Aggression Vs Reactive Aggression

Aggression has drawn in various perspectives for its effects and interests in multiple fields, including psychology. Evolutionary psychologists believe that our primitive ancestors were aggressive due to the fight for survival and mating opportunities, with the immediate aim to hurt their competitors (Smith, Mackie & Claypool, 2015). The rationale that warrants such behaviours arises from the fundamental belief of conflict that self-interest is threatened and incompatibility of objectives (Smith et al., 2015). Consequentially, to guard their self-interests and self-esteems, people employ either one of the two broad categories of aggression, or both, namely reactive aggression and instrumental aggression.

Reactive aggression originates from the frustration-aggression theory (Crick & Dodge, 1996), explaining that the obstruction of an important goal will naturally precipitate aggression that is motivated by anger (Smith et al., 2015, 2015). As a defence mechanism, reactive aggression is predominately confrontational and interpersonal, which includes overt behaviours such as verbal and physical attacks (Little, Henrich, Jones & Hawley, 2003). Contrastingly, instrumental

Similarly, media violence is one that displays deliberate attempts to cause harm to others (Anderson & Bushman, 2001), and it includes dramatic television and movies, news, music videos and interactive media such as the Internet and video games (Anderson et al., 2003). The exhibition of media violence affects the individual’s internal state (Bushman & Anderson, 2002) and thereby presenting a significant and positive correlation, r = .19 (Anderson & Bushman, 2001). The undeniable claims that the media has the power to influence aggressive behaviours are supported by various theories, starting with the social learning