It’s difficult to think about why people intentionally harm other individuals, however, several theories attempt to explain human aggression. Some hypothesize that aggressive behaviour is not simply an innate quality but a part of our personality that is learned. The belief that all humans are instinctively aggressive offers little insight into methods of reducing anti-social behaviour. By looking at how aggression is formed through experience, however, we can make inferences into what type of people are more likely to aggress and the factors that perpetuate an aggressive personality. I believe that aggression is most predominant under 3 conditions: (1) under high levels of frustration (2) when there is a payoff in response to acting out and (3) when it is learned through observation. Because the frustration-aggression theory and the social learning theory offer insightful clues into the development of aggression, I will discuss them in detail.
The frustration-aggression theory posits that feelings of aggression are brought on when we are prevented from obtaining a goal. This theory basically claims that the loss of control and lack of power, emotions that typify frustration, lead to aggression. Several factors can increase f
The Social Learning theory denies that humans are innately aggressive and that frustration automatically leads to aggression. Instead Bandura argued that aggression is learned in two basic ways: (1) from receiving and/or expecting payoffs following aggression and (2) from observing aggressive models. The first method of learning aggressive behavior is through simple instrumental conditioning. If after performing an aggressive act an animal or human receives a positive reinforcement (such as food or a toy), they are likely to repeat the behavior in order to gain more rewards. In this way, the aggressive act becomes positively associated with the reward, which encourages the further display of aggression.
The second method that is covered by the social learning theory is observational learning. This takes place when “one person observes, and the observer thereby acquires the ability to repeat the act.” One of the most popular current debates centres around the idea that media violence contributes to increased aggression in viewers. This exemplifies the idea that people are easily influenced by others' behaviour. Sadly, research shows that people are impacted by the aggressive behaviour they s
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