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Is behavior due to nature or nurture essay
Social learning theory in aggression
Nature or nurture that affects behaviour more
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Physical assault and aggression is the second leading cause of death among 14 to 17 year olds, next to vehicular accidents (Loeber). But why are humans so aggressive in the first place? There are two sides of the debate: Nature, and Nurture. Some say that it’s human nature, genetics that cause most behaviors, while others say that we act as we learned during childhood. This argument applies to aggression as well. Aggression is mainly caused by things during childhood and adolescence where people learn from various sources about aggression, although, human psychology plays a slight factor.
But, what is aggression in the first place? Aggression is a behavior that causes or intends to cause harm to others. Accidental harm does not count as aggression, because the perpetrator did not intentionally mean to hurt the victim. Additionally, there are two types: reactive, and instrumental. Reactive aggression is aggression that is a response to an event. Instrumental aggression is used as a means to an end, a planned aggression to achieve a desired result, whether physical, mental, or emotional (Anderson 27-51). The two sides of the cause of aggression comes down to nature versus nurture. Some claim that aggression is learned, while others claim it is genetic (Ferguson). The former is more plausible, though the second should not be discounted.
The “Blank Slate” or tabula rasa theory states that humans are an empty slate to be filled with knowledge and behavior at birth (Locke). Humans are innately peaceful, and only learn how to hate and manipulate through society (Rousseau). Therefore, aggression is learned, not innately present. These theories have been accepted by many people, and influences how we teach children today. Applied to ag...
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...his all leads to the conclusion that aggressive behaviors are learned, and are not something that you are simply born with.
Works Cited
Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002). Human aggression. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(00664308), 27-51. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/205753750?accountid=1946
De Aguirre, María Inés. "Neurobiological Bases of Aggression, Violence, and Cruelty." Behavioral and Brain Sciences 29.3 (2006): 228-. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.
Ferguson, Chistopher J. “Natural-born killers: The genetic origins of extreme violence.” Aggression and Violent Behavior. 14(2009): 286-294. ScienceDirect. Web. 7 February 2012.
Loeber, Rolf. “Key issues in the devlipment of aggression and violence from childhood to early adulthood.” Annual Review of Psychology. 48 (1997): 371-410. Proquest. Web. 7 February 2012.
All around the globe, people have attempted to find an organic, genetic basis for aggressive behavior. Several hormones and neurotransmitters, such as testosterone and seretonin, have been implicated in the "aggression quest", as well as specific localities of the human brain. My paper will serve to suggest that although many findings have shown impressive results regarding possible biological causes of violent behavior, we still do not have sufficient means to understand the neuroanatomical or biochemical basis of aggression.
Although the behavioral patterns of serial killers have long been attributed to external (that is to say, social) causation, psychologists have recently begun to examine the biochemical circumstances underlying behavioral precursors of serial violence. A British philosopher, G.H. Lewes, noted that, " Murder, like talent, seems occasionally to run in families" (1,2). The observation, while loosely empirical in nature, has proven common enough to catalyze widespread research to identify a genetic factor resulting in a behavioral predisposition to violence. As yet, no single gene that unequivocally stimulates socially maladaptive aggression and violence has ...
Aggressive individuals often act in ways that will result in having personal gain, rather than focusing what impact they have on others. Aggression is pervasive. It affects the rich as well as the poor, the upper and lower classes, it defines us. This means that most sole individuals will behave in certain ways to promote their well being, instead of how they affect others. Michael Crichton uses characters in Jurassic Park to portray the negative physical, social and intellectual impact they can have on society. This is evident in everyday life because society has molded individuals into looking out for their well being with no considerations of the impact that it has on others.
