Importance of the Study
Aggressiveness is one of the most harmful and destructive of human behavioral traits. It is harmful not only to the aggressor but also to people around him and also the victim of this aggression. The best way to deal with aggression is to control it or better still not to cultivate such a trait. And to do this, understanding of why and how aggressive behavior in a person is stimulated must be understood. This study hopes to show the impact of biology and genetics on emotional and mental state of mind, whether it is aggressiveness or any other characteristic and the impact of environment and experiences on the aggressive nature of the person. The study goes to show that innate nature may predetermine how aggressive a person can get but it is the external forces that play detrimental roles in man’s aggressive behavior.
Rationale of the Study
This study will show the pivotal role of parental care and proper upbringing in a child’s development and will throw up ideas and methods of curbing the aggressive behavior. Even if aggression is proved to be a completely natural occurrence and that nurturing has no role to play in presence of aggressiveness in humans, it will still give a better idea as to why some people are more aggressive than others and what chemicals are responsible for this. Medicines or remedies can be found to regulate the flow of these chemicals in the body and thus control aggressive behavior.
Psychiatrists feel aggressiveness is a result of upbringing and the environment that the person has lived in and societal factors control the patterns of human aggression. They believe that these factors affect the person’s mental state resulting in fear, hatred, prejudice and other such negative emotions that give rise to anger that is exhibited as violence and affective aggressiveness.
Biologists feel that emotions and behavioral characteristics like aggressiveness, depression, fear, excitement and so on are all part of the particular person’s nature and is dependent on the subject’s DNA. There are many studies that indicate a chemical relationship with aggressive behavior. Serotonin and Testosterone are believed to increase aggressiveness in humans. Biologists can not study the neurobiology of aggression as a detached subject and have to study it in relation to the neurobiology of fear and other negative emotions. Biologists can not deny the fact that most actions of man, especially exhibition of fear, excitement or anger occur due to one’s instinct. What is instinct but a conditioned response to a particular situation or experience? Therefore, one’s experiences and learning plays a major role in his attitude and can make even the genetically calm person very angry.
A number of factors are involved in making man aggressive or violent and these factors are not exclusive of each other but are inclusive and each factor is connected to the other in some way or the other. There are certain factors that do not cause aggressiveness but are instrumental in aggravating aggressive behavior such as noise and air pollution.
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
The Nurture Theory
All the theories and hypothesis provided under the nurture theory support the view that man’s aggressiveness is conditioned by his environment, learning and his experiences.
Aristotle proposed that at birth, man’s mind is a blank slate or “tabula rasa”. One’s environment and experiences are recorded on it, promoting a particular behavior or personality in that individual.
Buddhism too focuses on the principle that human behavior can be controlled by altering one’s state of mind. According to Buddha’s teachings, suffering can be eliminated by removing from the mind, desire, greed, anger, passion, fear and other destructive impulses.
Certain social pressures and situations cause an aggravation of aggressiveness in daily life such as influence of media, pollution of various types, abusive parenting, overcrowding, racist or prejudiced views and a sense of humiliation and defeat or helplessness.
Behaviorists apply the “principles of social learning theory” where aggression is dealt in term of:
- Features of the environment that fosters the initial learning or acquisition of the behavior.
- Environmental influences that facilitate aggressive behavior (as said earlier).
- Environmental conditions that maintain aggressive behavior (as said earlier).
There are various reasons for aggressiveness that can be classified under the Nurture theory and these have been explained below:
Pollution and Aggressiveness
Research has revealed that pollution such as noise and air pollution may not cause but increase probability of aggressive behavior. High levels of noise for long periods of time results in loss of hearing, hypertension, stress and a decrease in the efficiency level that results in frustration. Air pollution such as emission from cars and other motor vehicles causes an increase in heart and lung problems, fatigue and decrease in efficiency and lack of concentration.
Pollution of any type is an intensifier of already present behavior. An already aggressive person will only become more aggressive to the extent of becoming violent.
Frustration – Aggression Hypothesis
According to this hypothesis, “Aggression is always a consequence of frustration. The existence of frustration always leads to some form of aggression”. This basically means that when there is a hurdle blocking the path towards a goal, frustration sets in. as a result of frustration, aggression occurs which is a series of actions, not necessarily right ones, to attain that goal.
