we see someone in scruffy clothing laying on the
sidewalk we might assume that’s “ordinary” because it is a homeless person, but if we see
someone in an expensive suit laying on the sidewalk we might assume that’s “out of the
ordinary” and that the person must have passed out or experienced a medical emergency.
Furthermore if we are in public and other people continuously walk past this person laying on the sidewalk this affects our interpretation of the event as well. In our heads we say “well if others didn’t stop surely this isn’t really an emergency”.
For this question, apply Darley and Latane’s model to your event.
-Did witnesses notice?
-Did they interpret the event as an emergency?
-Did anyone take responsibility for helping?
3. Did you see any evidence of the bystander effect or the diffusion of responsibility? Did you see any examples of informational social influence, conformity, or cognitive dissonance? Did you see any other relevant examples of concepts we discussed in the helping chapter (e.g., the empathy altruism hypothesis, the social responsibility norm, kin selection theory, etc.) in this real life event?
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