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Stereotypes Of Aggression Among Adolescents

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Most of the time, aggression is acquired through modelling the violence that we observe in our everyday life (Bandura & Walters, 1959). Albert Bandura showed that children learned new aggressive behaviours by observing aggressive models (Bandura, 1973) and that they do not just imitate the specific behaviours that they see, but viewing aggression changes their schemas and their attitudes about aggression. A child witnessing their parent acting aggressively towards another person will not only increase their probability of developing aggressive tendencies but may also give them the impression that that such viciousness and hostility are socially acceptable. In Malaysia, violent families are not uncommon. This is particularly problematic for children growing in such an environment because not only are they the victims of aggression, they also witness violence and pain inflicted upon their …show more content…

It is human nature to feel the need to belong because everyone, especially teenagers want to be accepted by others in some way or form. As a result of the need to belong, teenagers allow themselves to think that they need to alter their attitudes, behaviours, or beliefs in order to gain acceptance from others. Adolescents are not mentally prepared to be able to resist or deny peer pressure from others. This may lead to displays of aggressive behaviours out of fear of losing their social standing or fear of isolation (Lopez & Emmer, 2002) resulting in an increase in injury or death, due to the higher probability rate of weapon use (Berkowitz, 1993; Reiss & Roth, 1993). Usually, adolescent aggressive behaviours occurs in groups, including gang activities such as stealing or truancy (Lopez & Emmer, 2002). Moreover, displaying aggressive behaviours may be a way to become more popular or to gain a higher social status by demonstrating power or

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