This hypothesis is not entirely true. Frustration does not always result in aggression and violence. People react in different ways when frustrated. They may bite their tongue, think about something else, attempt a different route to the goal, laugh it off or get depressed, and not necessarily angry. (Sarah McCawley, 2002)
Social Learning Theory
This model of Nurture theory denies that humans are innately aggressive and that aggression is learned by either observing aggressive model (movies, domestic violence or even the news) or by receiving payoffs following acts of aggression. These payoffs may be in the form of stopping aggression by others, gaining praise, status and respect by being aggressive, a sense of power and security or just reducing tension and stress. (Sarah McCawley, 2002)
Self-hatred and Understanding
Theodore Rubin, in the book “Compassion and self-hatred: An alternative to despair” gives a theory showing self – hatred, disliking any part of ourselves, as a main cause for aggressive behavior. It involves distortions of our real self, in our eyes, any self-put down, or any exaggeration of one's goodness or ability. This may be because of a parent’s constant abusing or being sarcastic towards the child’s actions.
As a child, everyone learns that something’s are bad while others are acceptable in society. If the child finds in himself certain unacceptable qualities, he starts to hate himself and this self – hatred may even result in severe depression that punishes the self and drowns all other emotions.
Parents who are over demanding, overprotective, overly punitive, or neglectful may increase self – hatred in the child. Lack of self – confidence and faith in one’s abilities are the main repercussions. The problem is that most people don’t realize or do not want to accept that there is a part of themselves that they hate and feel bad without ever understanding why. Sometimes the self – hatred is conscious but its connection to the depression, anxiety and fatigue is unconscious. The person tends to become negative and pessimistic about life and resorts to various forms of aggression out of sheer depression and frustration. (Theodore Rubin,1975)
Aggression due to Mental Processes in Social Interactions – Prejudice, Pride, Powerlessness and Boredom
In her article “The Nature of Aggression (or is it Nurture?)”, Sarah McCawley says that if a particular person or a specific group are perceived as offensive or dangerous or inferior than we are prone to be aggressive and irritable towards that person or group.
Our society and culture provides us with certain stereotypical ideas that direct our resentment, prejudice, discrimination and hatred towards certain types of people. If we dislike someone or some group, we are more inclined to hurting them.
For example, prior to the shooting of students (4 killed, 9 wounded) by the National Guard at Kent State in 1970, students across the nation had referred to the police as “pigs” (stupid, coarse, and brutal) and the police had seen students as “hippie radicals” (immoral, foul and violent). President Nixon referred to demonstrating students as “bums”. Vice-President Agnew commented, “we can, however, afford to separate them (student radicals) from our society with no more regret than we should feel over discarding rotten apples from a barrel.”
This makes it evident as to how our thoughts influence our actions and every time we demean another human and look at him with hatred or contempt, we increase the potential for aggression.
(Sarah McCawley, 2002)
A few analysts feel that aggression is used at times as a means of recovering lost pride. When one’s pride is hurt, violence is an attempt to restore status and self – esteem by hurting the offender. The inability to find meaning in one’s life causes resentment and a sense of helplessness. In such cases malignant aggression is observed. Hitler was a prime example of malignant aggression, killing millions of innocent Poles, russians and Jews. This is all a result of an underlying sense of powerlessness, which compels them to prove to themselves and others that they are powerful. Stalin is another example who tortured and killed many political prisoners who opposed his policies. In daily life, such incidents can be noted in the behavior of a teacher or boss when he sees a student or worker break into a cold sweat.
Boredom is another source of malignant aggression. When life has no aim and becomes monotonous, violence gives a sadistic pleasure and helps liven things up. Hurting others are ways of telling oneself that they’re somebody and still have power.
Hauck in his work “Overcoming Frustration and Anger” beautifully explains how these negative emotions of powerlessness, frustration and depression an be overcome and thus control anger. Our own irrational ideas are the cause of these emotions.
Hauck described a woman who had been insulted and abused by an alcoholic husband for 30 years. She hated him. He had wasted enormous amounts of needed money on drinks. He was self-centered. The woman hated her husband and had contempt for him. When a rational emotive therapist told her “Your husband is sick. You are demanding that he change but he can’t.” she started to view her husband with sympathy and pity instead of hatred. She had created her own misery and anger by drowning in self pity. But when she looked at her husband as a patient who needed help, she looked upon herself as his caretaker and savior. Thus her change in attitude and thoughts helped her lose the anger that was inside her.
