Theories for Causes of Aggressive Behaviour

Theories for Causes of Aggressive Behaviour Compare and contrast social and biological accounts of the causes of aggressive behaviour. Aggression is defined as: (a) ‘a quality of anger and determination that makes you ready to attack other people’; (b) ‘violent and attacking behaviour’ (Collins, 2003). Whereas love, friendship and affiliation are positive, adaptive and constructive social influences, aggression is associated with violence, antisocial behaviour and destruction. Examples of aggressive behaviour range from arguments, to road rage, terrorism and war. Aggression then is physical or verbal behaviour that is intended to harm another person. This work examines aggressive behaviour in terms of biological and social-learning processes providing theoretical and research evidence. Ethologists like Konrad Lorenz (2002) have identified several human behaviours, including aggression, that allow animals to gather and keep the fundamental resources for survival, mating, reproducing and caring for children. Discovering, taking and holding a territory provides the background on which the life cycle occurs. Many animals engage in territorial signalling to defend their territory mostly for mating and feeding purposes. Territorial signalling is adaptive because it prevents potentially destructive aggressive behaviours. The majority of animal aggression is due to mating, therefore, natural selection predisposes animals towards aggressive behaviour. Male and female animals compete for mates and patterns of sexual behaviour help us understand various form of aggressive behaviour. Nevertheless, psychologists disagree about which of these biological inferences of other animals are relevant to humans. Evolutionary psychologists claim that they do apply to humans and postulate that territorial behaviour exists both in humans and in animals for the same reasons (Barkow, Cosmides Tooby, 1992). Most adults attempt to restrict their mate’s sexual activities, using territorial signalling and emotional displays. For example, jealousy and aggression during courtship and mating are seen in arguments (territorial signalling) and physical fighting (when signalling fails). This is obvious in that men in many cultures and subcultures continue to think of their wives as property – part of the territory they defend. Furthermore, comparison studies of identical twins that were brought up together and apart reveal a genetic effect on aggression. Twin studies (Miles Carey, 1997; Rowe, Almeida Jacobson, 1999) and the existence of gender differences (Buss Perry, 1992; Loeber Hay, 1997) support the idea that genes predispose a person towards being aggressive. The presence of the male hormone testosterone is also related to aggression. Laboratory experiments with mice and monkeys have shown that castration both lowers the levels of testosterone and aggressive behaviour. Contrary, the administration of testosterone to castrated animals and normal animals increase aggressive behaviour. Moreover, males who have been imprisoned for violent crimes and who are more violent than others while imprisoned, have higher testosterone levels than less violent prisoners (Dabbs, Carr, Frady Riad, 1995). In order to be able to decide effectively whether children learn aggressive behaviour, the theories of aggression which claim that it is an innate capacity will be considered. The view that aggression is innate comes from the fact that few parents actually teach their children to be aggressive. However, Bandura’s (1971) early work indicated that children who have seen another person behaving aggressively will be increasingly likely to demonstrate aggressive behaviour. Later he proposed that aggression is actually something we learn to demonstrate because it seems to be useful to us. The likelihood of children imitating the behaviour will increase if they see the person being rewarded (reinforced) for their aggression by getting what they want. For example, a child who has become a very aggressive bully at school because he has learned that he will get what he wants. Where has he learned to be aggressive? Bandura (1971) argues that children learn by seeing others behaving aggre ssively during their childhood, or adolescence, through their own experience of being bullied or through observation of the media. Knowing that we learn by observation is relevant to what we see on television. A number of studies have been conducted to discover whether television and cinema violence really does result in violent behaviour. Bandura (1971) reported that children who watched a video of other children punching an inflated stand-up toy (a ‘Bobo doll’) were more likely than others to behave in the same way when given the opportunity. In a follow-up to Bandura’s studies, children