Essay on Explaining Aggression - 606 Words

Explaining Aggression One of the achievements of social psychology has been in extending explanations of aggression and violence away from merely being reflections of the inner state of individuals There many ways of explaining aggressive behaviour in humans. Some theories view aggression as an important part of our evolutionary heritage , others as an imbalance in hormones or neurotransmitters in the brain. Early psychological theories of aggression explained aggressive behaviour as an automatic consequence of personal frustration. Social learning theories see the cause of our aggressive behaviour as†¦show more content†¦There are however, some methodological problems in Banduras study. Joseph said that the experiment only involves harm to an inflatable doll not a human being, therefore it is not a good example of aggression. Johnston found that children who behaved violently towards the doll were rated as more violent generally by teachers. Aggression is often described as antisocial behaviour but by observing adult aggressive behaviour being rewarded children may think this behaviour is acceptable and normative. Therefore it shows that social learning theory explain s that is more about learning behaviour rather than being a reflection of an individuals inner state. It also explains the findings which show that children who watch violent films are more likely to behave in an aggressive way. Social learning theory can account for cultural and individual variation; it can also explain why we behave aggressively in some situations and not others. When we are rewarded or reinforced for behaving aggressively this is related to specific situations, in other situations we may find this behaviour isnt rewarded. This is known as context dependent learning. In spite of the success of social learning theory, there are reasons for arguing that Banduras approach is limited and that aggressiveShow MoreRelatedThe Psychoanalytical Theory Of Aggression1297 Words   |  6 PagesAggression can be defined as a range of behaviours, which can result in both physical and psychological harm to oneself, others or an object in the environment. Baron and Richardson (1994) claim aggression is a form of anti-social behaviour, which shows a lack of emotional concern for the welfare of others. There are various explanations for the cause of aggression, one of them being the biological explanation. This theory focuses on aggression as an innate tendency involving the instinct theoryRead MoreFice Of National Statistics Crime Survey Essay1661 Words   |  7 Pagesconsidering how these relate to explaining the extent of violent behaviour, namely grievous bodily harm. 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