(Hauck, 1974).
Anger Generating Fantasies
The more we think or talk about something, the more it becomes an obsession. The more we think about a particular incident that we don’t like or a person who has wronged us, the angrier we get.
Zillmann summarizes several studies showing that aggressive fantasies interfere with the reduction of anger and actually aggravate anger in “Hostility and Aggression”. When recently fired employees were interviewed and encouraged to talk about their hostility towards their ex – company, their hostility increased.
According to Zillman, men are more prone than women are to reflect and mourn about the past and therefore have a tendency to get angry more easily than women do. The two main elements in anger building are obsessive hostile fantasies and a lack of creative imagination, which results in inability to think of anything else. (Zillmann, 1979)
Child Rearing Practices
Man’s behavior and ideas are all formulated when he is still a child. Therefore, a lot depends on the environment that he is brought up in and the attitude of the parents in bringing up the child.
Olweus states four major factors associated with aggressive children in “The stability of aggressive reaction pattern in human males: A review”. These factors are impulsive and hyperactive temperament of the child, negative and critical attitude of parent towards the child, poor supervision of the child by parents and using of power tactics by the parent such as threats, physical abuse and punishments. (Olweus, 1979)
Loeber supports these views in “Families and Crime” where he states “Children who were ‘pro-social,’ i.e. popular and avoid aggression, at age 8 were, 22 years later, doing well in school and at work, had good mental health, and were successful socially. Children who steal, aggress, use drugs, and have conduct problems with peers, family or in school, and then conceal the problems by lying, are the most likely to become delinquent.” (Loeber, 1990)
Aggressive children often come from aggressive homes, in which not only are their parents and others within the family physical with each other but even the child's own aggressiveness has been harshly punished. Research has documented similar aggression from grandparents to parents to grandchildren. (Patterson, 1976; Byrne & Kelley, 1981)
The television is the one major factor that develops aggressive behavior in humans. Viewing of a short film that portrays aggression, as a positive response is enough to make children aggressive. One can just see aggression and become aggressive and start to imitate.
There are four dimensions in which television and film violence influences the viewer. Efficacy; whether violence on the screen is rewarded or punished, Normativeness; whether the violence is unnecessary or justified, Pertinence; extent to which the situation and theme has similarity to viewer’s life and Suggestibility; concerned with the predisposed factor of arousal or frustration.
When the good guy beats up or kills the bad guy, the message that the child gets is that aggression and violence is acceptable if you are in the right and it is for a good cause. (Derlega and Janda, 1981)
The Newspapers too seem to thrive on violence and use it as their selling point. The amount of hype and exaggeration involved is unbelievable. The whole paper perpetually carries news only of war, death and crimes. One would imagine that there was no progress or constructive development or technological and scientific discovery or inventions taking place on earth. George Bernard Shaw rightly said, “Newspapers are unable, seemingly, to discriminate between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilization.” (Phillips, 1983)
Between 30 and 45% of offspring with criminal records had one or both parents with criminal records showing that whether genetics played a role or not, if the individual is raised in a violent environment, he automatically resorts to violence, possibly becoming a permanently aggressive person.
Ethnopediatrics is a new field that deals with the studying and observing differences and similarities between parenting styles of different cultures and how it affects the development of the child.
Meredith F. Small documents her study of ethnopediatrics in the book “Our Babies, Ourselves”. She says that how we raise our children depends from society to society, although the way children are raised in UA may not be the best method. Some of the behaviors that Americans shy away from – “sleeping with infants and breast feeding on demand,” for example - are much used in other cultures, and our approach may reflect our own needs rather than what's “good for the children”. Many of the values that we wish to pass on to the child are based in our culture. “Every act by parents, every goal that molds that act, has a foundation in what is appropriate for that particular culture. In this sense, no parenting style is ‘right’ and no style is ‘wrong’. It is appropriate or inappropriate only according to the culture.”