who watched ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ later imitated these character’s Karate kicks and mimicked their violent acts during play sessions with peers (Boyatzis, Matillo Nesbitt, 1995). Considering boys play which tends to include wrestling and fighting, Geary (1999) has claimed that play patterns represent an evolved adaptation that prepares boys for hunting and primitive warfare. Several researchers have reported short-term effects of television violence: young children (Singer Singer, 1986) and adolescents (Wood et al., 1991) behaved more aggressively immediately after watching a violent TV program. The causes of their immediate changes in behaviour were probably a result of heightened arousal and desensitisation from repeated viewings (Gunter McAleer, 1990). Overall, however, research results have been equivocal, suggesting to some psychologists that TV violence may cause less harm than first suspected (McGuire, 1986). Furthermore, environmental influences have been viewed as determinants of aggression. According to the frustration-aggression hypothesis, a person is more likely to become aggressive when frustrated; therefore, aggression is a predictable response to frustration (Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mower Sears, 1939). This theory, though, by itself does not predict aggressive behaviour but, for example, hot weather makes people uncomfortable and this result into some people behaving aggressively. Triandis (1994) claimed that the relationship between heat and violence is confounded by the gap between rich and poor and by single parent families. On the whole, research evidence supports that both biological and social learning approaches explain aggressive behaviour as internal and external influences respectively. Twin studies and differences in the way boys and girls play indicate a strong biological foundation for aggressive behaviour. People with higher levels of testosterone are more aggressive than those with lower levels. In addition, heat, poor economic conditions and TV violence are all associated with increases in violent behaviour. Nevertheless, it has been argued that some cultures are more aggressive than others. A person is 80 percent less likely to be murdered in Canada than in the United States (United Nations, 1997). The socio-biological approach postulates that genes interact with culture to produce unique examples of aggressive behaviour. References Bandura, A. (1971). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Boyatzis, C. J., Matillo G.M. Nesbitt, K. M. (1995). Effects of the ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ on childrens aggression with peers. Child Study Journal, 25, 45-55. Buss, A. H. Perry, M. (1992). The aggression questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 42-459. Collins, Cobuild (2003). Advanced learners English dictionary. Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers. Cosmides, L. Tooby, J. (1992). Cognitive adaptations for social exchange. In J. Barkow, L. Cosmides, J. Tooby (Eds.), The adapted mind: Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture. New York: Oxford University Press. Dabbs, J. M., Carr, T. S., Frady R. L . Riad, J. K. (1995). Testosterone, crime and misbehaviour among 692 male prison inmates. Personality and Individual Differences, 18, 627-633. Dollard, J., Doob, L.W., Miller, N. E., Mower O.H. Sears, R. R. (1939). Frustration and aggression. New Haven: Yale University Press. Geary, D. C. (1999). Evolution and developmental sex differences. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8, 115-120. Gunter, B. McAleer, J. (1990). Children and television: the one-eyed monster. London: Routledge. Konrad, L. (2002). Man Meets Dog. London: Routledge. Loeber, R. Hay, D. (1997). Key issues in the development of aggression and violence from childhood to early adulthood. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 371-410. Miles, D. R. Carey, G. (1997). Genetics and environmental architecture of human aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 207-217. Rowe, D. C., Almeida D. M. Jacobson, K. C. (1999). School context and genetic influences on aggression in adolescence. Psychological Science, 10, 277-280. Singer, J. L. Singer, D. G. (1986). Family experiences and television viewing as predictors of children’s imagination, restlessness and aggression. Journal of Social Issues, 42, 7-28. Triandis, H. C. (1994). Culture and social behaviour. New York: McGraw-Hill. United Nations (1997). Information. United Nations Statistics Division. Available: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/default.htm Wood, W., Wong, F. Chachere J. G. (1991). Effects of media violence on viewer’s aggression in unconstrained social interaction. Psychological Bulletin, 109, 371-383.

