Running head: AGGRESSION 1

Are Women More Violent than Men?

Muhammad Ahmad 16L-4705

BBA-A

FAST-NU

Author Note

This paper is the final project of the course named Methods in Business Research, Submitted to

Sir Akbar Azam.

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Table of Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Physical Aggression ............................................................................................................ 3
Verbal Aggression ............................................................................................................... 3
Hostile ................................................................................................................................. 3
Indirect Aggression ............................................................................................................. 3
Literature Review............................................................................................................................ 3
Physical Aggression ............................................................................................................ 4
Verbal Aggression ............................................................................................................... 4
Hostile ................................................................................................................................. 4
Indirect Aggression ............................................................................................................. 4
Research Gap .................................................................................................................................. 5
Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................................... 5
Variables .......................................................................................................................................... 5
Objectives ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Research Questions ......................................................................................................................... 5
Testable hypothesis ......................................................................................................................... 5
Data collection and Methodology ................................................................................................... 6
Reliability............................................................................................................................ 6
Findings and Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 6
Conclusion and Discussion ............................................................................................................. 8
Limitations ...................................................................................................................................... 8
References ....................................................................................................................................... 9
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Introduction
One thing that's common in all of history is violence. In every era, a few members of the
society are prone to violent acts. This paper deals with the two genders are two members of the
society in order to understand which member is more violent than the other one. Moreover, the
term violent can be expressed as aggressiveness as well. For that reason, it is divided into four
categories mentioned below:
Physical Aggression
This type of aggression is perhaps the most common type of aggression which deals with
harming, injuring, or even in some cases killing someone through physical acts. This type of
aggression is said to be common in the males of society more as compared to females. For
instance, a father beating his son with a belt, a mother throwing a knife at her husband, or even a
girl slapping a boy.
Verbal Aggression
This type of aggression is perhaps the second type of aggression which deals with
harming, or even in some cases psychologically damaging someone through verbal acts. This
type of aggression is said to be common in the females of society more as compared to males.
For instance, a mother constantly telling her husband that he’s not good enough. Sooner or later,
it is bound to damage his self-esteem.
Hostile
Hostile aggression is an unplanned, involuntary and reactionary response in regards to a
perceived threat or maybe even an insult. Often it is an impulse based phenomenon which is
derived by the emotional instability of a person. Usually, when a person faces the said
aggression, he/she loses control over their actions and in extreme cases they may not even be
aware of their actions.
Indirect Aggression
All three of the previously mentioned types of aggression are all voluntary, however, this
type of aggression is different from the others in the essence that it is indirect. In this type, a
person does seek to cause harm but does not interact with the victim in a hostile manner directly.
Rather, he/she would try for the victim to start the feud in their place. In this event, the aggressor
manipulates the environment in such a way that he/she would not be blamed and they can deviate
the blame to someone else.
Literature Review
Nearly all of the campaigns of violence and aggression are directed towards women
being the victims. However, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), men are far
more likely to be victims of violence-based crimes, rather than women (World Health
Organization, 2010). In fact, it was said that men are almost two times more likely to be
victimized, than women (Hoff, 2012). However, the degree of difference varies between the type
of aggression.
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Physical Aggression
A few researchers believe that individuals who are prone to high physical aggression and
violent acts are victims of arrested socialization (Tremblay, 2003). This implies that the
individuals who perform such behavior and attitude simply have not grown up and learned to
control their emotions and frustration. However, this is merely one possibility, it is not
compulsory that all individuals who exhibit physical aggression be associated with arrested
socialization (Baillargeon, 2007). Other cases may be social learning of the phenomenon, or even
built-up aggression towards any specific behavior, thought, object, person, or anything else.
Moreover, it is often stated that men have inherited aggressive behavior from their
ancestors and use it to exercise their control over other (Kim, 2008). However, Fritz and O’Leary
argued that there exists no relationship between men and inheritance of aggressive behavior
(Fritz PA, 2004). Furthermore, it was also stated that men are often times found to have put more
efforts in controlling their anger and physical behaviors as compared to women.
Verbal Aggression
According to Mr. Donald (2006), verbal aggression is caused due to high levels of stress
in an individual and both men and women can exhibit the same level of verbal aggression. In
addition to that, Charlotte (2018) argues that regardless of what the cause of the aggression is it
results in lowered credibility and self-esteem. She also studied that the impact of verbal
aggression is far more on women than it is on men. According to Grace (2011), verbal aggression
is linked to the TPH genes insides human beings, which the stronger it gets plays a more
significant role is reducing the supply of mood-lifting chemicals to the brain.
Hostile
Previous research on performance, gender, and competition suggests that individual
performance and social standing may affect how men perform sexist behaviors. According to
social constructionist theory, men behave in a sexist manner towards women in order to remove
them from male-dominated spaces, regardless of social status (Hall, 1996). In contrast,
evolutionary theory suggests that sexist behavior is in response to a threat to a male’s position in
a social hierarchy, which could reduce access to potential mates.
Indirect Aggression
Spreading rumors about someone, or backbiting are typical schoolgirl/boy behavior.
However, women often bring these habits into their adult lives as well. According to Tracy
Vaillancourt, "We do things like we exclude people from the peer group, we give the silent
treatment - you know that customary I won't speak to you for three weeks and then you have to
figure out why I'm mad at you," said Vaillancourt. "We'll spread rumors about the person, so
we'll disparage their appearance, we'll suggest that they're promiscuous, those sorts of things."
She also discussed that although men in some cases may also exhibit this phenomenon, the
number of women who do this far outnumbers the men (Vaillancourt, 2013).
Although indirect aggression is a phenomenon used by both men and women, however,
women use it more often as men. According to Owens (2012), indirect aggression within the
school level in terms of politics and rumors is most of the times started by women. However, by
AGGRESSION 5