The issue of whether or not criminal or aggressive behavior and violence is caused by biological or environmental factors has proven to be one that has caused a dispute for many years now. The biological or genetic factor of violent/criminal or aggressive behavior is certainly a much talked about topic. The idea that certain individuals could be predisposed to violence is something definitely deserving of doing research about. The nature vs. nurture topic has been a continuing debate for many aspects of human behavior, including aggression/violent behavior and criminal behavior. There have been many studies indicating that chemical relationships between hormones and the frontal lobe of the brain may play a key role in determining aggressive behavior as well as genetics, while other studies have explored environmental and social factors that have been said to control patterns in human aggression. Aggressive/violent behavior can’t be answered directly if it is caused by either nature or nurture; instead it is believed that both cause it.
Lefkowitz, Monroe M. 1977. Growing Up to be Violent: A Longitudinal Study of the Development of Aggression. New York: Pergamon.
Farrington, D. (2007), ‘Origins of Violent Behavior over the Life Span’, in D. Flannery, A.
Neihoff, D. (1999). The biology of violence: How understanding the brain, behavior and environment can break the vicious circle of aggression. New York: Free Press.
The research reviews and excerpt from the PBS video, "The Violent Mind", presented in this paper strongly support the evidence of a biological basis for violence in the brain.
One of the most researched topics in the history of psychology is aggression. One goal of social scientists has been to define aggression. Some believe that aggression is biologically preprogrammed, others look toward situational factors and this study suggests that aggression is learned. This study was conducted by Albert Bandura and his associates in 1961 at Stanford University. The researchers proposed that the children be exposed to adult models with either aggressive or nonaggressive ways, they would then be tested without the models present to determine if they would imitate that aggression they observed in the adult.
Many experts do not accept that biology alone creates children who kill. They believe that violence is a learned behavior. Being abused or witnessing domestic violence is an environmental factor in ju...
Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and Prosocial Behavior: a Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature." Psychological Science (2001). EBSCO. DePaul Library. 7 Mar. 2008.
17(4); 241-305. Reif, A. 2007 Neuropsychopharmacology. -. Nature and Nurture Predispose to Violent Behavior: Serotonergic Genes and Averse Childhood Environment. 32 (11); 2375-2383. Schaffner, K. 2001 Current Opinion in Psychiatry.
In all of these possibilities--instinct, heredity, hormones, or brain dysfunction--the aggression occurs without apparent provocation from the environment (although there is almost always a "target"). According to some of these theories, the need or urge to be aggressive is boiling within each of us and seeks opportunities to express itself. There is also clear evidence that alcohol consumption and hotter temperatures release aggression, but no one thinks there is something in alcohol or heat that generates meanness. The socialization process, i.e. becoming a mature person, involves taming these destructive, savage, self-serving urges that probably helped us humans survive one million years ago but threatens our survival today.
Reif , A., Rosler, M., Freitage, C., Schneider, M., Eujen, A., Kissling, C., Wenzler, D., & Jacob, C. (2007). Nature and nurture predispose to violent behavior: Serotonergic genes and adverse childhood environment. Neuropsychopharmacology, 32(11), 2375-2838.
Aggressive behavior is exhibited in individuals who present themselves in a very violent or hostile manner. Aggression is commonly linked with frustration and is a behavioral disorder that has various classifications. This factor makes it easy to confuse this disorder with different behavioral problems. There are different types of aggression that have different levels of severity. The website Study.com breaks down aggression into a few subcategories. The first subcategory is referred to as proactive aggressive behavior. According to Study.com, “proactive aggressive behaviors are calculated and planned actions that have some motive other than harming someone.” This means that proactive aggressive behaviors express feelings such as anger, frustration, superiority, etc in a pre-calculated manner to release built up tension. An individual's emotional needs motivate them to exert proactive aggressive behaviors. For example, bullying is a form of proactive aggression. Bullying allows the antagonist to feel superior to their victim and involves a lot of planning. The antagonist already knows who their target is, why they chose their target, and when they are going to torment them. The main thing to know about proactive aggressive behavior is that the individual who exhibits such behavior has a decent amount of control over their actions.The next sub-category is the complete opposite and is referred to as reactive