Aggression is an intentional action aimed at doing harm or causing pain (Aronson…) and it often is classified either as physical or verbal aggression. Physical aggression is an action which will cause physical pain and injury and often include hitting, kicking… using weapons; for verbal aggression is an assault on other’s self-concept and it will likely to cause some inward or mental distress.
Under the context of aggression, there are many causes that work together to arouse people’s aggressiveness. Biological influence through neural and chemical, combine with the situation and the target people is facing. Often times a target for aggression matters, for example, men’s aggression is often towards another man (Graham & Wells, 2001a). As for women, in a research, it reveals that they are more likely to have physical aggression towards their partner (Archer, 2000). Both of these research confirmed that gender difference affects the selection of targets. Also, the situation is another factor for aggression, in the research it declares
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According to the prediction, people’s level of aggressiveness will drop when the target is participant’s friend under the situation that involves a general offensive action, yet if the situation involves an intimate issue, the participant will likely to act aggressively to their friends. If the target is a stranger, then participant’s level of aggression will increase while facing a general offensive action and participants will act less aggressively to a stranger when it is an intimate issue. In this experiment, the independent variable is different situations and different targets, and the dependent variable is the level of people aggressiveness towards stranger and friend under variant situations. As for clarification, general offensive action in this context
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.
Several hormones such as dopamine and norepinephrine enhance aggressive behavior. A high level of testosterone is also a determining factor of increased aggressive behavior, which is why victims report that their assailant was male in more than 80 percent of all violent personal crimes (Siegel & Worrall, 2013). Aggression is subdivided into two categories: affective and predatory aggression. Affective aggression usually involves high levels of physiological arousal within the individual and takes place when fighting for a mate or social status, such as when a gang uses violence to intimidate other rivals within their neighborhood. Predatory aggression involves low stimulation levels and is done in a methodical manner that involves stalking and meticulous planning.
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.
In 1992, a group of Norwegian researchers conducted a study of girls. “They found girls participate in aggression, but they express their anger in unconventional nonphysical ways” (Simmons 20). Another group of experts from the University of Minnesota continued with these findings and found the girl’s aggressive behavior should be classified into three subcategories; relational, indirect, and social aggression” (Simmons 21). An example of relational aggression would be ignoring someone or giving them the “silent treatment” which can be very traumatic for the victim. They wonder what they...
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.
Campbell, A. (1993). Cultural Lessons in Aggression. Men, Women, and Aggression: From Rage in Marriage to Violence in the Streets – How Gender Affects the Way We Act. New York. Basic Books, 1-18.
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.
After understanding the forms of aggression, one can slowly begin to understand relational aggression. Aggression is defined as behavior that is intended to harm others. Aggression can take many forms including physical violence, date violence, and criminal violence. Most have related aggression with the male physical violence or “beating up.” Most females have low or do not show any form of aggression; therefore, most people believe women to be the lesser aggressive sex. It is true that males are proven to be more aggressive than females, but not by far. This is depending on which form of aggression is being studied.
4. Dodge, Kenneth A., John E. Bates, and Gregory S. Pettit. 1990. “Mechanisms in the Cycle of Violence.” Science 250: 1678–83.
The intentional use of physical force with the potential for causing death, disability, injury, or harm. Physical violence includes, but is not limited to, scratching; pushing; shoving; throwing; grabbing; biting; choking; shaking; aggressive hair pulling; slapping; punching; hitting; burning; use of a weapon; and use of restraints or one 's body, size, or strength against another person.
...h murders and violence, we must regard aggression as a summated response to many factors. Individually, the factors probably are harmless, but when united, they can be unleashed as aggression in which case terrible crimes take the lives of so many innocent people.
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...
Beliefs, schemas and knowledge structures are developed and shaped depending on the surroundings. Through repeated exposure and acceptance, violence can be seen as nothing out of the ordinary therefore more acceptable and expected in daily life. Hostile expectation bias, the expectation that others will be hostile, creates a readily hostile attitude that decreases empathy while increasing constant aggression. Heightened fear of aggression leads to increased levels of cortisol. The effects of consistent exposure to violence can change the physical body and lead to a desensitization towards violence as a
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.
Secondly, physical abuse is purposely causing physical harm or injuries to a child. Being physically abused includes being hit, kicked, or shaken. Parents who are abusive to their children often claim that their abuse is a form of discipline. There is a significant difference in abusing your child and trying to show them discipline. The whole point of using discipline is to show a child right from wrong. It becomes physical abuse instead of discipline when your...