Aggression As A Concept

2 Pages 610 Words

Aggression is a social behavior that differs throughout cultures and society. Aggression is also a trend that occurs in nature’s wildlife. Some animals are more aggressive than others. For example, lions can and will attack almost any other animal for its prey. This is very different behavior from a giraffe that can barely defend itself while feeding on a nearby tree. Some societies seem to have more aggressive behavior than others. Germany, when under the influence of Hitler, had a very high death rate among its Jewish population, which devastated many families. Aggression can also be a biological trend through a family’s genes and DNA. Researchers have tried to link aggression to heredity and hormones. Many structures in the brain have been found to be very significant in studying aggression within families. A high level of the hormone, testosterone, has also been linked to aggressive behavior. These are very interesting aspects of aggression, but this essay will mainly focus on aggression as a product of social learning. The social learning theory explains that aggression is likely to be learned by watching others who have an aggressive nature in their actions, which is very dangerous. Violence is usually a result when dealing with aggression among society.
In Sdorow’s Psychology textbook, he states that researchers have found women to be more aggressive after watching their parents act aggressively. A study conducted by Albert Bandura showed that children acted aggressively towards a “Bobo doll” after seeing an adult hitting the doll several times. The behaviors towards the doll were very different than those of children who did not observe any aggression towards Bobo. Children are also more likely to show aggression towards other children after watching a violent show on television. Many cultures and countries other than the United States show aggression in their society. Rome used to hold gladiator e...