Is Human Aggression Learned - Research Paper Example

Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Human aggression is a term that is associated with the behavior of people whereby they tend to cause pain or hurt others. It can be exhibited verbally, physically or mentally. It is different from assertiveness in humans. Some people direct aggression towards their own bodies while many forms of aggression are directed towards other people. It is associated with domestic violence, racial discrimination and death among other negative aspects. The levels of aggression are different in different people, and can be lethal if an individual lacks self control. This paper is a critique of the psychology of human aggression and an evaluation as to whether it is learned. It presents different theories that have been put forward to explain human aggression such as Berkowitz’s neoassociation and the frustration aggression models as well as the social learning theory that confirms the argument that human aggression is learnt. Psychology of Human Aggression Human aggression has largely been associated with social interactions in human populations. Cognitive aspects of people significantly affect the manner and level of aggression. Berkowitz’s neoassociation model describes frustration and other repugnant factors such as pain, discomfort and unpleasant situations among others as the causes of human aggression. They usually initiate aggression in human through the negative consequence (Baron & Richardson, 2004). According to this theory, different people have varied interpretation of frustration and hence the response is unique to each individual. If the disturbing experience is interpreted as annoyance, the individual is likely to exhibit aggressive behavior, while on the other hand if the experience is interpreted as terror, he/she tends to run away. Berkowitz viewed aggressive cues as having no importance in the occurrence of aggressive behavior. However, they increase the aggressive reactions generated from a hindrance to the accomplishment of a particular goal. When a person interprets the stimulus as annoyance, he/she becomes quick to respond to the cues associated with aggression, which means that even though the person may exhibit aggression even without the aggressive cues, a person who is irritated may tend to focus on the stimulus generating the situation, which increases his/her aggression (Anderson & Bushman, 2002). The frustration-aggression model also portrays aggression as an outcome of frustration. Its occurrence is usually triggered by the presence of obstacles that prevent an individual from attaining his/her goal. In such a situation, aggression is usually a sequence of events that are focused on responding to the obstacle, which may result to injury of the person who is acting as the obstacle. A human being is rational and usually sets objectives with the goal of benefiting from his/her actions. Strategies are usually developed to ensure that there is no failure, which include fighting against obstacles such as fellow humans. It is therefore common to find aggressive behavior among frustrated people. Inward aggression may also exhibited by individuals when they are frustrated. It involves actions such as biting the finger, tongue and hitting hands on hard surface among other behaviors that result in injuring oneself although the pain may not be intense as interpersonal aggression. The expectations of the individual affect the intensity of aggression. Great expectations lead to great frustration when obstacles occur and hence the higher the intensity of aggression (Bloomquist & Schnell, 2005). The social learning theory postulates a different perspective in the understanding of human aggression. It disputes that aggression is as a result of human instincts and also the claim that once frustrated, humans involuntarily resort to aggression. According to the theory, human aggression is learnt through various ways. For example, as children grow, they take the behaviors of the adults in their social environment. Learning is understood as cognitive development whereby an individual exhibits actions that are related to what has been learnt from the social environment. If a child constantly witnesses aggressive behavior in the society in which he/she grows, there is a possibility for development of characteristics of aggression in him/her. The theory further indicates that aggressive behavior is learnt either through imitating an action, which in other words is referred to as enactive learning or observation of actions, which on the other hand is referred to as vicarious learning (Schunk, 2004).   On the other hand, the social learning theory postulates that the prospects of payoffs and receiving monetary rewards are factors that influence aggression in humans. For example, a person may receive payoffs to counter the aggression of others on behalf of another. This is one of the most common causes of aggression in the contemporary society. People who feel insecure but are financially well up pay for protection, which may also be done to influence aggression by individuals against enemies or rivals. People may also exhibit aggression to maintain status in the society, especially if such behaviors are associated with power. In some communities, aggressive people are deemed to be strong and are accorded respect and privileges in the society. The search for praise and esteem in the community may therefore influence individuals to be aggressive. Sometimes individuals may also be exhibit aggression as a strategy to cope with tension (Baron & Richardson, 2004). In general, the social learning theory demonstrates that human aggression is learnt. For example, aggressive individuals tend to learn skills that enhance aggression such as handling weapons, strategies to make their contact with individuals hurting. Moreover, the appropriate words to generate irritation must be learnt by the individual. The fact that no individual is aware of such words or actions at birth confirms the fact that aggression is not born in individuals. Conclusion Social interactions within communities significantly influence aggression among humans. The response of people towards aggression is usually different as a result of the different perspectives regarding the factors that generate frustration such as barriers to accomplishment of personal goals. The frustration-aggression model was developed to explain the relationship between frustration and aggression. Humans usually react to counter the causes of aggression. The more an individual may be expecting the higher the levels of frustration in case an individual’s goals are not accomplished due to obstacles. Individuals are also perceived to exhibit aggressive behavior for the purpose of maintaining status in the society especially if the community associates aggressive behavior with superiority. Some may also engage in aggression due to prospects for payoffs or punishment. The social learning theory portrays a different perspective of human aggression, viewing aggressive behavior as learnt from the social environment. References Anderson, C. A. & Bushman, B. J. (2002). “Human Aggression”, Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 53, pp 27-51 Baron, R. A. & Richardson, D. R. (2004). Human Aggression: Perspectives in Social Psychology, New York, NY: Springer Bloomquist, M. L. & Schnell, S. V. (2005). Helping Children with Aggression and Conduct Problems: Best Practices for Intervention, New York, NY: Guilford Press Schunk, D. H. (2004). Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective, pp. 83-112. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Read More