If sexuality was the main issue that has preoccupied psychologists in the early twentieth century, aggression is the primary concern of the XXI century. Aggression has been studied a lot especially in terms of social significance. Most contradictory discussions about human aggression were focused on the innate-acquired main report. Some theories emphasize that aggression is fixed within our genetic code, while others sustain that factors such as education, environment, life experiences leave a mark on our behaviour, sometimes leading to aggression.
Anderson and Bushman describe human aggression as "any behaviour directed toward another individual that is carried out with the proximate (immediate) intent to cause harm. In addition, the perpetrator must believe the behaviour will cause harm and that the target is motivated to avoid the behaviour".
Concerning the origin of human aggression, two main theories were developed: on one side, there is the innate character of aggression, under the form of insinctive aggression, and on the other side, aggressive behavior is believed to be acquired through social determination.For the innate trait of aggression pleaded both ethologists and psychoanalysts and the reply to their statements came from the behaviourists.
The innate theories of aggression were supported by diverse arguments, biological, ethological and psychoanalytical concepts and among the promoters are McDougall, Lorenz, Freud, Brown, Conner.
Ethology or behavioral biology, is the science that studies the behavior of creatures, related to the habits and customs, the relations between species and the response to environmental stimuli. Through studies done over time, ethologists have sought to better understand the innate part o...
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...al differences between the two genres, by stimulating electrically certain parts of the cortex an individual is bound to engage in an aggressive behavior more easily, high levels of alcohol or low levels of blood sugar increase aggression.
In conclusion, although Sigmund Freud and Konrad Lorentz share the belief that aggression is, by nature, within us all, in Freud’s theory aggression appears to be primarily distructive, while Lorentz stands by the idea that aggressive behavior is essential for our survival.Although the innate theory is easy to imagine, I believe it is also false, because all of the studies conducted until now show clear evidence of external stimulation that leads to aggression (imitation-The “Bodo doll” experiment-, frustration –Dollard’s theory-, social learning –Berkowitz’s studies- ), but none shows proof of an internal origin of this behavior.
...ctly related to violence, may have attributed to frustration, which in turn could lead to anger and aggressive behavior. Also, lack of socialization leads to deviant behavior and juvenile delinquency.
Nurture brings out the aggressive behaviour in humans. Mikal Gilmore’s book, Shot in the Heart, correlates with the aspect of aggressive behaviour nurture because of how he turned out unlike the other four, who did not have a this ability to kill. The nurture of a child into adulthood develops and creates the aggressive behaviour within the environment. The aggressive behaviour can be found in every human, but it is not until the cognitive development of a child that the aggressive behaviour can start to form and become overpowering. Though the basis of aggression is found in people it is not until a child is exposed to an aggressive
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.
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.
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.
The statement suggests that those with no history of violence within their family and/or those who had a good upbringing will most likely not go on to commit violent crimes. At first this does seem like a reasonable suggestion to make. However, once we look deeper into this topic we uncover more complex explanations that are used to understand the phenomenon that is violent crime. Psychological perspectives are widely used throughout the world of criminology in order to help comprehend why crime is committed and the patterns that occur between the type of offender and type of crime. There perspectives are broken down into four main areas within psychology; Biological/Evolutionary, Social/Learning theory, Psychoanalytical/Psychodynamic and finally
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.
Freud believes that aggression is a primal instinct, and civilization thwarts this instinct, making man unhappy. Civilized society controls man's tendency toward aggression through rules and laws and the presence of authority. These mechanisms are put in place to guarantee safety and happiness for all individuals in a society. However, the necessity of suppressing the aggressive drive in m...
The field of psychology has opened different hypothesis from a variety of theories with the aim of studying the behaviour of humans being as a result they concluded with five psychological perspectives. Behaviourist, Biological, Psychodynamic, Cognitive and Humanistic perspectives are the deduction after a depth study of mental activity associate to human behaviour. In this essay I will be comparing two psychological perspectives according to aggressive behaviour.
punishment may contribute casually to the development of aggression and in the third group there was either
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.
When looking at the issue of violence, violence is a natural abnormality that should be rehabilitated; violence can also be a learned behavior that children of all ages should be informed to avoid. Before I continue to make assumptions about violence, violence should be viewed through, genetic makeup causing an individual(s) to behavior a certain way, how the environment would affect the behavior of an individual(s), and how both genetics and environmental factors merge together to create violent behaviors. Before there is an understanding of how serotonin effects violent outburst, we must first understand and breakdown the science of serotonin. Serotoni...
...nd aggressive behavior. In M. H. Bornstein and M. E. Lamb (Eds.), Social, emotional, and personality development. Part III of Developmental Psychology: An Advanced Textbook (2nd Edn.), pp. 461 – 495. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
The first thing to look at is what human aggression is. It is defined as any behavior toward another individual that is carried out with the proximate (immediate) intent to cause harm (Anderson & Bushman 2002). Not to get confused with violence, all violent acts have aggression but not all aggressive acts are violent. For example kids often aggressive behavior towards each other but without the intent to hurt them. So now it’s time to look at the different types of aggression. Affective aggression (also labeled 'hostile' or 'emotional' is usually conceived as impulsive, thoughtless (that is, unplanned), driven by anger, having the ultimate motive of harming the target, and occurring in reaction to some perceived provocation. Instrumental aggression, in contrast, is usually conceived as a premeditated means of obtaining some goal other than harming the victim, being proactive rather than reactive, and resulting from cold calculation rather than hot affect. Impulsive aggression is usually conceived as thoughtless (automatic, fast, and without consider...
Many social psychologists agree that aggression can be defined as behaviour which intends to harm another person who does not want harm inflicted on them (Baron & Richardson, 1994; Bushman & Huesmann, 2010). This definition is all encompassing capturing the possible range of aggressive behaviours whilst excluding activities that can ‘hurt’ but to which the target of the hurt willingly consents and are therefore not considered aggressive due to this circumstance, for example, surgery. As aggression can be presented at differing levels and as result of this can range from the act of pushing someone over to domestic violence or even the extremities of terrorism. Therefore, as aggressive behaviour encompasses such a wide range of actions ranging