the time the individuals reach professional careers, both men and women get so used to the
concept of indirect aggression that both the genders start using it.

Research Gap
In a society which focuses heavily on gender roles such as Pakistan, it has not yet been
formally researched the aggression levels in-between the two genders (males and females).
Moreover, there have been studies which focus on the South Asian region as a broad spectrum
such as the research conducted by Fiona Samuels in 2017 (Samuels, 2017). However, the
underlying problem within these studies is that they all hold a common school of thought that it
is the women that are oppressed or the ones on to whom the aggression is exerted as mentioned
in the literature review. Although it is no secret that violence against women exists, the reverse is
also true, which is violence against men. Therefore, this paper focuses on a unique point which
holds both the genders on neutral ground and analyzes their violence to find out which of the
genders is more violent than the other.
Theoretical Framework
Initially, the social learning theory is used in this paper to understand whether the act of
violence is a learned behavior present in either one of the genders. Another theory used is the
learned helplessness, which says that helplessness can be learned through which people try to
manipulate the other person. Moreover, the evolutionary theory and the social constructionist
theory are also used to understand the hostile nature of individuals. Lastly, the theory of loss of
control is used to explain that violent behavior can be caused due to out of control mindset.
Variables
The independent variables included in the study include physical aggression, verbal
aggression, anger, hostility, indirect aggression.
Objectives
The objective of this paper is to study whether the women in FAST-NU are more
aggressive than men in terms of physical aggression, verbal aggression, hostility, and indirect
aggression.
Research Questions
The research questions are divided into four categories as discussed in the objectives
section:
 Are women more physically aggressive than man?
 Are women more verbally aggressive than man?
 Are women more hostile than man?
 Are women more indirectly aggressive than man?
Testable hypothesis
The four testable null hypotheses for the four research questions are:
 Women are not more physically aggressive than men
 Women are not more verbally aggressive than men
 Women are not more hostile than men
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 Women are not more indirectly aggressive than men

Data collection and Methodology
For this paper, the aggression instrument of Arnold Buss and Mark Perry is used.
Moreover, the t-score method would be used to analyze and interpret the data. Along with that,
the Inconsistent Responding Index (INC) would be used to identify if the results obtained are
valid and that they did not simply select random options. Moreover, it would include a sample of
50 individuals from FAST-NU Lahore campus only due to the shortage of time. Furthermore, the
data would aim to maintain a 50:50 ratio between the men and the women. In addition to that, the
validity and reliability of the study would also be conducted in order to show the authenticity of
the paper.
Reliability
The data obtained from the individuals is taken twice with a difference of approximately
one month. Moreover, 10 samples were excluded in this step because they were not able t re-
provide the questionnaire answers. Moreover, as for the internal reliability the Cronbach’s Alpha
is shown for the research, which show that the internal consistency is categorized as “good” in
the table below:
Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's
Alpha Based on
Cronbach's Standardized
Alpha Items N of Items
.852 .852 8
Table 1 Reliability Test

Findings and Analysis

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for
Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error Difference
F Sig. t df tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper
PhAgg1 Equal variances -
.770 .385 48 .001 -1.04000 .27857 -1.60010 -.47990
assumed 3.733
Equal variances -
47.066 .001 -1.04000 .27857 -1.60039 -.47961
not assumed 3.733
PhAgg2 Equal variances -
10.017 .003 48 .002 -1.04000 .32187 -1.68716 -.39284
assumed 3.231
Equal variances -
42.726 .002 -1.04000 .32187 -1.68923 -.39077
not assumed 3.231
VrbAgg1 Equal variances -
.941 .337 48 .080 -.48000 .26808 -1.01901 .05901
assumed 1.791
Equal variances -
45.167 .080 -.48000 .26808 -1.01989 .05989
not assumed 1.791
VrbAgg2 Equal variances -
1.287 .262 48 .002 -1.16000 .35981 -1.88346 -.43654
assumed 3.224
AGGRESSION 7