(Meredith F. Small, 1998)
Neurologists Ann Barnet and Richard Barnet provide an entertaining yet educational book on what goes on in a child’s mind and provides useful tips and advice on how to bring up your child. The Barnets’ have drawn on their experiences in the book making it a practical guide for first time parents. They are careful to remind that “Neither neuroscience, developmental psychology, nor cultural anthropology tells us that there is only one right way to raise a child”. The method, by which your child develops into the person you wish him to be, is the right way to raise your child! They also express concern for children worldwide who are suffering from less-than-optimal social and economic conditions and consequently are missing out on their full potential.
Some of the interesting and important chapters in the book are “How the Brain Takes Shape”; “Empathy, Conscience, and Moral Development” and “Caring for Children”. (Richard Barnet & Ann Barnet, 1998)
In “The Nurture Assumption”, Judith Rich Harris turns the field upside down by asking the question “Why do we call environmental influences nurture?” Although she does hold parents responsible for the development of the child and agrees that genes may also play a role in conditioning behavior, she says that most of the blame or credit should go to the peer groups and the society and environment the child is brought up in.
Nurture, according to Harris is a wrong use of the word, as it seems to imply only parental influence while there are many more influences on a child’s development.
Parents have to take decisions regarding where to raise the child, how to manage their activities and what to teach the children when young and how to behave in front of them. But, parents do not deserve all the credit and neither should they get all the blame. Harris has carried out a number of surveys in her book to show that friends and acquaintances have more influence on a person’s behavior than the parents. She asks parents to “guide your child's peer-group choices wisely,” for that is how the parents can indirectly play a role in the child’s behavioral development. (Judith Rich Harris, 1998)
The Nature Theory
The argument for nature theory surrounds the possible biological reasons why human aggression is exhibited. Aggression may have a chemical, hormonal, or genetic basis. Elevated levels of serotonin or testosterone in the body have been associated with behavior disorders. But there is no clear indication that aggression is inherent. Lorenz proposed the theory of Catharsis where he says that aggressive tendencies and emotions tend to build up inside a human and are not released during everyday activity. This only increases stress and frustration with aggressiveness as the end result. Naturally when a person is stressed or emotionally volatile, hormonal levels will be higher than usual in the body. Lorenz suggests that regular physical exercise and activities do reduce aggressive tendencies, but only for a short time. The best way of using catharsis is to be aggressive and attack the source of the problem to eliminate the aggression. This idea however, is somewhat circular in its reasoning. (Lorenz, 1966)
They say that aggression has evolved as a behavioral norm in humans because it facilitates survival and adaptation. For example, inter-male fighting may be an adaptive form of aggression because it assures the most desirable spacing of animals within a given territory. These acts of aggression are necessary and may be innate. But what we generally mean by violence is malignant aggression where aggression and violence is carried out with the sole purpose of harming anther without any actual reason. This may be premeditated or planned, something that natural aggressiveness has nothing to do with. In a time of emergency, all humans tend to be aggressive to protect oneself but it has been found that the violent criminals and killers or children who get into fights often, grew up in a violent environment and lacked a happy, non – violent domestic life.
Dean Hamar in “Living with our Genes” is careful not to say that solely our DNA determines our personalities. Hamar argues that building character (our flexibility and control over nature) can control undesirable qualities of temperament (what we are born with). This just goes to show that although nature may have a role in aggressive behavior of certain people, it is their nurturing that decides their final behavior patterns. (Dean Hamer, 1998)
Freudian Theories
Freudian theories give some credit for aggressive behavior to nature but always connects it in the end to one of the nurture theories which again goes to show that nurture has a greater influence on man then nature.
Freud’s Instinct Theory is based on the assumption that two primitive forces – life and death instincts, oppose each other in our subconscious and this is the origin of all desires and aggression. Freud asserts that this process is void of thought patterns, and driven solely and entirely by our instincts - the aim being satisfaction. Aggression is the main representative of the death instinct. This theory appears biological but like said earlier, instinct is a conditioned response based on man’s experiences in society. Freud came to believe in a death or aggressive instinct because he saw so much violence, sadism, war, and suicide in his life. This goes to show how influenced he was by his own environment! A big flaw in this model is that Freud is unable to give a proper source for the aggression making it difficult to accept his theory. (Freud, 1967)
Developmental neglect and traumatic stress during childhood creates violent, remorseless children and this is characterized by high levels of serotonergic, noradrenergic and dopaminergic brain systems.
