Aggressive Behavior in Human Beings - Essay Example

The Genesis of Aggressive Behavior Aggressive Behavior in Human Beings Human beings have within themselves, spontaneously and naturally, a pool of aggressive energy (Burger, 2011). The energy comprises a force that accumulates all by itself. Experts have argued that the energy usually explodes into violent behavior if not checked through activities like sports (In Fiske, In Gilbert, In Lindzey, & Jongsma, 2010). So what is the genesis of aggressive behavior in human beings? This paper seeks to explore the biological basis of aggression, and determine the extent to which aggression in human beings can achieve control through biological means. Aggressive Behavior Aggressive behavior is one that aims at inflicting pain or harm. It manifests in numerous forms, including verbal or physical (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). However, aggressive manifestation is more of accumulated biological energy, which can come in handy in the attainment of positive goals, as well (Malmquist, 2006). There are various forms and manifestations of aggressive behavior in human beings as determined by the source of aggressive energy, degree of harm caused, as well as the nature of manifestation (Kim, 2009). For instance, the Adaptive aggression behavior refers to the kind of aggressive behavior that appears to be an adaptive response to the environment (Rathus, 2013). The rationale behind this kind of aggression is that in specific contexts, there may be desirable and positive traits and outcomes (In Fiske, In Gilbert, In Lindzey, & Jongsma, 2010). This kind of aggression is one, which grows with changing environment (Malmquist, 2006). For instance, a study revealed that the aggressive behavior in teenagers seems to have a positive correlation with dating success. Adaptive Aggression Adaptive aggression can appear in two forms, including Predatory Aggression and Affective Aggression (Kim, 2009). The two types of aggressions give rise to Female Aggression, Territorial Aggression, Dominance behavior, and others (Kim, 2009). Predatory Aggression is the type of adaptive aggression that leads to self-assertion, developing a manipulative kind of personality in the individuals (Burger, 2011). In some instances, predatory aggressors indulge in victimization for amusement or out of untainted desire (Malmquist, 2006). Predatory Aggressive Personalities are at times known as sociopaths or psychopaths, and they have a strong belief in their supremacy (Kim, 2009). In other words, they consider themselves superior to the human race (In Fiske, In Gilbert, In Lindzey, & Jongsma, 2010). On the other hand, affective aggression originates from the threat mentality, whereby the individual exhibits behaviors designed to counter the threat of a rival or any form of threat in the environment (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). Affective aggression comprises a patterned, intense, systematic activation with the adrenal and sympathetic stimulation. The amygdala plays a fundamental role in the process of affective evaluation of the contribution offered by multimodal sensory (Burger, 2011). Research has shown that some individuals can possess both predatory and affective aggression, in the sense that whereas predatory behaviors come in handy in seeking new opportunities, affective aggression helps in securing the access to scarce resources (Millon, 2002). Maladaptive Aggression The susceptibility and character traits presented by maladaptive aggression presents many faces (Martinez, 2001). The main defining point of Maladaptive aggression is the fact that it is not adaptive for the individual in the sense of its duration, intensity, and frequency (In Fiske, In Gilbert, In Lindzey, & Jongsma, 2010). Other defining factors include the provision that the behavior of the individual violates societal rules and principles and is out of proportion to the normal eliciting surrounding precipitants (Kim, 2009). Maladaptive aggression inhibits an individual’s capacity to adapt to specific situations, and behaviors are exhibited with the aim of reducing current anxiety, in spite of the consciousness of the results being non-productive and dysfunctional. Such aggressive behaviors are sometimes known as “excessive aggression because they surpass the reaction capacities of individuals (Malmquist, 2006). Aggressive behavior can also be the outcome of failure to deal with an emotion, particularly frustration (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). Children suffering from mental retardation or autism show a great deal of aggressive behavior (Malmquist, 2006). Frustrations may limit their capacities to verbalize or correct the condition. Children suffering from the attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as other disruptive disorders, could show a lack of understanding, lack of attention, and impulsiveness (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). Such consequences can feature as aggressive behaviors, more so if they are disruptive to social settings (Martinez, 2001). Pathological Human Aggression Aggressive behavior can be classified as retaliatory (pre-meditated) or reactive (impulsive) (Martinez, 2001). A series of tenets can cause aggressive behavior, including societal or socioeconomic factors, work or school environment, psychiatric issues, life experiences, health conditions, and sundry (In Fiske, In Gilbert, In Lindzey, & Jongsma, 2010). For instance, aggressive behavior in children originates from their upbringing, insufficient relationship skills, or biological tenets (Martinez, 2001). In other cases, when children experience violent or aggressive behaviors, they tend to imitate them (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). Burger (2011) further argues that alcohol stimulation can also cause aggressive behavior whereas an individual portrays aggressive behavior because of consumption of alcohol. Alcohol decreases the degree of self-awareness, as well as the capacity to perceive the result of aggressive behavior (Rathus, 2013). Biological