When we see an individual commit an act of violence in our society, we often try to find out what led them to do it. We look for information regarding their personal history, whether or not there is something going on in their life that is causing them stress or if they grew up in a troubled family. When we see violence in our youth we often lay blame on the types of media that is being shown to kids at such a young age, particularly violent video games, television shows, and movies. Also, we like to look at their parents to see how they are raising the children and how their parents treat/interact with each other in front of them. All of these instances are ways a child may learn particular actions that they may begin to see as the “norm” …show more content…
In addition, the perpetrator must believe that the behavior will harm the target, and that the target is motivated to avoid the behavior” (Anderson & Bushman, 2002, p. 28). Over thousands and thousands of years, natural selection played its role by which the animals that did not possess this trait often had a lesser chance of reaching reproductive success, while the ones who did possess this trait, reproduced and passed on their genes. From an evolutionary standpoint, there are many theories as to the origins of aggression. One of the leading theories is that aggression was a key factor in acquiring and maintaining resources, such as potential mates, fresh water, food, fertile land, and weapons. This was a problem especially for males during the time, since other males were in search of the same resources in order to reproductively succeed. The possession of resources gave males the one up over ones that may not have the proper resources. Females would see these resources and know that the male would be able to provide for her and future offspring (Buss, 2015). The males who were aggressive and able to maintain these resources would be more likely to mate and pass on their genes and traits, such as aggression. We see early stages of individual aggression in children in our society today, such as bullying in schools in order to acquire the possessions of another child. Or how
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.
Violence shows it face in many forms. It is slowly taking over the youth of our society, and becoming more prevalent than ever. Is it really environmental factors that are the cause of violence in our youth today? Or is the increase in violence to be blamed on a group of variables, that together, create the perfect recipe for disaster? In the book, Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them, author Dr. James Garbarino discusses possible reasons that childhood aged boys are experiencing violence that is carried into their adolescent years. Also, Dr. Garbarino expresses a similar rise in violence in young girls in the book See Jane Hit: Why Girls are Growing More Violent and What Can be Done About It. He looks at elements from birth to adolescence, including cultural influences that may not play as big of a role as one may suspect.
Teen Violence is a big dilemma in today’s society. Violent behaviors usually start from family and peers, as well as teens observing it at there neighborhoods or communities. These behaviors are reinforced by what youth see on television, on the Internet, in video games, movies, music videos, and what they hear in their music. When children are disciplined with severe corporal punishment or verbal abuse, or when they are physically or sexually abused, or when they witness such behavior in their home, it is not surprising that they behave violently toward others. Teen Violence has had such an impact in our youth today that it leads many destructive things and that’s why we have so much violence today.
Violence is a learned behavior. Children often experience violence for the first time in their lives in their homes or in the community. This first taste of violence may include their parents, family members or their friends. Studies have shown that children who witness violent acts, either as a victim or as a victimizer, are more likely to grow up to become involved in violence.
