Aggression is a behavior directed towards another intended to harm or injure. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that enable impulses in the brain to be transmitted from one area of the brain to another. There’s evidence that the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine are closely linked to aggressive behavior. Low levels of serotonin and high levels of dopamine have been associated with aggression in both animals and humans.…
There are two main biological explanations to aggression, neural and hormonal. The neural explanation is the serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitters and how they affect our aggression; the hormonal mechanisms are the testosterone and cortisol chemicals.…
Aggression is something that people will experience throughout life whether they are experiencing it directly or indirectly. Throughout the years, aggression has been studied in many different forms and ways. It ranges greatly and can range all the way from destructive behavior down to an insulting remark. Direct aggression would be referred to as a physical altercation or incident and indirect aggression would someone spreading gossip throughout a group of people Aggression comes in many different shapes and sizes. Defining the term aggression has been a major argument throughout the scientific community for many years. The most widely accepted definition of the term aggression was defined by Buss ( 1961: 1) as “a response that delivers noxious…
One social psychological theory of aggression is Bandura’s social learning theory, in which he combines both social and cognitive psychology in his social cognitive perspective of human behaviour. Bandura believed that behaviour was not only motivated by psychological factors but also by more socio-environmental factors. He argued that the individual and the environment were linked, something which he called reciprocal determinism. Bandura believed that the presence of a role model from whom behaviour could be imitated was the key part of the social learning theory, and that this role model would either be similar to the person imitating the behaviour (e.g. same age or gender) or is in a position of power (e.g. celebrities or parents). Despite this the individual imitating the behaviour still needs to have a level of self confidence in order to imitate, which Bandura referred to as self-efficacy.…
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory suggests that acts of aggression are learnt through the observation of role models. His original “Bobo Doll” study showed that when exposed to aggressive behaviour small children copied this behaviour, not just by being physically aggressive but even copying the verbally aggressive behaviour. However this study focuses on children who are supposed to learn in this manner, this doesn’t demonstrate that this would also be true in older children or adults who already have a set moral compass that would interfere with copying aggressive behaviours. However Bandura’s later study showed that if children saw someone get punished for aggressive behaviour they were less likely to be aggressive themselves when they were allowed to play with the bobo doll but if they saw someone get rewarded for this aggressive behaviour then they were much more likely to act aggressively themselves, this shows that vicarious reinforcement is important to the learning of aggression through the social learning theory, as receiving direct positive reinforcement leads to people having high self efficacy making them very likely to repeat the aggressive behaviour that they were rewarded for. In terms of aggression this reward could come in many forms such as acceptance from a violent gang they want to be a part of or just attention from a parent or teacher. Moreover, Walter and Thomas' study in 1963 further supported this theory as the results of the study demonstrated that aggressive behaviour was a result of imitation of role models. However, the social learning theory does not explain what triggers aggression. Additionally, the study emphasises nurture and learning through observation - ignoring nature and biological explanations.…
Deindividuation theory is a social psychological explanation of aggression. It explains how rational individuals can become aggressive hooligans in a mob or crowd as it suggests that losing their sense of identity and self awareness deindividuates people. Individuals in groups fail to see the consequences of their actions, and the social norms they would normally follow are forgotten and this is when aggressive behaviour occurs. Deindividuation causes people unquestioningly to follow group norms instead of personal norms and sometimes these group norms lead to aggression. According to Zimbardo, in a crowd we feel anonymous and unaccountable and thus are less concerned about negative evaluations by…
The biological approach to aggression includes the belief that genetic factors play a role in aggressive behaviour and lies within an individual’s genetic make-up. There is supporting evidence of a genetic component of aggression. Psychologists have looked at twin studies to try and find evidence for a genetic basis o compare the degree of similarity of aggression between sets of monozygotic (MZ) twins and dizygotic (DZ) twins. In general it was found that aggressive behaviour is more highly correlated in MZ twins than DZ twins. For example, Gottesman found a concordance rate of 87% for aggressive behaviour for MZ twin pairs, compared with 72% for DZ twin pairs. However, solely relying on evidence from twin studies can be problematic as it is hard to disentangle nature and nurture. It has been suggested that MZ twins are treated more alike and share more similar environments than DZ twins due to them acting more like 'one' person rather than two separate people. This may affect how alike they are and how likely they both are to express aggression.…
Aggression is a difficult behaviour to predict but also it is often hard to control. It comes in many physical, verbal and non-verbal forms. Physical aggression can appear from as little as slapping/ hitting a person to firing a gun at someone. Verbal aggression can be someone screaming or using abusive/racist language and non-verbal can include things like using offensive gestures or invading an individual’s personal space. A person may express this kind of behaviour if they are either distressed or if they want to communicate an unmet need. It is classified in 2 groups:…