Genesis of Aggression Various school of thoughts have confirmed that the determination of aggressive behaviors features through genetic means (Burger, 2011). Experts have argued that breeding two most aggressive offspring together can result in the birth of a more aggressive animal. Some structures within the brain are responsible for channeling aggressive instances (In Fiske, In Gilbert, In Lindzey, & Jongsma, 2010). They comprise the periaqueductal grey, the hypothalamus, the amygdala, the frontal lobes, and the associated limbic structures (Kim, 2009). Within this system of crucial structures, the amygdala plays a critical role in the process of meditating fear-induced kind of aggression (a subtype of self-protective aggression) (Kim, 2009). They act as a reservoir for extensive input from numerous levels of sensory information synthesis and channel to most of the other vital brain structures, including the hypothalamus, thalamus, brainstem, and frontal lobes (Burger, 2011). Testosterone has been associated with aggressive behavior in human beings because of its tendency to cause a feeling of dominance (Burger, 2011). Experts have argued that increased levels of testosterone in men were responsible for short-lived aggressive behaviors. Consequently, hormones instigate aggressive behavior (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that carries nervous transmissions (of nerve impulses) and plays a crucial role in causing aggressive behavior (Kim, 2009). Serotine regulates the perception of anger, pain perception, mood levels, and other physical functions (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). Variation in the level of serotonin, which usually occur when someone is under stressed or has not eaten, influences the regions of the brain that enable individuals to regulate anger and aggressive behavior (In Fiske, In Gilbert, In Lindzey, & Jongsma, 2010). The Hypothalamus Bard Experiment of 1934 Philliph Bard reported the outcome of a cluster of surveys that confirmed that the hypothalamus played a crucial role in coordinating the automatic and somatic tenets of emotional behavior (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). He got rid of cerebral hemispheres (including the basal gangalia, cortex, and underlying white matter) in a group of cats. Upon the wearing of the anesthesia, the cats portrayed enraged behaviors. The angry instances occurred spontaneously, and comprised the normal autonomic correlates of increased blood pressure, retraction of nictitating membranes, and erection of the furs on the tail, and back, increased heart rate, and dilation of the pupils (Kim, 2009). The animals also portrayed somatic motor traits of aggressive behavior, like expanding the claws, arching the back, snarling, and lashing the tail (In Fiske, In Gilbert, In Lindzey, & Jongsma, 2010). Bard identifies such behavior as “Sham rage” (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). He showed that a sufficient response occurred provided the caudal hypothalamus was intact. However, sham rage could not feature when the brain transects at the intersection of the midbrain and the hypothalamus (Kim, 2009). The experiment helped to confirm that an intact determined the subjective experience of sentimental capacity (cerebral cortex) (Burger, 2011). The Hypothalamus Delgado Experiment of 1969 Delgado offered substantial support to Bard’s findings, through his studies that involved electrical imitation of various parts of the hypothalamus (Kim, 2009). He extracted sham rage reactions through stimulating the medial and anterior hypothalamus of cats. Attacks that are more ferocious were stimulated through the lateral hypothalamus (In Fiske, In Gilbert, In Lindzey, & Jongsma, 2010). The amygdala coordinates and sustains instances of affective aggression (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). The central nucleus determined the degree of affective aggression exhibited by an individual, through the periaqueductal gray area. However, the medial nucleus of the amygdala circumlocutory affects predatory aggression (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). Pribram Experiment of 1960 This experiment is one of the main initiatives that featured to investigate how certain brain structures determine some behavior sequences, and it analyzed the behavior of monkeys to assess the function of amygdala in causing aggressive behaviors (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). The outcome of the experiment revealed that both amygdalectomized and normal monkeys/animals can learn the peripheral ordered task (Kim, 2009). Moreover, the amygdalectomized animals appeared to perform the peripheral ordered task somewhat better that what their controls permitted (Burger, 2011). Control of Aggression in Humans by Biological Interventions There is evidence to suggest that the different forms of aggression are controlled by the different subsets of the brain parts within the limbic system. These include the amygdala, the septum, and the hypothalamus. Aggression can be controlled by interfering with the chemicals produced by these organs (Koolhaas, Van den Brink, Roozendaal & Boorsma, 1990). An operation can be undertaken to remove those organs from the brain and the individual in question would become docile, on the contrary, any excitement of these organs will lead to increased aggressive behavior. The brain is the central organ that is in charge of all the processes taking place in the human body. It is in charge of all the organs and instructs them on what to do and what not to do. It delegates various functions to the organs in charge. It communicates through chemicals that will be used to transmit signal instructions through the central nervous system. The brain itself is divided further into different parts with specific functions. There are parts of the brain that produce chemicals that would be responsible for the aggressive behavior of human beings. There are chemicals that have to be there in large quantities for the human being to be aggressive, and there are those that have to be