• Embed Doc
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
Emporium Current Essays147Aggression may be defined as a "form of behaviour directed towards the goal of harmingor injuring another living being. "But this simple definition docs not necessarily includeemotion such as anger and need or motive to inflict pain. It can be physical or verbal,direct or indirect. This framework excludes anger expressed as aggression towardsinanimate objects and emphasis intent to ham another living being, be it situational or  planned.There are views which suggest aggression to be:1)- Inborn urges;2)- extremely stimulated drives, and3)- social learning experience.But there are situational aggressive acts where frustrationand social conditions lead to such behaviour. Yet there are biological determinants of aggressioa which may be fromconstitutional to biochemical and brain damage to drugs and» nutritional deficiencies.Aggression as inborn characteristic of human being is too well known though leastinvestigated. Sigmond Freud held that aggression originates from 'death instinct'. Heargues that hostile impulses generated by this impulse build gradually and if not releasedin relatively safe and non-injurious ways it may take a harmful and violent direction.While the instinctual view was under process of reassessment, Konard Lorenz (1996), a Nobel laureate (technologist), reiterated that aggression springs from .an innate fightinginstinct which humans share with many animals. Both theories, though they differ inmany details, share the basic assumption, which is very pessimistic, that human beingsare genetically programmed for violence.Recently, the drive theories of aggression (Dollard Miller, Mowrer and Sears, 1939)featured prominently in psychology. This hypothesis suggests that frustration produced by blocking goaldirected behaviour, arouses a drive where primary goal is to harm a person or object. Such aggressive drive leads to aggressive acts. It148Emporium Current Essaysmeans that social situations may trigger strong motivation for aggressive behaviour.Frustration, conflicts and stress resolution leads to aggression which is maintained andreinforced through reward. As compared to instinctual urges, the drive theories which
 
explain aggressive behaviour on environmental condition and not 'built in' tendencies, aremore optimistic in respect to prevention or control of such behaviour and hope in future.Aggression being a learned social behaviour is gathering increasing support. Aggressionis considered to be a specific form of behaviour which is acquired and maintained asmany other forms of activity. Detailed and careful analysis of aggressive behaviour pointsto three basic steps:1. The manner it is acquired.2. The factors involved.3. The conditions which maintain its performance.The acquisition of aggressive patterns of behaviour is through observing in their immediate and remote environment. For children it may be a model among their elders or through media. Secondly, if such behaviour is immediately rewarded, the maintenance of such behaviour is provided by attainment of material reward. Aggression may also bemaintained by selfreinforcement where aggressors may congratulate themselves for their adventures -- a pride in their abilities to subdue others.The social learning theory is optimistic where there is possibility of preventing andcontrolling human aggression. This is because aggression is a learned form of social behaviour and may be open to direct modification and reduced through removal of adverse social conditions.Personality has, long been considered to be the outcome of combination of genetic and parental attitude. Either one is a bad coin from birth or the guilt of the deviant personalityis levelled squarely upon parents. One of the reality is human biology and his adaptive potential and the other is our micro and macro environment (immediate andremote). Interaction of these two realities produced complex behaviour patternindividually and collectively. The former can be related to psychology and the latter toother social sciences like sociology, ecology, anthropology, economics and political development. Individuals can be manipulators of society while society provides a framework of action.Emporium Current Essays149Biological models of abnormality arc based on the assumptMMt that physicalevents may be partly responsible for personality disturbance and behaviour disorders including aggression. These events include heredity, constitutional make up, biochemical changes, hormone, dietary, drugs, brain damage and effects of stress. Toelucidate only a few are rare but hit headlines are psychopathy, once called moralinsanity. It has recently been *found that chromosomal abnormality where instead of XY
 
(male) and XX (female), XYY chromosome may be associated with violent behaviour. Ithas also been observed that children with minimal brain damage (MBD) secondary totrauma before, during or after birth, may develop aggressive tendencies. Such childrenmay exhibit strange but consistent aggressive acts. Brain tumours and hormonalimbalance, drug addicts and certain dietary deficiencies and excess may alter the personality, temporarily or permanently producing aggressive and violent behaviour  patter. This, however, constitutes a very small proportion. In fact such conditionsmay provide predisposition and preparedness to learn aggressive lessons rather than the primary cause.Physical environment like heat, noise, overcrowding has also been associated withviolent behaviour.It is quite-possible that such primed individuals may be drawn to aggressive and violentacts in a given social situation and explain the unwarranted killing and unbelievable brutal acts in the name of some 'cause'.It has been observed that at international level aggression, violence and terrorism is o.therise. But they cannot be lumped together. Political insurgencies and terrorism can bedisapproved but their genesis, origin and perpetuation will have to be analysed. Theunder-privileged and civilised communities when left with no options behave violentlyand their cause attracts international attention though unsympathetically. Though theinjustice done to them at the highest plane are focused but they are lost through negative public opinion.In Pakistan the Afghanistan phenomenon remains the dominant single event which hasradically changed our social scene. It is not the political happenings there but the fall outwhich we embraced so willingly has initiated the heroin and Kalashnikov culture. Thisculture breeds crime, aggression and violence which is now appreciated nationallywithout generating remedial measures.In the tribal society possession of arms is traditionally considered to be z&var (decoration) used with care and caution.J150Emporium Current EssaysSuddenly much more sophisticated weapons, cheap and plenty made available in Pakistanhad devastating effects. So has the heroin which was non-existent til! early 80s and nowfreely available, has gone into our social political and economic fabric rather deeply. Theindeterminate masked murders, bomb blasts, armed dacoitics and car-snatching,kidnapping, and rape are common day happening. The linguistic and ethnic riots and brutality are on the increase. It is not only linguistic and ethnic divide but within ethno-linguistic area bradarii clan, kinship and regional rivalries are rampant. The political
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...