The use of twin studies helps explain how there could be genetic factors in aggressive behavior. There are two types of Twin, monozygotic (identical) and Dizygotic (non-identical). If both types are studied in terms of aggression and the M-Z twins are more similar in aggressive behaviour it would suggest there is a genetic influence on aggression. Coccaro et al found that when comparing MZ and DZ twins, over 50 % of variance in aggressive behaviours between MZ twins could be attributed to genetic factors.…
The social learning theory is based on operant conditioning which suggests that children learn to be aggressive by observing the behaviour of those around them, particularly the behaviour of significant others, such as parents or elder siblings. By seeing others being rewarded or punished for their behaviour, the child experiences vicarious reinforcement. From these models, children therefore learn about the nature of aggressive behaviour, the situations it is appropriate and its likely consequences. In addition to learning about the likely outcomes of aggressive behaviour, children also develop confidence in their ability to use aggressive behaviour to get what they want. Children who are confident that they will be able to use aggressive behaviour effectively to achieve their ends are high in self-efficacy; those with less confidence in their ability to use aggression are low in self-efficiency and may decide to use other methods.…
One social psychological theory of aggression is social learning theory. SLT argues that like all behaviour, aggression is learned through both direct and indirect reinforcement. Behaviour which is reinforced, be that positively or negatively – positive reinforcement occurs when the behaviour causes desired outcomes, negative reinforcement occurs when the behaviour causes undesirable outcomes - is more likely to be learned and repeated. Operant conditioning states that learning the behaviour occurs through direct reinforcement, for example if a child cleans their room and is given some sweets (positive reinforcement) or when a child cleans their room so their parent stops telling them off (negative reinforcement). SLT unlike operant conditioning, believes that behaviour can also be learned and repeated through indirect reinforcement or vicarious reinforcement. This theory was developed by Bandura and claimed that the majority of behaviour is learned through watching others. It states that if people observe another person’s behaviour reinforced – positively or negatively – they are more likely to repeat that behaviour. Bandura named these observed people models and said that people are more likely to imitate the behaviour if the model they are observing is similar to them, powerful, admirable or nurturing, for instance a child’s parents would be their most probable model. One of the main differences between traditional behaviourism and Bandura’s view in social learning theory is that Bandura believes that observation alone is enough for learning to take place unlike Skinner who argues that learning is a consequence of reinforcement.…
What is aggression? During my research, I have noted various definitions of aggression and have often found it to be coupled with violence. This human trait is so complex that it is difficult to pinpoint any one description, but I believe that for the purpose of this essay, this extremely loose term will have to suffice, as aggression is viewed differently according to the different approaches. "Aggression - a wide variety of acts that involve attack" (The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology-Third Edition 2001)…
Evolutionary psychologists believe that aggression is linked through genes and has been maintained biologically as people have adapted to the changing physical and social demands of the environment. In the past, males that found other mates desirable found it necessary to compete with other males. The most successful male was the most aggressive. This aggressive behaviour made sure that the fittest males survived and were more successful in securing mates and passing on their genetic fitness to their offspring. In terms of evolutionary explanations, this is known as sexual selection and has led to the development genetically for males to behave aggressively with other males.…
Is aggression an innate and deterministic quality from birth, or is it something that one that all can control, as a matter of free will and choice, to be used when we need it in a calculated manner? At birth all people are born with aggression as a survival trait. As we educate ourselves as we have seen in the video “The Truth About Violence” even in an educated culture such as the United States we still have violence. Violent people and we are drawn to violent sports such as cage fighting and football. Even the most mild manner people who don’t like violence in movies, sports or anywhere else can find enjoyment from participating in violence. When a person results to violence I don’t believe they can control the amount of aggression that they have. In my opinion it is never a calculated amount. This is why we have crime of passion and people become violent and do things that they will have never did if they would not have lost their temper or snapped as some people call it. Depending on the persons upbringing and education level determines how much it will take or how long before a person will lose their temper. The society that a person is raised in has a lot to do with their aggression level. In certain countries where violence is accepted and even rewarded the individual learns that it is ok to celebrate violence and participate in it. It will bring certain people adrenaline rushes so they will seek it if it’s not taught that there is a time and a place for everything.…
The frustration aggression theory states that aggression is caused by frustration. When someone is prevented from reaching his target he becomes frustrated. This frustration can then turn into aggression when something triggers it. For example, if one fails in a final exam, he will definitely become frustrated. But what if someone he barely knows told him “You are such a loser not to pass that exam”. In this case, his stored frustration will surely turn into aggression. Note that the frustration aggression theory does not provide explanation to all types of aggression, but it rather focuses on aggression that results from not being able to reach your goals.…