African Americans in Pop Culture Essay

African Americans have had an incredible lasting impression on popular culture. African American singers, artists, entrepreneurs, athletes and actors have all had their say and have really stood out within the past few years. They’ve also grown and not grown in different ways all around from music, to television, to movies. African American stereotypes still exist in all aspects of pop culture, while many are trying to get away from what audiences assume is the typical black person. African Americans have been fighting for and against their own stereotypes when they started breaking out into music, then branching out into television, and making it big in the film industry. They’ve gone from being the dumb, uneducated, and underprivileged minority of America, and have started to make themselves more known as gang bangers and thugs, which are often seen as heroes in popular culture. African Americans haven’t only made a name for themselves or left a footprint in only their culture, but in American culture all around. African Americans have been making their mark in music all throughout history. Many started with the jazz and bebop rebellion during the 1940s and ’50s in Detroit. They made their point by trying to be different. They didn’t want to follow the typical white, swing music criteria, and that’s exactly what happened. Bebop wasn’t so mainstream, and that’s what made it their own. They preferred small, unique combos to play instead of big named stars in the music industry. Detroit was shedding light on the working class people of the town and wanted to really make a sound for them. â€Å"The 1940s created an â€Å"afro-modernism,† a response to the urbanization, industrialization, and modernization of African American Culture. † Because of their movement ahead in music, they also made their movement in business. And so emerged an incredibly successful, black capitalist enterprise, Motown Records, founded by Barry Gordy. Along with the movement in Detroit, the Harlem Renaissance had happened even before all the rage for jazz and bebop, which raised awareness to the visual arts, which led to even more developments in music. And even earlier at the beginning of the 20th century, blacks were starting to be accepted into acclaimed schools to study music and they were allowed to join the base of white people in symphony orchestras. During the ’50s, doo-wop and soul music became popular. That’s when legends like Ray Charles emerged and paved the way for others. Soul music remained popular among blacks for long after the pop sounds started to wave through. By the end of the decade and moving into the ’70s, blacks were starting to crossover into the typical white music trends. Psychadelic music had become popular. Jimi Hendrix, along his wah-wah pedal innovation, became one of the most popular guitarists during the era. Right after that, soul had become the popular music in the black community and was starting to revolutionize African-American music. Soul had continued success in popularity during the ’70s, but the ’70s also brought along a rise in black bands. White people were listening to country, disco, and all sorts of rock music, while the African-Americans had their funk, pop, soul, and jazz music that was on a totally different spectrum from their white counterparts. The ’70s was also when Djs started mixing their own beats and playing their funk records the way they wanted to so they could get their audience to dance. And with the beats produced by Djs along with the poets who would read their poems to those beats, came the emergence of hip hop music. The era of hip hop music was a new revolution in African American popular culture.