there in low quantities for the human being to be aggressive. To deal with this aggressive behavior, the production of these chemicals has to be interfered with by either lowering or increasing their production. This can be achieved through a surgical procedure to remove the organs producing these chemicals, injections or taking oral tablets containing chemicals to interfere with their production. The male exhibits more aggression than the female and the reason for this is the presence of testosterone. Ehrenkranz, Bliss and Sheard, (1974) do agree that this can be controlled by castrating the male in which case he would gradually start becoming less aggressive as the levels of testosterone reduce in his body. In males, castration inhibits the production of testosterone, and this would reduce aggression. The females do not have testosterone in their bodies, but they exhibit other forms of aggression due to other chemicals in the body. There are different types of aggression; predatory, social and defensive. In predatory, the human being is seeking to conquer to control other human beings or the environment that is assumed to belong to him. In this case, he will ward of enemies using any means available. In social aggression that is common with females the human being seeks to control his environment through interacting, the human being would use the information for selfish reasons. They talk ill about other human beings, spread lies and seek to assume popularity by trying to make people believe good things about themselves. In defensive aggression, the human being seeks to protect themselves from the perceived predators or perceived enemies wanting to take it away. Castration is any action, surgical, chemical or any other form through which a biological human male or a male animal loses use of the testes. Surgical castration is done through a procedure in which the operation is carried out to remove testes that render the male infertile and reduces sexual urges or libido. Chemical castration does not involve any physical procedure to be performed instead the person to be castrated can be injected or given tablets to take orally that would then be used to block the production of any substances from the testes. There are other methods that do not use surgical or any chemicals like an example In a number of cases castration is done with the sole purpose of family planning, but it has been noted that it is going to cut off the path that leads to a place where testosterone is produced and thereafter retransmitted. Increasing the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, would in effect reduce aggressive behavior, likewise, reducing the production of serotonin would raise the levels of aggression behavior (Marazziti et al., 1993). Neurons are special cells that are used in receiving process and transmitting electrochemical impulses, or signals called nerve impulses or action potentials, and neurotransmitters are chemicals that used to transmit signals from one neuron to another. This transmission of signals causes communication between the brain and other parts of the body. There is a significant number of neurotransmitters, but these are put into one of two groupings depending on their use: inhibitory – used to calm the brain and assist in creating balance and excitatory – used to stimulate the brain. An example of the former is serotonin, and the latter is dopamine. As for the case of aggressive behavior concentration is given to serotonin. There must be research in this area to discover any other chemicals causing aggression in the human body. Then drugs can be developed and manufactured to be used to either hinder or increase their production depending on whether their low or high levels lead to aggression. The human brain should be the center of concentration for this research activity because it has diverse capabilities. Examples of Studies to show Control of Aggression by Biological Aggression In an experiment by Bard in 1934, he showed that when the hypothalamus is removed from a decorticated cat it depicted no sham rage (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). When a decorticated cat was just simulated without removing the hypothalamus it depicted sham rage, and the finding was that the hypothalamus played a coordinating role in aggression. This analysis shows that if you remove the hypothalamus, from the human brain they will stop being aggressive. In 1960 Pribram used Rhesus monkeys in an experiment in which an alteration of their emotional behavior led to an alteration of their social behavior (Kim, 2009). By removing amygdala from the monkeys it did not stop the aggression, and it further showed that amygdala interacted with hypothalamus to control emotional behavior. There are two areas of the amygdala involved in aggression these are, corticomedial, which inhibits predatory attack, and basolateral, which inhibits affective attack. It was noted that there was greater amygdala activity after one had watched a violent film, and any damage to the amygdala results in non-aggression since the human can no longer have emotional memories. Orbitofrontal cortex inhibits impulses like the ones involved in aggression therefore its presence serves to eliminate aggression. Conclusion The data acquired from Pribram experiment showed that both limbic lesioned and frontal animals have complications with internally ordered, as opposed to externally ordered sequences (Kim, 2009). The experiment by Bard helped to confirm that emotional instances (including aggressive behaviors) feature with the aim of self-preservation (Burger, 2011). Consequently, the hypothalamus fundamentally serves to modulate response-stimuli relationships, which receive commands from other parts of the brain (Millon, 2002). The hypothalamus achieves this purpose through changing the chances of occurrence of particular behavior sequences, or through changing motivation (Humphreys, Campbell, 2011). References Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Burger, J. M. (2011). Personality. 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