Equal variances -
47.786 .002 -1.16000 .35981 -1.88354 -.43646
not assumed 3.224
Angr1 Equal variances -
1.427 .238 48 .000 -1.12000 .24495 -1.61250 -.62750
assumed 4.572
Equal variances -
45.993 .000 -1.12000 .24495 -1.61306 -.62694
not assumed 4.572
Angr2 Equal variances -
7.867 .007 48 .000 -1.12000 .23608 -1.59467 -.64533
assumed 4.744
Equal variances -
44.457 .000 -1.12000 .23608 -1.59565 -.64435
not assumed 4.744
IndrtAgg1 Equal variances
.290 .592 -.702 48 .486 -.20000 .28496 -.77294 .37294
assumed
Equal variances
-.702 47.739 .486 -.20000 .28496 -.77302 .37302
not assumed
IndrtAgg2 Equal variances
1.762 .191 .000 48 1.000 .00000 .34429 -.69223 .69223
assumed
Equal variances
.000 47.661 1.000 .00000 .34429 -.69236 .69236
not assumed

The above table shows that there is sufficient evidence to attribute that the physical
aggression, verbal aggression and the hostility levels of females are more as compared to the
males. However, the Indirect variable does not show any link with the gender and cannot be
generalized in accordance to a specific gender. Moreover, further research is required to analyze
this variable’s effect on the male population.

Correlations
VrbAgg VrbAgg IndrtAgg IndrtAgg
Gender PhAgg2 PhAgg1 1 2 Angr1 Angr2 1 2
Gender Pearson
1 .423** .474** .480** .422** .551** .565** .101 .000
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .002 .001 .000 .002 .000 .000 .486 1.000
N 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Table 2 Pearson Correlation

In addition to the t-test, the Pearson correlation also establishes that the first three variables have
a moderate correlation with the gender in such a way that the claim that women are more
physical, verbally aggressive and have more anger than men is true. However, in regards to the
indirect aggression this concept does not hold as there is insufficient evidence to support that
claim.
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ANOVAa
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1 Regression 7.680 8 .960 8.167 .000b
Residual 4.820 41 .118
Total 12.500 49
a. Dependent Variable: Gender
b. Predictors: (Constant), IndrtAgg2, PhAgg2, IndrtAgg1, Angr1, VrbAgg1, PhAgg1, VrbAgg2,
Angr2
Table 3 ANOVA test

Lastly, the One-way Anova test confirms that not all variables are directly associated with
the gender.
Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis 1, 2, and 3, while we fail to reject the null
hypothesis 4.
Conclusion and Discussion
Over the past several decades, scholars have identified the many forms that aggression
can take. Aggression can be physical (e.g., slapping), or verbal (e.g., shouting abuse). It can be
direct in nature (e.g., directly retaliating against a co-worker) or indirect with aim of inflicting
reputational harm (e.g., spreading rumors about a co-worker behind their back). Aggression can
be impulsive, elicited by anger in response to provocation (known as reactive or hostile
aggression) or it can be premeditated, less emotional, and used as a means to obtain some other
end (known as proactive or instrumental aggression). Aggression that is physically extreme is
referred to as violence (e.g., aggravated assault, homicide). Despite their apparently different
surface characteristics, these instantiations of aggression all conform to the scholarly definition
of aggression as behavior intended to cause harm to someone who is motivated to avoid that
harm.
We conclude by saying the women in FAST-NU Lahore campus are more physically and
verbally abusive than the men. Moreover, they also show high levels of anger than the men.
Aggression is a complex social behavior with many causes and manifestations. It was also noted
in the sampling process that the women were more prone to initiate the acts of violence more
frequently as compared to men. The stated reason for having such violent thoughts was that the
presumption that the women are fighting for their ‘rights’. Although I do not agree with this
statement, I would not rule it out as a possible explanation of the causes. Nevertheless, the
underlying problem for such behavior requires further study and depicts that women also can
also exhibit violent behaviors.
Limitations
The primary limitation was the biasness of the respondents. The respondents would often
suppress their violent thoughts to make themselves appear socially acceptable. Another limitation
was time and other resources; therefore, this study only focuses on FAST-NU and cannot be
generalized for the whole population. Lastly, the majority of the respondents include the students
of FAST and this research might not hold true for the faculty members. Further study is required
for the faculty members.
AGGRESSION 9

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