Option 3 common mistakes

Common mistakes

• Confusing aggression with violence

  Students often equate aggression solely with physical violence.

  Fix itAggression encompasses a broader range of behaviors, including verbal and psychological aggression.

• Overgeneralizing the role of genetics

  Assuming that having the MAOA gene variant directly causes aggressive behavior.

  Fix itRecognize that aggression is influenced by a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors.

• Confusing IRMs with learned behaviors

  Students often confuse innate releasing mechanisms with behaviors that are learned through experience.

  Fix itRemember that IRMs are biological triggers for instinctive responses, not learned behaviors.

• Confusing aggression with violence

  Students often equate aggression with violence without recognizing that aggression can be a broader concept.

  Fix itClarify that aggression includes a range of behaviors intended to harm, not just physical violence.

• Confusing theories

  Students often confuse the frustration-aggression hypothesis with social learning theory.

  Fix itRemember that the frustration-aggression hypothesis focuses on emotional responses to frustration, while social learning theory emphasizes learning through observation.

• Confusing Dispositional and Situational Factors

  Students often mix up dispositional and situational explanations, attributing aggression solely to one or the other.

  Fix itClarify that both dispositional and situational factors can interact to influence aggression.

• Confusing Desensitisation with Disinhibition

  Students often mix up desensitisation (emotional numbness) with disinhibition (reduced social restraints).

  Fix itRemember that desensitisation refers to emotional responses, while disinhibition refers to behavioral responses.

• Confusing Typology with Investigative Psychology

  Students often mix up the definitions and applications of the typology approach and investigative psychology.

  Fix itRemember that the typology approach categorizes offenders, while investigative psychology focuses on behavioral patterns and context.

• Overstating genetic determinism

  Claiming that genetics alone determine offending behaviour.

  Fix itEmphasise that genetic factors interact with environmental influences and that heritability estimates do not imply inevitability.

• Overgeneralising Eysenck’s theory

  Assuming all high psychoticism individuals will offend

  Fix itClarify that psychoticism increases risk but does not determine behaviour; other factors (e.g., environment, opportunity) moderate the relationship.