Discuss Explanations of Institutional Aggression

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Institutional aggression is thought to be caused by situational forces which are factors present in social situations which can collectively encourage aggressive and anti-social behaviour that would otherwise not be seen. Zimbardo applied this theory to the Iraq prison atrocities in Abu Gharib where prisoners of war were subjected to degrading and dehumanising treatments from US prison guards. He claimed that three main situational forces caused the guards to behave in such a way: status and power; revenge; and deindividuation. As the soldiers were the ‘bottom of the barrel’ army reserves on a night shift, they had little power and even had to take orders from civilians so their aggressive behaviour may have been an attempt to demonstrate some control over inferior people. This explains why not all guards behaved in such a manner. Wanting revenge is an important factor, as these prisoners had killed fellow US soldiers who may have been close friends to the guards. Guards may have felt that the humiliation that the prisoners were subjected to was a more suitable punishment for their behaviour, and would ‘teach them a lesson’. Deindividuation and helplessness of the situation also have to be taken into account, as anyone put in the conditions and stress that soldiers are under may behave differently, not forgetting their job requires dehumanisation to enable them to be able to carry out orders they are given. This theory was based upon mainly male subjects and therefore it cannot be assumed that findings can be applied to the whole population, as there are obvious differences between male and female behaviours when considering aggression. As well as this the case studied was US army reserves who come from a western culture and acceptable views and behaviours differ between cultures, so it cannot be assumed that this is applicable throughout the world.
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