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Aggression and culture

Changes in dominant behavior or in social status causes changes in testosterone levels. Reports of changes in testeosterone of young men during athletic events, which involve face-to-face competition with a winner and a loser, reveal that testosterone rises shortly before their matches, as if in anticipation of the competition. Also, one to two hours after the competitive match, the testosterone levels of the winners are high relative to those levels of the losers . It is also important to take into account the type of conflict that is occurring when assessing aggression. Is the conflict between groups, within a group, within a family? The sex of those involved in the conflict is also critical. Male-male, male-female and female-female encounters should all be clearly distinguished from one another. Same sex encounters are more frequent than inter-sex encounters and this could affect the level of aggression present .

Different types of aggression

Aggression is a complex phenomenon that is composed of a number of more specific types of behavior.

Moyer Classification

Moyer (1968) presented an early and influential classification of seven different forms of aggression, from a biological and evolutionary point of view.

1. Predatory aggression: attack on prey by a predator.
2. Inter-male aggression: competition between males of the same species over access to resources such as females, dominance, status, etc.
3. Fear-induced aggression: aggression associated with attempts to flee from a threat.
4. Irritable aggression: aggression induced by frustration and directed against an available target.
5. Territorial aggression: defence of a fixed area against intruders, typically conspecifics.
6. Maternal aggression: a female's aggression to protect her offspring from a threat. Paternal aggression also exists.
7. Instrumental aggression: aggression directed towards obtaining some goal, considered to be a learned response to a situation.

Current

If the definition of aggression is limited to physical strategies only, then it is true that in some cases, males are more aggressive than females. One explanation for this difference is that females are physically weaker than men so they need to develop other means to obtain successful results and defend themselves . Females of different cultures have a variety of aggressive means through which they can get even with their husbands (e.g., locking them out of the house), all of which could be seen as forms of non-physical aggression. On Bellona Island, a culture that is based on male dominance and physical violence, women tend to get into conflicts with other women more frequently than with men. When they do get into conflicts with their husbands, they rarely use physical means. Instead, they make up songs that mock their husband, which spread across the island, humiliating their husband. If a woman wanted to kill a man, she would either convince her relatives to kill him or hire an assassin. These are both forms of indirect aggression since the aggressor (female) is trying to hurt another individual without putting herself in direct danger .

Aggression in children

The frequency of physical aggression in humans peaks on average at around 2-3 years of age, gradually declines (Tremblay 2000). These observations suggest that physical aggression is not primarily a learned behavior and that development provides opportunities for the learning of self-regulation. However, a small subset of children fails to acquire the necessary self-regulatory abilities and tends to show atypically high levels of physical aggression throughout development (Bongers et al. 2004; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network 2004). These may be at risk for later violent behavior.

What is typically expected of children?

• Young children preparing to enter kindergarten need to develop the socially important skill of being assertive. Examples of assertiveness include asking others for information, initiating conversation, or being able to respond to peer pressure.
• In contrast, some young children use aggressive behavior, such as hitting or biting, as a form of communication.
• Aggressive behavior can impede learning as a skill deficit, while assertive behavior can facilitate learning.
• By school age, children should learn more socially appropriate forms of communicating such as expressing themselves through verbal or written language; if they have not, this behavior may signify a disability or developmental delay

What triggers aggressive behavior in children?

• Physical fear of others
• Family difficulties
• Learning, neurological, or conduct/behavior disorders
• Emotional trauma
• Exposure to violence on television, film or other media sources.

Summaries of best practice recommendations

(1) American Academy of Pediatrics : 'Set firm, consistent limits to help children self monitor emotions and behavior; make sure all care takers agree to the same limits. Provide examples of effective and socially acceptable ways of managing anger; be careful not to reinforce aggression with aggressive forms of punishment. Also, model acceptable behavior as a caretaker by managing your own temper. Remember that occasional outbursts are normal. If aggressive behavior continues for more than a few weeks, consult a pediatrician or mental health professional.'[1]

(2) National Association of School Psychologists: 'Overly aggressive behavior can signify a social skills deficit; direct instruction, modeling, and coaching can help children acquire the skill of assertion, which as a replacement behavior may help prevent aggressive behavior.' (NASP Best Practices in School Psychology 2002):[2]

The Bobo doll experiment was conducted by Albert Bandura in 1961. In this work, Bandura found that children exposed to aggressive adult model acted more aggressively than those who were exposed to a nonaggressive adult model. This experiment suggests that anyone who comes in contact with and interacts with children can have an impact on the way they react and handle situations..

==References==