What is necessary for man’s development is the socialization process, that is, becoming a mature person by taming the savage, destructive impulses and this can be done only by interacting with a non – violent, mature society. Under socialized development and experience – based imbalance predisposes a host to neuropsychiatric problems.
Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH
Research Methods
This research will study various surveys and experiments carried out by others and compare the data that they got. The report will analyze the data and attempt to show that a person’s environment determines his behavior and not his innate nature.
Case Study
James Averill, in his book “Anger and Aggression” views emotions as a social phenomenon, especially anger. His research shows that aggression has surprisingly positive results. Anger did not always result in aggression. The most common reactions to irritating and infuriating situations were - activities to calm themselves down (60%), talking about the incident to the offender (39%), or talking to a third party (59%) without getting angry. It was found that invariably, anger is directed only towards people one loves and cares for. Usually (85%) people feel angry only when they feel they have been wronged or feel that someone has made a mistake. Anger and small arguments were found to actually strengthen bonds (48%) and also increased the respect that each one had for the other. This shows that man favors aggression and a certain amount of aggression is necessary for him to be an active member of society. However, this research did not take into account cases of misery, depression, psychological problems and constant anger and suppression of anger. (James Averill, 1983)
Gordon and Smith of Miami University carried out a survey where they asked the students of Miami, who originally came from various parts of USA (some were from Miami itself) and a few from other countries, in order to determine whether their environment had a great impact on their personality and how aggressive or violent they tended to be. The survey was anonymous, voluntary and carefully reviewed and so is accurate.
The survey questions were:
1. What is your age?
2. What is your sex?
3. Do you recall any instances of abuse during your childhood?
4. Rate your upbringing on a scale of 1-10, 1 being loving and 10 being violent.
5. Would you consider any family members violent?
6. As a child, were you more intimidated in your own home, or outside of your home?
7. Have you ever been arrested?
8. Have you ever been involved in a physical altercation?
9. Can you recall witnessing violence in your home?
10. Can you recall witnessing violence outside of your home?
(Gordon & Smith, 2000)
This survey revealed that most of the students had a pleasant and happy childhood and they continued to live non – violent, happy lives. Most people had witnessed violence outside their house or on television but had not been exposed to domestic violence and were by nature not overly aggressive. The only drawback in this survey was that the social status of people being surveyed was not diverse - they were all students. Probably, if people from other walks of life had been interviewed, some different and interesting answers might have been got which could strengthen the theory that environment and upbringing make the man.
But further research has shown that 30 to 45% of the offspring having criminal records had at least one if not both parents in jail, which goes to show the influence of a violent environment on the child. All the surveys and studies go to show that if one is raised in a violent environment, one may model his life after the examples he is provided, possibly becoming a permanently aggressive person.
Chapter 4: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Analysis
The various literature reviews and surveys and experiments make one thing clear. There is a certain amount of biological influence on man’s aggressive nature and this serves the purpose of self-preservation and for maintaining social status and social order. But violent (not just aggressive) acts, that too malignant ones with an intent to derive sadistic pleasure or cause immense harm or even kill is not natural. Such emotions and thoughts are a result of man’s development and his experiences in society. Man’s personality and ideas are formulated when he is still a child. Therefore, a lot depends on the environment that he is brought up in and the attitude and methods of the parents in bringing up the child. There are certain external forces such as influence of media, pollution of various types, overcrowding, racist or prejudiced views and a sense of humiliation and defeat or helplessness that aggravate aggressiveness and are harmful to the child’s development. Boredom, a sense of helplessness, powerlessness, frustration, depression or lost pride and humiliation are various psychological factors that make man resort to violence, even more so if he has been brought up in a violent environment.
Conclusion
Not all aggression is the same. Some are necessary while others are destructive. Although hormones and chemicals are present in the body from birth, the brain regulates their production and the brain mediates all human behavior based on its experiences and knowledge gained from these experiences. But the biological properties of the brain are the result of genotype too and not developmental experiences alone. The two are not exclusive of each other but have a mutual relation where nurture has the upper hand and is the more decisive factor.
Man does not become what he is predetermined to become by his genes. He becomes what the society he lives in and his experiences and learning make him but within his genetic limitations.
There is no one factor that causes aggression and therefore no specific answer can be provided. It is a combination of answers that provide an accurate conclusion.
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