PSY 3173 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Social Learning Theory, Domestic Violence, Learned Helplessness
28 Apr 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
March 29, 2017
Domestic Violence
Learning Objectives
Differentiate between types of abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV)
Explain why some women remain in or return to abusive relationships
Outline how social learning theory has been used to explain intimate partners violence
Describe the types of male batterers
Outline effectiveness of domestic violence offender treatment
Identify the various types of stalkers
Types of Domestic Violence
Domestic violence: any violence occurring between family members
Spousal violence: any violence occurring between intimate partners who are living together or separated
-Aka intimate partner violence (IPV)
-Can occur between same or opposite sex partners
Domestic Violence
Abuse can include:
-Physical: ex. hitting, punching, stabbing, burning
-Sexual: forcing sexual activity
-Financial: ex. restricting access to personal funds, theft of paycheques
-Emotional: ex. Verbal attacks, degradation, threats about hurting family or pets
3 phases of abuse:
-Tension building: increasing conflict and tension between the partners
-Acting out phase: batterer engages in intimate partner violence
-Honeymoon phase: batterer apologizes, says it will never happen again, etc.
•Frequency increases and length of honeymoon phase tends to decrease with time
•Eventually there won’t even be a honeymoon phase anymore
Myths About Domestic Violence
Myths: domestic violence is not a common problem
1
March 29, 2017
-Truth: 1/8 people are domestically abused
-15-25 year olds are most at risk
Myth: only heterosexual women get abused
-Truth: same sex relationships tend to have higher domestic abuse rates
Myth: when a woman leaves a violent relationship she is safe
-Truth: 75% of women end up being in extreme danger when leaving
Myth: alcohol and drugs cause people to act aggressively
-Truth: this may be a factor, but not everyone who drinks or takes drugs abuse their partner
Myth: when a woman gets hit by her partner she must have provoked it
Myth: maybe things will get better
-Truth: research shows that the situation tends to get worse and the abuse tends to become more frequent
The Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS)
Most commonly used scales to measure domestic violence: CTS and updated CTS2
-18 items
-Measures how partners resolve conflicts
-Problem solving methods range from:
•Constructive (ex. discuss calmly)
•Verbal or indirect aggression (ex. swearing)
•Physical aggression (ex. Slapping)
Criticisms:
-The way it is introduced to respondents
•Many acts of domestic abuse are not precipitated by an argument and won’t be reported
-Limited range of violent acts - sexual aggression is not included
-Ignores the different consequences for the same act for men and women
•Ex. 200 pound man punching a 100 pound woman has more severe consequences than the other way around
-Does not assess motive for violence
-Items may be interpreted differently depending on respondent gender
Statistics Canada Survey on Intimate Partner Assault
Used modified CTS to measure physical, psychological, and sexual violence in intimate relationships
2
March 29, 2017
Found that:
-Both men and women experience violence
-Women experience more severe forms of violence
-Violence against women more likely to be reported to police
•Huge stigma attached to men being abused
•Male same-sex relationships are very unlikely to report abuse
Theories of Intimate Violence
Patriarchy: broad set of cultural beliefs and values that support male dominance of woman
-Social patriarchy: male dominance at the social level
-Familial patriarchy: male dominance specifically within the family
Social learning theory: three main components
-Origins of aggression
•Observational learning: learning behaviours by watching others perform these behaviours (cultural norms, family
members, media, etc.)
-Instigators of aggression: events in the environment that provide incentive for the aggression
-Regulators of aggression: internal and external consequences of aggressive behaviour
•If negative consequences of aggressive behaviour outweigh the positive consequences of aggressive
behaviour, the abuse will not occur
•If positive consequences outweigh negative consequences, abuse will occur
Ecological model: focuses on the relationship among the multiple levels that influence intimate violence
-Macrosystem: broad sets of societal and cultural beliefs and attitudes
•Ex. Patriarchy and social norms
-Exosystem: social structure that connect the individual to the wider society
•Ex. Unemployment can increase the likelihood of violence, whereas family or friends who provide emotional
support can decrease the likelihood of violence
-Microsystem: the immediate environment in which the abuse occurs
•Ex. The couple’s communication of each spouses’ method of coping with conflict
-Ontogenic level: psychological and biological features of the individual
•Ex. The individual’s abuse history or ability to manage emotions
3
Document Summary
Differentiate between types of abuse and intimate partner violence (ipv) Explain why some women remain in or return to abusive relationships. Outline how social learning theory has been used to explain intimate partners violence. Domestic violence: any violence occurring between family members. Spousal violence: any violence occurring between intimate partners who are living together or separated. Can occur between same or opposite sex partners. Financial: ex. restricting access to personal funds, theft of paycheques. Verbal attacks, degradation, threats about hurting family or pets. Tension building: increasing con ict and tension between the partners. Acting out phase: batterer engages in intimate partner violence. Honeymoon phase: batterer apologizes, says it will never happen again, etc: frequency increases and length of honeymoon phase tends to decrease with time, eventually there won"t even be a honeymoon phase anymore. Myths: domestic violence is not a common problem. 15-25 year olds are most at risk. Truth: same sex relationships tend to have higher domestic abuse rates.
