Describe and evaluate theories of aggression

Describe and evaluate theories of assault in that location argon many forms of encroachment used in society today, from quote calling in the playground to domestic violence, a man or women universe beaten by his or her spouse. in that location are several(prenominal) on-going debates regarding assault development, one of the principal(prenominal) debates is temperament versus nurture with Konrad Lorenz supporting the disposition opening by suggesting that antagonism is an intellect that we are all natural with and Albert Bandura supporting the nurture speculation, believing that a child is influenced by their environment and by their upbringing. This proceeds to the head could infringement be divisortically transferred to us resembling the colour of our hair or eyes or does it develop as we grow and mature and inter arrange with the world around us.Frustration and fussiness are common precursors to rapaciousness further exasperation doesnt al looks cut into into encroachment thwarting arising from inability to control a situation drags to anger which whitethorn or whitethorn non escalate to full bl proclaim invasion. Anger brush aside lead to irritation when we get ready in the morning to go to persist and the car does not start we whitethorn tone of voice frustrated and sense the anger warming up our face, however, it whitethorn not escalate to hostility be example the object did not choose to act that right smart. In opposite words, we feel angry or scrappy when we recognize that the witnesser of foiling could require chosen to be get down in a better or a good deal desirable manner. A ascertain by Averill and Weiner showed that anger arises when whateverone who frustrates us could drive home chosen to act about incompatiblewise. (Myers 2005, p.387)The evolutionary explanation of human intrusion suggests that aggression serves as an important break international in terms of the individualists survival a s well as its potential drop to procreate. Newman et al discovered genes that are cogitate to aggression in Macaque monkeys and this gene has been present in them for at least 25 million eld and so for that gene to put on survived it must grow provided some advantages. champion explanation for aggression in people is that humans are in some way programmed to be pugnacious and violent and that it part of a soulfulnesss basic nature. other view suggests that aggression is an inherited fighting instinct that we share with other species. In the past males had to act self-assertively to get rid of ambition and get the mate they desire. They eliminated their competition either by driving them away or by killing them. Aggression feces frankincense be seen to serve adaptive purposes. Be flummox the males who were fittest survived and got the most access to females it may have lead to the militant gene to be passed on and so creates a much(prenominal) aggressive generation whi ch is squiffyer and fitter than the last. Spriggs (1999) pressd that our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have formed a hearty structure ground on stamina, physical volume and stature. So our ancestors survived on their abilities and an adaptive aggressive tendency.Males might excessively have be drive the aggressors was in order to win favour of the females and then pass on his genes. Since evolutionary success was built on the foundation of the aggressive male and responsive female, evolution keep ups to favour the social groups dominated by natural selection. thither is however various factors that help prove the system that genetics is a large component in aggression. around hunters in groups were better than other some groups produced more males, males that were better at gathering sources, which is why in some cultures it is seen more desirable to have males. Those men who have the have traits of strength, stamina and cunning begin to step forwardperform and brin g back more than the others. As a result their stature grew and so did their chances of reproduction. The disadvantage with this theory is that the evidence given is based on thousands of geezerhood ago when human world first began, so it is difficult to empirically test. Some scientists argue that this theory is defenseless and has no real evidence.Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud agreed with the nature theory to aggression development, he believed in the instinct theory. He express that e genuinelyone is born with an instinct to live, Eros, and an instinct to die, Thanatos, and that as our aggression builds up and builds up, we lowlife turn our death instinct towards others in a movement of ego preservation to stop us from destroying ourselves. This process is know as the hydraulic theory Freud suggested that the just now way around this was to find another way to vent our aggression build up possibly through and through some form of therapeutic loss such as sport. L orenz canvass animals as he believed, like Darwin, that we evolved from animals and he found that we have inherited a fighting instinct from them. He supports the nature theory but his beliefs get issue from Freuds as he finds aggression a beneficial instinct that doesnt come from an internal struggle mingled with our life and death instincts but from an instinct to protect territory, partners and young from rivals of the equivalent species. Megargee and Mendelsohn agreed with Freuds theories and completed a memorise on people who had committed brutally aggressive crimes, they found that their aggression had been repressed for so long until it built up so much that something trivial caused an aggressive outburst, and, as Freuds theory predicts, after the outburst the assaulter returned to a normal calm state with no soft touchs of an aggressive nature. There are a lot of problems with the instinct theory one being that it is difficult to test and another being that not ever yone displays the same levels of aggression in the same circumstances which suggests biological factors alone cannot be responsible. too there are some societies that show almost no acts of aggression at all such as the Amish located in twain America and Canada and the Nubians situated in Egypt.There is alike the view that