Social Psychological Approach to Insights on Human Behavior

Social Psychological Approach to Insights on Human Behavior

Suppose a student was to carry out a school or college shooting; I would attribute this behavior to social cognitive learning theory. Accordingly, the theory argues that people learn social behavior mainly through observing and imitating others and cognitive processes like people’s beliefs and expectations (Aronson et al., 2021). Notably, most students who have committed school shootings have been linked to a history of violence, especially bullying. From a young age, if one is subjected to extended periods of repeated violence or aggression, eventually, they will imitate this behavior because they will be convinced that the world is a hostile place, and as such, they need to be hostile as well.

The suitable situational explanation for school shootings would be provocation and reciprocation. Provocation leads to anger which then reduces one’s self-control, leading to destructive behaviors. The social cognitive motive influences a school shooter’s construal. Accordingly, social cognition is how individuals process, remember, and apply information about others (Aronson et al., 2021). Therefore, if a person has been subjected to violence, this negatively impacts their social cognition. Such a person will view people from a negative point of view. Based on the available information, which is their personal experiences, they will determine that they are accurate. Further, they might also seek out reinforcement of their construal from online communities or sites.

As mentioned above, a school shooter’s behavior is most likely learned due to long-term periods of violence. However, I believe gender also plays a significant role, as most school shooters today have been males. Considering that both male and female children can be victims of bullying, one would assume that both genders would react the same way. However, men tend to be more aggressive than women (Björkqvist, 2018). To counter school shootings, I would suggest programs that build empathy by countering dehumanization. This type of aggression is a reaction to the violence that students have been subjected to by other students. Therefore, as research shows, training students to empathize results in less aggression toward each other (Aronson et al., 2021). Accordingly, one of the most significant root causes of school shootings, which is bullying, will be eliminated, reducing the likeliness of school shootings occurring.

References

Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Sommers, S. R. (2021). Social psychology (10e druk). Harlow, UK: Pearson.

Björkqvist, K. (2018). Gender differences in aggression. Current Opinion in Psychology, 19, 39-42.

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To prepare:

Review Chapter 1 of the course text, Social Psychology, focusing on how social psychologists would view or attempt to explain a specific situation. Note the example about Edward Snowden on page 16.
Review Chapter 12 of the course text, Social Psychology, focusing on aggression.
Consider the following five social situations in which aggressive behavior is demonstrated and how social psychologists versus laypeople might treat each situation:
A high school or college campus shooting
An act of domestic violence or child abuse within a family
Looting of shops and homes after a natural disaster
Domestic or global terrorism
White-collar financial embezzlement
Select one of the five aggressive behaviors listed above for your Discussion post.
BY DAY 3

Social Psychological Approach to Insights on Human Behavior

Post a discussion of the following:

Select one of the five aggressive behaviors listed in the full assignment directions. How would you explain the aggressor’s behavior if you had made the fundamental attribution error? In other words, provide a dispositional explanation for the aggressive behavior.
Next, provide a situational explanation for the aggressor’s behavior. What might be the aggressor’s construal or interpretation of the situation? Examples of several social situations are described in Chapter 12.
How is the aggressor’s construal influenced by the self-esteem motive (the need to feel good about ourselves by justifying our behavior) or the social cognition motive (the need to be accurate by acting on available information)?
How could the aggressive act be explained by one of the following: the evolutionary view, the influence of culture, the influence of gender, or learning?
Based on your reading of Chapter 12, what would you suggest to prevent or reduce instances of this specific type of aggression, either at the individual level or at the societal level?

Resources:
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Sommers, S. R. (2019). Social psychology (10th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Chapter 1, “Introducing Social Psychology”
Chapter 12, “Aggression: Why Do We Hurt Other People? Can We Prevent It?”