My apartment Essay

When I was younger, I fantasized about how wonderful life would be when I moved into my own apartment. Now I’m a bit older and wiser, and my dreams have turned into nightmares. My apartment has given me nothing but headaches. From the day, I signed the lease; I’ve had to deal with an uncooperative landlord, an incompetent janitor, and inconsiderate neighbors. First of all, my landlord has been uncooperative since the first day I came to that apartment. As promised, I arrived there at 3 p.m. sharp but he leisurely came there one hour late with depressed looking faces. Then he immediately started to give tour in the apartment and explained a little bit about the rent. After that, he impatiently asked for a deposit even though I’m still touring the apartment for any deficiency in the apartment. At that time I noticed that the flush in the toilet is not functioning and asking him to repair it but him keep insisting me to pay for the deposit first. Thus with an irritating voice, I said to him that he really needs to repair it and I can see his brows frowned. It’s been two months I stayed there, yet no plumber ever came to my apartment and another problem followed in which the air- conditioner started making noise and in the end it broke down. I called and emailed him but there’s no reply at all, so I went straight to his house. Surprisingly, he was there laughing with his friends and my anger cannot hold anymore, so I shouted furiously about the problem happened in the apartment. After a few days, a plumber came and the air – conditioner has been fixed. I’ve had a problem not only with my landlord but also with an incompetent janitor who is a middle-aged man. My first impression toward him is already bad, for he just came to my apartment without brought any equipment to clean the apartment. Not to mention that he used the whole bottle of the cleaning product just to clean the small apartment. I can a ccept if my apartment will be shining but the thing is that I can still see muck in my toilet, dust under my sofa and dirt in my kitchen. There’s one time when he actually made my apartment like his own house. He would laid-back on my sofa and talk with his friends on the phone, watch television and eat my food in the refrigerator without my permission. The intolerable thing I can’t accept is that he thinks himself a plumber by fixing my kitchen’s sink and in the end my sink becomes worse. It has cost money for the sink to be functioning again. Perhaps the worst problem has  been with the inconsiderate neighbors who live in the apartment above me is that they think they own the whole apartment. Even with problem occurred in the apartment and at work, I still felt that my apartment is my heaven but the peaceful moment do not last longer when they moved in the apartment above me after five months I stayed there. Then at that time my dream turned into my worst nightmares in which music being played loudly at 3 a.m. and drums being played deafeningly and people talking boisterously. Sometimes I noticed that my balcony full of dust even when the janitor came to clean my apartment. I assumed that maybe the janitor didn’t sweep the balcony properly but it turn out that the neighbors above me actually was the one who constantly threw dust after they had sweep their house, for they think it’s just debris of dust. Sometimes, my apartment seems like a small, friendly oasis surrounded by hostile enemies. I never know what side trouble is going to come from next: the landlord, the janitor, or the neighbors. Home may be where the heart is, but my sanity is thinking about moving out.

Comparison of the French and Russian Revoloutions. essays

Comparison of the French and Russian Revoloutions. essays The use of either physical (such as the aggressiveness shown by the Cheka, the Russian secret police) or political force (such as War Communism) was prevalent in both the French (Between May 1789 1795) and Russian (Between February 1917 1924) revolutions. To protect and reinforce the revolutions (which were violent overthrows of the government) leaders of the time believed that force (which is defined as the use of power) was the an option available to secure the revolution. The force used came in different forms such as the Reign of Terror in France, to the Red Terror experienced in the Russian Civil War. Force was seen in many eyes to be the solution to securing the revolution and preventing any counter-revolutions, however it was not the only factor that secured the consolidation of the revolutions. Factors such as the N.E.P (New Economic Policy) implemented by Lenin, contributed to the stability of the revolution, as it was a reform that needed to implemented for the revolution to be a success. During the course of the French and Russian Revolutions the threat of counter-revolutions always loomed. One of the threats of counter-revolutions came from the previous leaders (King Louis XVI and Tsar Nicholas II) creating an uprising to topple the revolution. King Louis XVI attempted to do this in the famous Flight To Varennes, which took place in June 1791; where Louis XVI and his Austrian wife Marie Antoinette attempted to flee France, in order to rebuild their counter-revolutionary forces. However their effort was halted and both were brought back to Paris, and taken prisoner. This showed that the old imperial leader could not be trusted, which eventually led to the death of King Louis XVI, and a major hope of any counter-revolution. It is obvious to see that force, by the death of the past leaders was necessary in order to make sure that they never regained power again, to counter the revolution. After 1792, the ...