aggression is something we learn or imitate from people around us this is known as the social learning theory.The affable instruction theory proposes that the cause of all aggressive demeanour is due to inter achieves with others in our social world. gibe to social learning theorists such as Bandura, aggressive behaviour is wise to(p) in either one of 2 ways, by direct fuck which is based on operant conditioning or by secondary (indirect) experience which is based on observational learning. Operant conditioning is for example, when a child pushes another child and, as a result, gets something they want the action is then fortify and is credibly to occ ur in similar situations in the future. However observational learning is when a child sees a graphic symbol moulding behaving in a particular way and imitates the behaviour of the model. It is ideal that most aggression is learnt by observational learning, usually from those who are of a big significance to us. From these models we learn about the nature of aggressive behaviour and to which situations this behaviour is appropriate and in any case its in all likelihood consequences.According to behaviourists, behaviour that is reinforced ( retorted) will be repeated and learned and aggression that is associated with a reward (e.g. Praise) is ap stir to be learned. However there are various factors that can determine whether a someone will be aggressive in a certain situation, one of these is whether a mortals previous experiences of aggression (either their own or aggression of another person) were good or bad experiences. some other factor is whether these previous experie nces were successful or not, this then al blues them to assess how likely their aggressive behaviour will get them rewarded or penalize in this certain situation. Finally, the cognitive, social and environmental factors that are operating at the same time, for example a person isnt likely to act aggressive if they veneration that the dupe may retaliate. On the other hand, aggression is likely to annex if person is in a hostile situation.Bandura combines the logic of both social psychology and cognitive psychology in his social cognitive positioning of human behaviour. Bandura thought that behaviour may be triggerd not only by inherent psychological factors but too by more socio-environmental factors. He argued that the individual and the social environment were joined, something he called trilateral determinism. Bandura social learning theory had four basic processes which are Attention, Retention, echo and Motivation (Reinforcements). Attention only occurs if a person att ends to the models behaviour. Retention happens as we code and remember the behaviour by placing it into long-term memory. Reproduction happens if an individual is capable of reproducing the models behaviour. If an individual expects to receive positive reinforcements this will then motivate an individuals behaviour, which is the motivation process.The Social erudition theorys view on aggression is support by various experiments. Banduras most well-known study is the Bobo Doll ponder whch involved child male and female participants from 3 to 5 years old with half the participants exposed to aggressive models interacting with a life-sized inflatable Bobo doll whilst the other half were exposed to models with no aggression. Children in the aggressive condition reproduced most of the physical and verbal aggressive behaviour whereas children in the non aggressive showed virtually no aggression. The findings support the Social Learning theory as the aggressive behaviour displayed came diectly from watching an aggressive model.Bandura also carried out variations of his study, one showing the model being rewarded or punished in a variety of ways, the kids were rewarded for their imitations, and the model was changed to be less attractive or less prestigious, and so on. Responding to criticism that Bobo dolls were supposed to be hit, he stock-still so did a film of the young woman beating up a live jackass. When the children went into the other room, what should they find there but the live clown They proceeded to punch him, kick him, hit him with little hammers, and so on.The variations support the Social Learning opening even more because of its 4 processes with the last being motivation/reinforcements. One variation showed that from 3 different groups the group that had seen the model being rewarded for aggressive behaviour showed spunky levels of aggression, however those who seen the model punished performed a lower level of aggression and the ones tha t saw the model incomplete punished nor rewarded fell between the other two levels. This supports Social Learning Theorys about reinforcements. However, the studies lack ecological validity because they were carried out in rehunt laboratory conditions which means the results may not be able to be apply to real world situations.On the other hand Social Learning Theory can explain inconsistencies in aggressive behaviour. For example, if someone is aggressive and overpowering at home, yet meek and passive at work then it means they have learned to behave differently in the two situations as aggression brings reward in one appear but not the other. Therefore the theory makes logical sense that we have learned this.SLT can also explain cultural differences in aggressive behaviour. The culture of violence theory proposes that some cultures emphasize and model aggressive behaviour whilst others do the opposite and so are more likely to produce individuals with low levels of aggression. This means that there isnt cultural bias in the studies as they have studied various different cultures and explained the differences between them.Also, the studies have lead to other developments in the real world so have importance in the fact the studies have practical applications. The studies have lead to changes such as focus on the make of the visual media on both children and Adults. It has also led to implications on other different places such as classroom use. This is because now they can see certain reinforcements could be put into use, for example rewarded for answering a very hard question in class or being punished for maybe striking another pupil in the class. It