Striving, Playing and Learning
On aggression and the dynamics of learning in the play and struggle called 'life'
By Popko P. van der Molen & Johan M.G. van der Dennen
Presented at the 1978 Congress of the "Ethologische Gesellschaft" at Basel and at the First Congress of the European Section of the International Society for the Research on Aggression (I.S.R.A.) at Strassburg, sept. 1981.
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Summary
A novel model on the dynamics of learning is presented which bears particular significance to the notion of (violent) aggressiveness. It suggests, among other things, that aggressive behavior cannot be properly understood whithout considering the basic dynamics of learning involved, without recognizing the shifting balance between 'striving and playing' and without recognizing the prevailing balance between social skills and 'unskills'. If any of these aspects are not considered, 'Aggression' or 'aggressiveness' will tend to be viewed as a separate phenomenon in its own right - which is unfortunately a widespread habit, not only in daily life, but also among the very investigators of the subject. The very use of labels such as 'Aggressiveness' and 'violence' keeps our attention trapped and hampers awareness of the underlying dynamic behavioral processes . In the first half of this paper some well-known models of aggression are critically reviewed and some of the basic concepts are subsequently integrated with theories of learning and with the 'reversal' hypothesis of antagonistic motivations, which replaces the optimum-arousal theory. An additional hypothesis on the long-term regulation of attention then completes the emerging model of learning. A model which stresses the antagonism between the possible growth of stereotyped and inflexible emergency reactions, and the long-term growth of varieties of subtle and flexible coping-response patterns (skills). The proposed model conflicts with many classical learning-conditioning concepts in that it predicts that the prevailing emotional (telic/paratelic, or centripetal/centrifugal) balance determines whether certain aversive and/or ambivalent stimuli result in the long run in attraction or in repulsion.
1. Critical recovery periods, an Experiment
In a series of experiments (Van der Molen, 1979, 198]), approximately 60 male housemice of the CPB's strain were weaned and isolated at the age of 21 days. Subsequently they were introduced every day or every other day into an unfamiliar observation cage, populated by a group of resident mice showing territorial aggressive behavior towards strangers. Being outnumbered by at least four to one and being on foreign territory, a trainee never had a chance to win and therefore was beaten up every time when introduced, and often slightly wounded. After 5 to 10 days of training, these trainees would immediately show avoidance behavior when being introduced, even when not under attack by any resident mouse at all.
There seemed, however, to be some sort of critical training frequency, i.e., if the periods of rest in isolation between the training introductions were too long, the effect of the whole training was the opposite of what was intended in the first place. If an 'experienced animal' or an experienced 'fleeing' trainee was introduced once every week or once every other week instead of every day, he would tend to put up skilled resistance. Such a male did not attack residents, but refrained from 'fleeing frantically' and appeared to 'stand firm' when necessary. By manipulating only the 'training frequency', trainees could be transformed from inexperienced males into either 'fearful fleeing males' or 'skilled fighters'. It should be remembered that neither type of trainee ever won a fight. During every introduction in their training period they had to fight against heavy odds. 'Skilled fighters' simply managed to hold out and fight back now and then without 'running for their lives' frantically. With the procedure described above trainees became either more skilled in fighting or more fearful than inexperienced males. Furthermore, in-experienced males varied more in their reaction patterns than did either of the two classes of trainees. Once a male had become a 'skilled fighter' it was very difficult to reshape him into a 'fearful fleeer' again. Apparently the same type of experience can lead to different learning processes, depending on the input frequency of the experience. The one direction in the learning spiral (deviation-amplifying mutual causal process: Maruyama, 1963) leads to stereotyped and intensive avoidance reactions; the other direction leads to increased skill in offering resistance.
Thus the temporal pattern of experience appears to be of great importance for its ultimate effect. Besides, individual mice differed in their critical digestion time for this type of experience; for the CPB's
