by The Open University
Available in 36 free installments
Owner:
Before watching the video below make some notes listing all the different explanations for why Zidane head-butted Materazzi you can think of. It might help if you think about the different influences you have read about in this book. Can you suggest any factors related to Zidane's biological state, his thinking, relationships and social identities that could help to explain what happen?
Once you have completed your notes watch ?Everyday explanations?, which shows some members of the general public offering their views on what happened. Compare your explanations with theirs.
Interactive content appears here. Please visit the website to use it.Launch high-resolution videoVideo clip 1: Every day explanationsDid you find that your explanations covered more sources of influence than those of the general public? It is worth thinking about the way you would normally regard the behaviour of a footballer who ?hits out?. Have you been inclined to explaining such behaviour in simple or straightforward terms, such as saying, ?it all comes down to??? Has doing this reading helped you see some other possibilities?
Next you'll examine the explanations proposed by three psychologists who are focusing on three different types of influence.
Now listen to ?Psychological explanations?. This shows three psychologists, one biological, one cognitive and one social giving their interpretation of what happened. Make notes of the key points of each explanation
Please note: the audio clips below are taken from the Y163 course DVD and so you will notice references to chapters in the course which are not represented here.
Interactive content appears here. Please visit the website to use it.DownloadPsychological explanations
Figure 14: Pat Spoors ? Biological psychologist
Figure 15: Dr Peter Naish ? Cognitive psychologist
Figure 16: Dr Jovan Byford ? Social psychologist
The biological psychologist suggested that there may be a genetic predisposition for men to react to provocation with physical aggression more than a women would. The role of testosterone is not clear, although there is a link between this male sex hormone and aggression. However the stress engendered by the situation that Zidane was in would have caused a release of adrenalin and biological arousal which in turn would intensify any type of emotional response.
The cognitive psychologist highlighted the role of schemas and top-down processing in influencing the interpretation of the situation and the response to the situation. He also highlighted selective attention in that provocation might be unnoticed or ignored when attention is focused elsewhere. Interestingly the football schema may also have determined the type of response so that Zidane head-butted Materazzi rather than punched or hit him.