is effective for increasing appropriate behaviour and also good for decreasing inappropriate behaviours.However, although the theory has many strong points it also has its flunkes such as the fact that the Social Learning Theory is also reductionist in the sense that is ignores biological factors. Biologi cal theorists argue that Social Learning Theory ignores biological factors completely. It doesnt look at mastermind structures or possible learning difficulties and therefore the results collected could lack validity. It also means that SLT takes the nurture side of the nature/nurture debate.Finally, one of the main issues with the Social Learning Theorys research studies in particular Bandura is the fact that it seen as very unethical and also morally wrong to encourage the children to be aggressive. David Skuse from the Institute of Child Health also conducted his own study on 224 former male child abuse victims he disagrees with Zeanah and Zeanah and found that only 12% of these abused children went on in later life to double or imitate this abuse.Myers (2005 p. 386), explains, Displacement is the redirection of aggression to a maneuver other than the source of defeat. Generally, the new target is a safer or more socially acceptable target. It is difficult to guess why peopl e intentionally cause harm to others however, it is even more complex to comprehend why an not guilty third person would be targeted to express frustration. Several theories have emerged on the subject and they give us better insight into the psychology of displaced aggression. formal psychology suggested that displaced aggression was closely connected with low-self esteem. However since the breakthrough study by Baumeister (1996), conventional wisdom has given way to a galvanise revelation, i.e. people with high ego are more likely to look at in aggressive behaviour than people with lower self esteem.Baumeister and Bushman (1998) studied aggression in more detail and in greater enlightenment than many other researchers. They were the first to suggest that low self-esteem may have not any link to aggression rather it is inflate ego that appears to lead to aggression. In their study they tested young adults for amour propre and found that those who scored higher on narcissist s cale would react with importantly more aggression than those who scored low on this scale. Self-love, as they had put it, was thus found to be closely linked to aggression.It would be important to understand here that self-esteem is not the same thing as ego. Some very egoistical people may not have high self-esteem. Even though these terms have been used interchangeably, it is wrong to befool that they are the same. The case Baumeister and Bushman (1998) used them this way is because a person with low self-esteem doesnt really love himself and self-love was the main subject of this research.Temperature can play an important role with aggression, (Baron/ Bell) did research involving the effects of heat on aggression by seeing how willing a participant would be to give electric shocks to another,they found that temperatures within the range of 92-95F generally increase the level of aggression. However when the temperatures became too extreme they found the lvels of aggression decre ased, in these conditions the participants were stressed and did not want to handle the persons angry reactions, because they didnt want the blight of the added stress. Baron and Bells study showed a curvilinear effect (where the relationship between heat and aggression both increase together but as it gets to a certain point the aggression decreases) between temperature and aggression which was predicted by the NAE theory saying that when temperature becomes very high an individual seeks to escape weighed down aggression, but at lower temperatures the negative affect leads to aggression.There have been many scientists that feel that outside factors are the cause of aggression, Berkowitz studied the effects of coldness on aggressive tendencies and found that students that held their hands in very cold water showed an increase in the likeliness of aggression towards gent students. Whereas Carlsmith and Anderson studied 79 cities between 1967 and 1971 and they found that aggression was more likely to occur when it was particularly hot days. With so many studies showing different triggers and responses to aggression it is unlikely that we will ever find a distinct cause. It could be a combination of all theories or just think on the subject concerned however as long as there is aggression and violence in society it will continue to be researched and studied.BibliographyDavenport G.C (1994) An Introduction to Child Development Collins Educational capital of the United KingdomGross R. And McIlveen R. (1998) Psychology A New Introduction Greengate Publishing go Kentwww.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1093439 Accessed 21/03/09www.beyondintractability.org/essay/aggression Accessed 21/03/09www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/CliffsReviewTopic/Aggression.topicArticleId-25438,articleId-25408.html Date accessed 21/03/09www.criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/bandura.htm Date accessed 21/03/09http//serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1809 Date accessed 21/03/09http//209.85.229.132/search?q= cachexd_v53tfKawJlearn.hackney.ac.uk/file.php/32/Psychology_-_Dean/Social_Psychology/Handout_06_-_Theories_of_Aggression.doc+theories+of+aggressioncd=12hl=enct=clnkgl=uk Date accessed 21/03/09Displaced aggression is an abnormal expression even if found commonly in some people. It is continued as an easier form of aggression release if the aggressor has been successful the first time. If the aggression directed to the innocent target results in a positive return for the aggressor, the aggression is rewarded. The individual will recur to the same method of release of frustration the next time he faces similar situation if he feels that there are not consequences connected to the harm-doing. When punishment to this behavior is applied, it can teach the aggressor self-control.Displaced Aggression in children and young adultsUnfortunately, when a parent has no control over the emotions caused by