How Can Aggression Be Minimised

This essay discusses how aggression can be minimised with reference to three theories of aggression. These theories are discussed in the main body of the essay with regard to the context of reducing aggression, followed by a discussion of findings and ideas for future research. The first theory is aggression as a biological phenomenon, the second theory is aggression as a response to frustration and the third is aggression as a Learned Social Approach.

Firstly it is necessary to establish why it important to study aggression in psychology because if we do not understand the nature and causes of aggression we cannot understand how to deal with or reduce aggression.The study of aggression has lead to effective management techniques derived from behavioural and counselling psychology. (Hogg & Vaughan, 2008) “Aggression’ is generally defined as “behaviour intended to injure another person who does not want to be injured”. (Hogg & Vaughan, 2008, p. 446) It can come in two forms – hostile aggression and instrumental aggression. “Hostile aggression springs from anger; its goal is to injure.

Instrumental aggression aims to injure, too – but only as a means to some other end”. (Myers, 2007, p. 345)Main Body 1. Aggression as a biological phenomenon “Aggression is an innate action tendency”.

(Hogg & Vaughan, 2008, p. 448) Genetics influence aggression, and a person’s temperament usually endures as Huesmann et al. explains “a child that is non aggressive at age 8 will most likely still be non aggressive at age 48” (as cited in Myers, 2007, p. 347). All humans have neural systems that facilitate aggression.

In addition there is a positive correlation between aggression and testosterone levels and a negative correlation with pro social behaviour. (Harris, Rushton, Hampson & Jackson, 1996)Therefore people don’t have to learn how to behave aggressively, it comes quite naturally. To minimise (biological) aggression people have to learn how to control their aggressive tendencies. (Bushman & Huesmann, 2010) Introducing humour may block aggressive tendencies and “empathy may lead to a reduction in aggression, provided that the aggressor is not emotionally aroused to an extent that he perceives the victims suffering as a positive reinforcement”. (Krahe, 2001, p.

217) Krahe (2001) explains that a person’s genetic makeup may make the person more susceptible towards becoming an aggressive person, i.e. that there is a biologically rooted aggressive drive, but environmental factors such as temperature, noise and crowding also play a major role in determining whether or not that disposition is reinforced or counteracted.According to Myres, both Freud (Psychodynamic theorist, 1930) and Lorenz (Ethological theorist, 1974) agreed that energy needs to be released as otherwise it builds up until it explodes.

In order to minimise aggression Lorenz advises that energy level should be kept below the absolute threshold and one way to do this is through playing sports. (Krahe, 2001) Blood chemistry such as alcohol and low serotonin levels influence neural sensitivity to aggression. “Alcohol enhances aggression by reducing people’s self awareness and by reducing their ability to consider consequences“. (Bartholow & Heinz, Ito & others, Steele & Southwick as cited in Myers, 2007, p. 348) We can minimise aggression here for example by eliminating or controlling the cause e.

g. alcohol. Thus, spouse-battering alcoholics, when they cease their problem drinking after treatment, their violent behaviour typically ceases. However as Krahe (2001) notes people have to be aware of their behaviour and want to change it for any intervention to be effective.2. Aggression as a response to frustration “Frustration always leads to some form of aggression” according to John Dollard (as cited in Myers, 2007, p.

349). This was the original frustration theory. Frustration grows when something blocks us from attaining our goal. Often we displace our hostilities to other people who are less likely to aggress against us.Frustration Theory was revised by Leonard Berkowitz (1978). ”Berkowitz theorised that frustration produces anger, an emotional readiness to aggress”.

(Myers, 2007, p. 350) Thus, while frustration can produce anger, it does not always lead to some form aggression. This distinction is important to understand in order to deal with this form of aggression. Contrary to some beliefs, this is not through physical exercise. Although physical exercise is good for your heart, it is not good for reducing anger. Angry people are physiologically aroused, and physical exercise just keeps the arousal level high.

To reduce anger, people should try to reduce their arousal level. (Bushman & Huesmann, 2010, p. 30)Bushman, Baumeister & Stack (as cited in Hogg & Vaughan, 2008, p. 458) similarly found that “people who hit a punching bag believing that it reduced stress, were more likely later to punish someone who had transgressed them”. Frustration is often compounded when our feelings of well-being depends on others in a similar position for example workers feelings of well-being depends on others in their line of work.

These feeling are called relative deprivation. This explains why “happiness tends to be lower and crime rates higher in communities and nations with large income inequality”. (Hagerty, Kawachi & others as cited in Myers, 2007, p. 351) Affluence is another possible source of frustration “In cultures where a television is a universal appliance this can turn absolute deprivation into relative deprivation”. (Myers, 2007, p. 351)Thus, lowering people’s expectations can minimise aggression.