Document Based Question on Enlightenment

Document Based Question on Enlightenment Enlightenment affected the world politically and the worlds social systems so strongly that it deserves to be considered one of the top three important "turning points" in all of world history. Enlightenment brought positive influences to society in the late 1700's.Enlightenment has affected the social systems in the branches of justice, modern education, and reference. In the year 1764 the Italian jurist Cesare Beccaria wrote a book called On Crime and Punishments. He questioned the idea of the death penalty in people's minds as if to ask, it is really necessary? John Locke and Jean Rousseau discuss how enlightenment affects modern education. The ideas spread to the minds of children leading to a brighter generation. French philosophers used Enlightenment. The philosopher Voltaire used treatise on tolerance based on religion and war to show Enlightenment to. The original reference of the Encyclopedia, written in 1772, provided the middle class with the information of the new era lea ding to the spread of new thoughts everywhere.Cesare Beccaria (1738 - 1794) was one of the great...This piece of marvelous information provided politicians with the right things to do. One of the political changes it made was to the Russian empire. Empress Catherine II of Russia, was an "Enlightened Despot", meaning she followed the government way of Enlightenment.Enlightenment was not only taken in a positive way but was also taken in any abusive way, since people misunderstand the positive factors of Enlightenment and misinterpreted against it. One misinterpretation of Enlightenment were two 20th century Historians which violated it by stating that the "light" did not light up all of the world or even all the western world.In conclusion, the ideas of Enlightenment took a positive part in everyone's lives. This enabled to people to have a better thought process today, which is used wisely in most circumstances.

The relationship between crude oil prices and gasoline prices Essay

The relationship between crude oil prices and gasoline prices - Essay Example The gas prices in the market influence the way people budget, travel, or the shipping of products into the market. When the prices of this essential product go up, people have to decide what products to buy in the market and what products to forgo. The production cost often influences prices in the market. In the same way, when gasoline prices go up, the production cost of products also shoots (Averdunk, 2010). The factor that influences the above price fluctuation is crude oil prices. Crude oil prices have an influence upon individual spending. An individual has to make a difficult decision in order to scrap what is less important when prices shoot. The effects of the crude oil prices often influence the operation of many companies because these companies depend on products derived from crude oil. It is important to identify the relationship between crude oil price and gasoline prices in the market. Market prices of products derived from crude oil often feel the impact of change in crude oil price. Research indicates that a 15% tumble of crude oil prices leads to 5% drop of the gasoline prices (Swag, 2004). Notably, the gasoline firms would present the same pump prices for the gasoline products. All the oil companies would present the same gasoline prices in the market. This research further indicates that many motorcar owners would face the same influence whenever the crude oil prices go up. Crude oil prices seem to be equal throughout the producing countries. The research also noted that crude oil prices are universal. Thus, the effect of crude oil prices in the market would influence the operation of many activities in different countries. The difference in gasoline prices in the market would result in other cost such as overhead cost. Overhead cost influences the profit that a company would make, thus influencing prices of products of the company. On the other hand, competition that exists among the gasoline companies would influence how the prices of

Australian Criminal Justice System, the Belief in Justice, an Independ Essay

Australian Criminal Justice System, the Belief in Justice, an Independent Judiciary and the Rule of Law - Essay Example For any criminal justice system to be accepted by everyone, it must not discriminate against the people of a certain race, ethnic background or social class. The legal system can only be fair if the necessary procedures that guarantee a fair trial are in place. Similarly, there must be a system of law for the purpose of fairness in the society or simply the Law of Equity. The society will continue to trust the legal system if justice is not only done but perceived to be done. The entire society more so the witnesses and victims should be made aware of steps that are made to ensure that those who are involved in criminal activities are arrested and prosecuted. Furthermore, the public should be able to witness, by the means of the criminal justice system, the law bringing about accountability. The legal system comprises some basic elements of justice which include unbiased judges, jury trials that are just and the provision of security to the witnesses whenever it is called for. The Australian Justice system is based on the belief in justice, an independent judiciary and the rule of law (Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2008). The people, in disregard of race and whether or not they are citizens, are given similar treatment before the law. The law also safeguards and ensures that the people are given fair treatment by officials and governments. There are some principles which are fundamental to the Australian legal system. These include the separation of powers, judicial precedent and procedural fairness. The Australian jurisprudence is based on the United Kingdom common law system. This law shows a great variation from the other civil law systems operating in Japan, South America and Europe that originated from Roman law (Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2008). The major feature of the common law is that cases that have been settled previously act as a precedent to the pending  cases.