Comparing and contrasting the Social learning theory of aggression with the Frustration-Aggression theory of aggression.

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Comparing and contrasting the Social learning theory of aggression with the Frustration-Aggression theory of aggression.

Filip Cabart

In order to examine the two different approaches to aggression there is a clear necessity to define aggression as a term. Aggression is described as aversive behavior, usually directed onto a specific object. The two theories elaborate upon if aggression is or is not only a product of the surrounding environment or a product of the environment combined with the innate factors.

The social learning theory is the one stating that aggression is evoked only by the environment, and therefore that it is a learned behavior. The key process in adopting aggressive behavior is the process of modeling, where the observer perceives aggression, usually in a positive manner and then tries to imitate it. All is based on the basic concept of operant and classical conditioning, where the observer is passively reinforced by the consequences of behavior of the observed aggressor and then he would be more or less likely to imitate it, depending if the consequences of observed aggression were positive (reinforcement) or negative (discouragement).

To prove the theory, Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1961) conducted