Aggression: Ethological Explanations of Aggression

An ethological explanation seeks to understand the innate behaviour of animals (including humans) by studying them in their natural environment. The focus of an ethological explanation is to try and account for behaviour in terms of its adaptive value to the specific species. Ethologists believe that by looking at animal behaviour this can help us to understand human behaviour. For example, a key ethologist from the attachment topic in Year 1 Psychology is Konrad Lorenz (1966) who used the behaviour of geese to explain attachment in humans.

Aggression is also seen as providing an adaptive function by ethologists. Aggression is seen in all animal species and is believed to be an innate behaviour. If a behaviour is innate, evolutionary psychologists propose that the behaviour must be beneficial to the organism. Aggression as a behaviour can help survival, as aggression can protect resources such as land and food. Aggression can establish dominance hierarchies, and these are vital to allow access to resources, such as females.

Lorenz (1966) proposed that aggression in animals is often ritualistic, which he argued is more adaptive than direct aggression, as symbolic aggression would help ensure the organism was not harmed. If the organism sustained an injury as part of aggression this could impair their ability to reproduce or even result in death. Therefore, ritualistic aggression such as ‘teeth baring’ would have the effect of deterring an opponent without physical harm being caused.

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