Bushman & his colleagues (as cited in Myers, 2007) conducted an experiment using distraction and found that distracted participants’ anger subsided but the others were still seething. If aggression is a result of frustration, interventions for the individual and the aggressor, like counselling are available. Another way of managing aggression as recommended by Braithwaite (2001) is anger management and assertiveness training. However, as discussed by Howells (as cited in Krahe, 2001, p. 217) Anger management methods can only be expected to work with individuals who are aware of the fact that their aggressive behaviour results from a failure to control their aggressive impulses and who are motivated to change their inadequate handling of these impulses.

There is some evidence that catharsis can help release emotional aggression but there is mixed support for it as an effective aggression minimising technique. Catharsis “refers to the process of using our behaviour as an outlet for release for pent up emotion”. (Hogg & Vaghan, 2008, p. 457) Catharsis is usually credited to Aristotle, by acting out their emotions people can purify their feelings. (Hogg & Vaghan, 2008) Some psychologists believe that catharsis is therapeutic and encourage the release of emotional aggression through aggressive play. Sexual material or watching violent drama is also considered by some to be outlets for bottled up impulses.

Both Freud and Lorenz endorsed the idea that bottling up feelings can lead to uncontrolled outbursts of aggression. On the contrary, others argue that “sexual materials lead people to commit rape”. (Myers, 2007, p. 375) Myers (2007) and many social psychologists believe that viewing or participating in violence fails to produce catharsis.

3. Aggression as a Learned Social Approach Aggression is influenced by learning. By observing others and by experiencing we learn how to behave in society. Everyday life exposes us to aggressive models such as family, subculture, mass media and we internalise this aggression. Albert Bandura (as cited in Myers, 2007, p.352) demonstrated how “we learn aggression not only by experiencing it’s pay offs but also by observing others” in an 1965 experiment with children watching a film in which a model acted aggressively towards a ‘bobo doll’ punching, kicking and hitting it with a mallet.

Children who saw the model punished produced fewer aggressive actions towards the bobo doll than did children in groups that saw the model rewarded or saw no consequences for the model. A subsequent experiment demonstrated that whether the action was reinforced or punished children did learn the models behaviour, i.e. behaviour (and aggression) is learned.

Children readily mimic the behaviour of models and can become desensitised to media violence. By counteracting the facts that provoke aggression (such as exposure to violent television, video games, violent or aggressive behaviour) aggression can be controlled. In the family aggressive children tend to have parents who often behave aggressively.To minimise aggression parents should reward behaviour that is not compatible with violent acts, not reward violent acts themselves and avoid the use punishing behaviour by teaching children how to avoid being aggressive and by building on their self-esteem, this can have a positive long term impact. Social behaviour outside the home also has an impact on behaviour and those who have observed gun violence are at double risk for violent behaviour. (Myers, 2007) Coie and Dodge (as cited in Krahe, 2001) explain how programmes “directed at preventing aggressive conduct disorders in children have focused on teaching parents non-violent discipline strategies”.

Krahe (2001) also notes that these parent management training have been developed to teach parents to encourage pro-social behaviour and have a more lasting impact on behaviour modification. In particular approaches that have been quite successful have been those aimed at promoting new skills, enabling the individual to engage in behavioural alternatives to aggression. Enabling the person to control their anger has proven to be an effective long-term means of reducing hostile aggression. “Punishment may suppress antisocial behaviour briefly, but more lasting behaviour modification comes only after alternative ways of coping with social problems are learned”.

(American Psychological Society as cited in Krahe, 2001, p. 18)Conclusion From the above discussion of three theories of aggression and means of minimising aggression it can be concluded that aggression is an innate action within us all that can be stimulated through frustration and anger and learned behaviours. The different means of arousing aggression as a biological phenomenon as response to frustration or learned social approach helps us to understand and manage it. For example eliminating aggressive stimulants and controlling the environmental factors can help minimise natural tendencies towards aggression. Reducing anger through distraction or interventions such as counselling can help mitigate aggression as a result of frustration.Exposing a child to aggressive media has been shown to encourage learned aggressive behaviours.

Thus minimising aggressive cues are important. However, the most important element for effectively reducing all types of behaviour is that individuals have to recognise and learn to control their aggressive tendencies. (Bushman & Huesmann, 2010) In terms of future research both social neuroscience and behavioural genetics are the focus of new studies to understand those brain structures that are implicated in aggressive responses and to improve our ability to predict who will be violent under what circumstances.