The Psychology Behind Aggression & Violence

Acknowledged are, violence and aggression as very difficult and multi-faceted acts related to our culture. These behaviors may arise from multiple causative factors and triggers but stem from various psychological underpinnings. Knowing why people tend to be aggressive or violent can help one in counter-acting, or otherwise managing these tendencies that undermine social harmony. This paper will discuss the psycho-social aspects of aggravation and violence, focusing on what leads to such acts and how they can be controlled.

1. Biological Factors:
Our biological makeup is one of the most important fundamental psychological causes of aggression and violence. As far as evolutionary psychology is concerned, this may have been an adaptive trait in early humans. Aggression and violence could be a way for people to ensure protection of self, get needed resources, and hold a dominant position in society. With modern-day society changes, we still carry out such biological traits but are mostly limited by cultures and society.

2. Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis:
In 1939, psychologist John Dollard came up with the frustration-aggression assumption wherein he suggested that aggression can be caused or triggered by frustration. Frustration is a feeling that arises when individuals cannot attain their goals and desires and may be expressed in such forms as anger and aggression. This supports the idea that frustrations must be addressed in a way to avoid violent behavior.

3. Social Learning:
Albert Bandura advanced social learning theory which believes aggression is learned from watching (imitating) and copying others. Seeing violence from family members, peers or TV can be imitated by both children and adults. Due to this, people become desensitized by these violent and aggressive acts making it normal or justifiable for them to do too.

4. Cognitive Factors:
The cognitive perspective on aggression and violence is important too. In this case, human beings can misperceive a thing beyond the normal justification of the aggression. human responses can lead to distortions. Such cognitive distortions create “hostile attribution bias”, meaning that individuals are likely to perceive a neutral or unclear event negatively and react aggressively.

5. Personality Traits:
Some personal attributes are said to put one at risk of getting involved in violent conduct. For example, psychopathy involves no sympathy, high impulsion, and non-conformity with society. Psychopathic people exhibit violent and aggressive tendencies. Similarly, a high level of impulsiveness coupled with low agreeableness may lead one to have some aggressive tendencies.

6. Environmental Factors:
Aggressive behavior is also determined by the environment. The environment can become hostile as a result of exposure to poverty, discrimination, and violence which in turn leads to aggression. Children who are brought up in homes where it is commonplace to abuse one another could easily grow into adults who do not see anything wrong, thereby contributing to the perpetuation of the culture of violence among the generations that follow them.

7. Substance Abuse:
Substance use and abuse, especially of alcohol and drugs, may significantly enhance the probability of violence and aggression. Such substances often lead to disinhibition of judgement and lessen inhibition making it easier to act upon instinctual aggression.

In conclusion, Aggression and violence are complex phenomena that derive from the psyche. It is important to note the different factors that lead to these types of activities to improve our preventive and interventional measures. These need to be addressed on an internal, family, and societal basis to fashion a better, quieter world. Through fostering emotional intelligence, minimizing anger stimuli as well and confronting and changing environmental circumstances, we should live in a society where aggressions and violent acts become rarities.