Aggression Is Part Of Our Nature

Research has identified different types of aggression to include instrumental, reactive, relational, bullying aggression (Berger, 2008; Merrell, Buchanan, & Tran, 2006; Cappella & Weinstein, 2006) and social aggression [ (Merrell, Buchanan, & Tran, 2006; Cappella & Weinstein, 2006) ].

Aggression is something that is seen in all walks of life being that it's one of the defining characteristics humans have in common with other species within the animal kingdom. It is both an emotional reaction intending to harm- an act of hostility, and, a means of maintaining social order. Just as animals compete over food, mates and homes, to establish their superiority, human beings mainly young males in particular fight for respect, resources and acceptance as partners in relationships pursuing these goals by boasting, bragging, showing off and humiliating other competing males. There are a number of psychological theories and models that have been advanced to explain aggression. In the main they fall under two broad categories.

After viewing Origins of Human Aggression (The Nature of Things), I learned a lot about origins of human aggression. In the first part of the video, it focused on 2 year old children and how aggression is derived. The video states a study shows that signs of aggression start within the first couple months of a newborn’s life (Maher, Origins of Human Aggression (The Nature of Things). This study within the video I believe is accurate. I was told by my parents that as I grew I began to be more aggressive. The older I got, I began to do things such as: throw objects, hit people, and throw a tantrum if I could not get my way. One time I cried for an hour just so my mother would buy me a pair of shoes. Throwing that tantrum got me my way, but

Aggression is a natural part of human behavior, and can even be adaptive in certain situations. However, when aggression manifests itself in violent behaviors, it becomes problematic. Patterns of aggression change throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, and these changes usually differ between males and females (Loeber, 1997). Physical aggression is typically greatest early in life and decreases during adolescence, whereas more serious violence tends to increase with age, particularly during adolescence (Loeber, 1997). Despite the changes that occur in aggressive tendencies throughout childhood and adolescence, aggression is seen as a very stable trait, almost as stable as

There are many different ways that behavior can be explained, especially on the terms of nature vs. nurture. Aggression is a behavior that has been extensively analyzed in a complex manner and the causes of it can be explained many different ways. Aggression can be defined as hostile or destructive behavior that can cause injury or destructive outlook especially when caused by frustration. Nature can be defined as aspects of behavior that have been inherited or are genetic, while nurture is all aspects that are influenced by environmental characteristics and experience. Many factors, both biological and environmental, influence and promote aggressive behaviors, such as hormones and neurotransmitters, genetics, family life, past experiences, and hobbies.

Aggression is an emotion Im sure that everyone has experienced in their lifetime, some more often then others. However through readings and case studies, it has been proven that males tend to be more aggressive in nature than a femle. One reason for this conclusion is do to the evolutionary perpsective. According to Baron &

Lorenz and Freud have, in a large section of their work labelled aggression as mostly negative and destructive, but looking at its positive side, aggression is necessary as it contributes to our growth and development, independence, self-assertion, can address and remedy inequality and social injustice and above all promotes the survival of many

Aggression is distinguished in two forms, affective aggression and instrumental aggression. Affective aggression is aggression that is caused by emotions such as anger and frustration whereas instrumental aggression is aggression that is used as a means to some other goal. In the below, I will discuss both using the example of a child bullying another as instrumental aggression and a recent fatal stabbing of a young girl as both instrumental and affective aggression.

Redirected aggression does not simply derive from irrationality or human nastiness, but along with retaliation and revenge is entrenched in the very fabric of the natural world,

The current event I examined, from an online scientific news database, exemplified research on evolutionary biology of humans and the roots of violent nature. The article, “Nature or nurture: is violence in our genes?”, discusses how scientists recently researched if savage behaviors in homo sapiens are hereditary. Considering that lethal violence is closely related to the linage of primates, specifically monkeys and apes, it’s no surprise that humans also exhibit similar behaviors to these ancient ancestors. The Spanish researchers which conducted this analysis examined over four million deaths in various species of primates and mammals investigating the amount of brutal deaths in each. For accuracy, the investigation included human population from the stone age till present day. As a result, the researchers saw an increase in violent deaths or killings as they examined more recent primate groups. Concluding, the tendency for violence in humans is indeed phylogenetically inherited. On the other hand, while the article highly focused on the genetic aspects of violent human behaviors, near the end the article also acknowledges environmental factors. Besides being inherited, social and territorial tendencies also increase levels of

Aggression can be defined as behavior that is intended to cause pain or harm to others, as well as objects in the environment or even oneself (Breedlove & Watson, 2012). Motives for aggression have typically been

There have been two theories that have tried to explain childhood aggression. The first theory is the proactive aggression. This theory has been linked to an externalizing behavior, which is connected to delinquent and violent behavior. The second theory is the regressive theory. This theory is best linked to frustration, which when a person gets frustrated with something, this

The social interaction theory is the theory that aggression is used as an adverse social influence, a decision for a what’s perceived as a more positive outcome (Tedeschi & Felson 1994). An example of this would be blackmailing someone to get them to do something for you.

For males and females, there is substantial evidence for environmental factors effecting aggressive behavior, particularly factors in the home, such as parental attitudes, parental discipline, role models and television violence.

Because males tend to value influential goals such as status among peers, they will typically use overt forms of aggression and gradually incorporate relational forms (Grotpeter & Crick, 1996). The choice of aggression could be linked to the social roles of males and females, the verbal maturity, or the social dynamics in peer relationships.