frustration and had tasted the reward of aggression, he/she is more likely to continue disp lacing the aggression toward his family therefore, his children will learn aggression as a normal behavior. Displacement effects are, certainly, attached to social and racial conflicts as well as many other social behaviors. Discrimination and prejudice are forms of aggression displacement. Motivation to restore faithfulness may also produce displacement-like behavior.Displacement of aggression can also be observed in children at schools when they decide to transfer the frustration caused by a teachers negative attitude against them, toward others students. They cannot attack physically or verbally the teacher so displacement of the aggression is redirected to a target other than the source of frustration. Generally, the new target is a safer or more socially acceptable target. (Myers, 2005, p. 386). In this case, the targets are those kids to whom the teacher pays more attention. The teacher represents the authority, problem-solver person in charge and, in many cases, the childre n cannot approach them to let the cat out of the bag about their feelings and even the needs they have about a subject. Then, the frustration turns into anger and without self control, in aggressive behavior. The student will feel rewarded by the displacement aggressive act even if the release of frustration is temporary.Displaced Aggression and Self-esteemChoice of TargetIt has also been found that aggressors survival of the innocent target is dependent on some important factors such as likeness of the target to the actual source or similarity of the situation in which the target was found. In other words, a person who behaves violently towards his wife when she asks him why he never mowed the lawn chose his wife as the target because her request bore some resemblance to the aggressive requests make by his boss. Miller (1948) suggested that choice of target is not a ergodic act. It is based on three factorsa. the strength of the instigation to aggressionb. the strength of inhib itions against such behaviorc. The stimulus similarity of each potential victim to the cross agent. (Baron, 1977,p.24)The third factor explains that a target is chosen because it correspondd the frustrating agent. The person may have used the same tone, asked for something similar, or do a demand in similar manner. It can be anything but as long as in the aggressors mind, it resembled the source, this target would be chosen. and this is not the only factor. It has also been found that the resembling target must also exhibit certain weakness. He/she must appear weaker than the original source and also weaker than the aggressor himself. A strong target no consider how much it resembles the source is most often not selected because the aggressor cannot take to to be successful against him.Triggers and Displaced AggressionIn this regard, triggered displaced aggression studies have offered some interesting insights. Triggered displaced aggression suggests that strength of the trigg er is closely connected with level of displaced aggression. Mild triggers were most often responded to with very high levels of displaced aggression compared to insure or strong trigger. Vasquez et al. (2004) used triggers to examine the situations in which a person may choose to display displaced aggression. He found that mild triggers were more likely to result in serious displaced aggression compared to moderate or strong triggers.For example, episodes of road rage or spousal abuse are frequently elicited by minor events. Thus, in many of these episodes, a prior provocation or frustration may have contributed to the aggression observed in response to a minor impoliteness on the alley or a wifes reminder about the uncut lawn. Moreover, aggressive individuals may not even be explicitly aware that their response to the person who provided the minor triggering event may be inordinately disproportionate. Although the process exposit presented here are incomplete, future research co nducted within the TDA paradigm may eventually lead to a complete understanding of situational and individual moderators of aggressive responding among previously provoked participants in response to a mild triggering provocation. It is hoped that through understanding these moderators and process variables, efforts to limit aggressive responding may be developed.Vasquez (2004) and others who have studied triggered displaced aggression used terms that might confuse a person regarding the connection between strength of triggers and displaced aggression. In simple terms, the reason a mild trigger elicits highest level of displaced aggression is because of the inherent weakness of the trigger. The target chose to use a mild trigger because he/she obviously lacked the strength to make a stronger provocation. The aggressor takes it as a sign of weakness that gives him the confidence to lash out and choose the person as a target.ConclusionWe have often come across cases of displaced aggr ession. We may have also been guilty of engaging in it ourselves too without realizing that our aggression was displaced. Displaced aggression is not only found in adults but is also exhibited by children. It is a common not highly undesirable way to react to a provocative situation. The behavior is considered abnormal and is closely linked to inflated ego instead of self esteem. Children can learn displaced aggression as a normal way of reacting to frustration because that is how their parents behaved. Aggressors choose their targets based on some important characteristics. Most importantly this target should resemble the actual source in some manner and must also exhibit certain degree of weakness. It is important to understand that our research revealed no direct link between self esteem but was linked to narcissist behavior. A person who loves himself in an abnormal manner fails to take insults in its proper perspective and decides that he would react strongly even if the actual source remains unmoved. This is when an innocent third person is chosen. Displaced aggression can be treated through carefully administered punishment that sends a message that this kind of behavior is undesired and must be discontinued.