AGGRESSION

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Aggression
Final Exam
Strayer University
Psy 110
Online Winter 2012
Felicia McCaw 

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Aggression. What exactly is aggression? Aggression is a behavioral pattern that expresses excessive hostility to harm a person, oneself or an object. There are three categories of aggression:

Instrumental Aggression - The intentional use of harmful behavior so that one can achieve some other goal.

HostileAggression - The intentional use of harmful behavior in which the goal is simply to cause injury or death to the victim.

Indirect Aggression - Is a form of aggressive manipulation involving an attempt to harm another person without face-to-face encounters.

Instrumental aggression involves the use of manipulating circumstances to obtain an opportunity to express harmful behavior and fulfill a goal. This type of aggression is also referred to as proactive aggression. Aggressive acts are done with the intent and objective of gaining material, psychological, or social benefits procured by acts of violence to achieve goal.

Hostile aggression is reactive aggression and is triggered by anger or a high level of emotional rage. Its sole purpose is the destruction of another and has no reward value attached but is often based on burst of anger and violence which is impulsive and irrational. Reactive force is used and the motivator behind it involves utilizing a highly emotional and impulsive manner. Also, temperatures of higher degrees cause levels of aggressiveness to increase and causes hostile conflicts that reflect higher than normal levels of aggression. Further, the longer the days of heat and humidity the more prolonged days of aggression continue.

Indirect Aggression is a form of social manipulation usually done by females which does not involve face-to-face contact. It occurs in all age levels and remains steady and consistent even with changes or maturity factor considered. This behavioral pattern is still a threat and

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is not studied much but it should be examined more closely because of dire consequences that may occur. It is very similar to passive aggression because it is not a confrontational basis but uses a non-confrontation basis as its way of manipulation.

Aggression is learned by emulating examples of behavioral activities portrayed as masculine, dominant and accepted as a norm that are violent and disruptive. This behavioral pattern has been studied since the age of Plato. What is it that motivates the urge toward anger, violence and rage? This propensity of man against man has been a phenomenal turnabout really since Cain slew Abel in a fit of jealous rage and an overly unmotivated act of aggression and rage. What compels people of yesterday and today toward this intriguing, fascinating burst of adrenalin in a human’s system is what everyone wants to know more about. Aggression is the key to a lot of humanity’s (whether human or animal) problems and defined it is behavior that exhibits hostility (verbal and physical), or a disposition towards this type of behavior that would include force utilizing hostility and attacks. Social dominance is one of the key points in aggression and is opposite of assertiveness.

Aggression in its truest form is unique because it parlays in its own language. It is either expressed physically or verbally in its rawest form of suppressed anger. Evidence or testing has revealed that people tend to act out in aggressiveness in ways consistent with internalized values or identities. However, most aspects or actions of aggressivenesss are expressed in an externalized fashion of emotional upheavals. Emotional upheavals of aggression are severe bouts of frustration that cannot be suppressed because of its continual activity. If the emotional status or equilibrium cannot be adjusted or leveled then aggression will follow when stimulated

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or triggered by anger or other strong emotion. Further not only can aggression be triggered by anger or other strong emotion it can also be instigated by physical motions of hostility or verbal hostility.

Aggression described as man vs planet vs animal signifies the very essence of evolution in a nutshell. It is the epitome of becoming adjusted to environmental changes as well as the evolving of man and his survival instincts. Further knowing that survival of the fittest is a number one priority reflects the sometimes savage nature of animal and man. Because males are seen as the top of social dominance and are listed as top of the hierarchy of man it is he who is the true aggressor. Being a true aggressor means that he is the head of the household and is expected to fend for his family and sometimes this may enact aggression to protect and provide. Furthermore, aggression is necessary in order to secure resources, survive and produce and evolve successfully and it does not necessarily aim at those within a family structure but usually those outside the sphere.

Passive aggression is also a form of behavior that connects with anger or strong emotion that entails repressed anger.
This anger is a carryover from childhood and allows this emotion to be projected on people around them in a detrimental fashion. This can be viewed as an act of aggression because it projects hostility towards others and those who are not responsible for initializing the anger.

Sexual aggression involves the study of aggression and how it affects sexual relationships or interaction and whether its aggressive nature is contributed from pornography. Based on

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studies the idea that pornography could cause women to be viewed as objects of lust and aggressive tendencies that require no consent for sexual intercourse or rape has not been established but is still being studied.

Instinct theory involves the thought that humans have a corresponding pattern of behavior that allows comparison to many animal species and reflects the need for biological aggression. It also reflects that stronger emotion may be exhibited by humans as well as animals when interacting that may compromise passive aggression or aggression. The levels of aggression may be varied depending on passive or active aggression and reflect actual possibilities of change allowable in degrees of aggression.

Social Learning Theory reflects that aggression is learned by watching other people behave aggressively and is a form of emulation and expression of anger or strong emotion resulting from a trigger or stimuli. This theory categorizes and utilizes all three models as a method to transfer the learning of aggression:

Live Model – Reflects the learning of aggression by watching an actual person demonstrating the desired behavior.

Verbal Instruction – Reflects the learning of aggression by verbal direction and instructions on how to engage.

Symbolic – Reflects the learning of aggression by means of modeling or emulation that is portrayed by media, movies, television, internet, literature and radio. This can be relayed by either real or fictional character using demonstrating behavior.

There are several steps that are involved in the process of modeling and they are attention,
retention, reproduction and motivation. Each model or steps in the modeling process help
facilitate the development of aggression in either a verbal or physical display.

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Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis is another theory that helps to explain how frustration can lead to aggression. This reflects that the blocking or prevention of expected goal attainment may cause an unexpected accumulation of detrimental emotion. If the emotion accumulates an causes a situational conflict than this may lead to the undesired facet of aggression if aggravated.

Negative Affect Theory is a theory that reflects negative feelings, experiences which may cause anger and if intense enough may subsequently lead to aggression. Interpretation of motives will also influence whether an angry person will act aggressively depending on individual mindsets.

Gender and aggression reflects that based on meta-analytic studies men are more aggressive than women. Males actively participate in activities that produces pain or physical injury and females participate in activities that cause embarrassment, mental anguish and physical pain. Expressions of anger by women are relayed and versed in verbal aggression and is usually geared toward members of the other sex and men do the opposite.

Based on research the stimulation of the amygdala may result in possible bursts of aggression that may be caused by a trigger. Because of this the prefrontal cortex is actively involved when aggression tendencies and fear are present. Gender reflects the exact amount of aggression allowable in interaction of prefrontal and medial portion of the brain. Further based on sex the folds or layers in a female brain allows less aggression whereas the lack of folds in the male brain allows more. Further based on the chemical analysis the possibility of exploring the rates of actual abilities to calculate the amount of aggression is possible but the synapses would have to be tampered and then closed. High levels of serotonin indicates the ability of large

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amounts of aggression and low levels of aggression indicate small levels of aggression. The ability of transmission from one synapses to another with mercurial speed is what will allow the measure of aggressiveness vs inability to gauge. Dopamine is a contributor but it is also an inhibitor. Chemical analysis of testosterone allows the ability of hormones to circulate throughout the body affecting cells and nervous system including the brain and triggers aggression of higher levels than females who have lower levels than men.

Aggression today and tomorrow will someday be a force that will be controlled, monitored for the betterment of humankind and will prevent some of the issues that humanity is suffering and will allow the continuance of a more peaceful nation.










Bibliography

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