According to the United States department of Justice, Over sixty percent of American children are exposed to a type of violence every year (Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Ormrod, R., Hamby, S., and Kracke, K. 2009). These forms of violence can be perpetrated by a victims home, community or school, with majority of children knowing the perpetrator(s). These experiences with violence whether primary or secondary, can cause serious psychological trauma to a child and in worst case scenarios death. The 2009 survey by the Department of Justice also found that children exposed to any form of violence were more likely to engage in violence in the future and almost forty percent of these children were exposed to multiple acts of violence ( pg.2). The
Children watch an average of 2 to 4 hours of television a day (these numbers may have increased since this study), the occurrence of violence on television has increase by 75% since 1998, children view more than 1,000 murders, rapes, and assaults each year on television, by the time children reach elementary school children will have already seen 100,000 acts of violence committed on television (United States Congress and Senate 2012). Exposure to these acts of violence makes it very easy to slowly accept that this is the way the world operates. Children becoming desensitized to violence has a negative effect on their evaluative/ judgment system and they begin to lack empathy. When children become desensitized to the violence in television they begin to lose a sense of remorse for poor behavior and not take societal crime as serious as it should be
All throughout the day people are taught that violence is a positive or beneficial concept. To start, little children learn from what they see, they repeat and reenact it, then integrate what they learn into their lives (Center for Media Literacy). For instance, Bandura conducted a Bobo doll experiment in 1961 where adults were to
It can be acquired through a social model. In today's society and mostly thanks to the technology we have aggression everywhere. In media, newspapers, internet, television, vidoe games and movies acts of aggression are more and more frequent and violent. Viewing aggression has became normal, so why are we so surprised when we have Columbine massacre, Colorado slayings, Oklahoma City bombing, road rage, aggressive driving habits and police shootings just to name a
In regards to being a “natural born killer”, behavior in a person can ultimately be broken down into it’s biological components. Humans have a “warrior gene” built inside of them and sometimes it’s an uncontrollable urge that just releases with little to know warning. For example, on a drastically smaller scale, you get punched in the face and your immediate reaction is to strike back. That feeling, that action is the “warrior gene” inside of you. That’s part of your DNA to adapt and survive. Some people are born with extremely bad tempers. Where do you think that came from? It’s passed down from generation to generation. Men are more common to strike back, have a poor attitude or make a big deal out of something
A growing body of research has examined the cause of youth violence, among peers and parental relationships. The world we are living in today is full of violent images; from video games to movies, even much of today’s music can promote a violent message. There are other external influences that can also influence many
A lot of our students show great interest in watching T.V programs, or movies. Most of these movies have many violence senses. With repeated watching to this senses violence become a normal thing for the kid. As result we see our students trying to do the same in the classroom, when there is a small conflict between them. Instead of talking to each other students briefer to use violence. Also at home to conflict between brothers turns to be arena. All of this, because this is what they use to see at T.V and movies.
Statistics indicate many aggressors at some point or another have witnessed acts of violence. During childhood, these observed behaviors can have a major impact and influence on adolescent and adult attitudes, perception of self and others. "Children become more susceptible and prone to negative and dangerous behaviors which can
Violence is the choice of drug for children today. By using examples of how to harm others or act in a destructive way in books, children get the wrong idea of how to act socially when confronted with the unknown. When children get treated differently in society and do not know how to express feelings, this often leads to self harm and harmful behavior to others. If everyone could be treated equally with no dark books to reflect on, children would not feel the need to use violence as a
Murder is such an extreme and taboo crime that even what influences adult killers can remain a mystery. Trying to figure out what drives a child to kill is even more difficult. It is extremely hard not to be terrified yet at the same time fascinated by stories of these young murderers. Digging into this issue brings up some very interesting questions. Is it nature or nurture that guides them to kill? Are some people simply born with brains that are wired to be violent, or does their unique environment and personal upbringing in turn make a person become violent? Could it be possible that these individuals are in fact socialized into violence? Like many of society's troubling matters, the explanation of such a thing is debatable at best. Let’s also not forget about another important influence in a child’s life- the mass media. With the increasing popularity of violence in movies, on television, in video games, and in popular songs, this has become an epidemic. Heightened by such easy availability of weapons and drugs, violence among children has become a public health issue of rapid concern.
From a scientific standpoint, however, defined causes for youth violence simply have not been found. In fact, a study of youth violence held in 2014, focusing around candid conversation with youths between the ages 14 and 22 who had been involved in violent behavior and fights about the causes of youth violence, found “...no predominant cause of violence emerged from the discussion” (Cheng, et al. 288). Simply put, evidence pointing out any primary cause of youth violence does not exist. With mental illness, poor lifestyle choices, hostile environments, ineffective parenting, and peer pressure all playing roles, one must consider whether violent media and entertainment are primary causes of youth violence. Even if sufficient evidence existed to prove violent media was a significant factor in causing youth violence, one cannot claim that it causes more youth violence than other