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COVID-19 and the Social World:

How Aggression Has Skyrocketed Worldwide

Maria Garcia

University of Maryland

PSYC221

Professor Zou

May 13, 2020

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced our social world in several aspects. The world

went from the typical social interactions we expected to always have, such as the normal going

to school or work, to a life of, what seems like, complete isolation, where one cannot simply go

to the grocery store without a mask around their face and standing in a line for hours. With less

contact and an increased feeling of panic worldwide, aggression rates have risen. It is interesting

to analyze aggression rates compared from before the pandemic to now. Aggression, in

psychological terms, refers to a range of behaviors that can result in both physical and

psychological harm to yourself, others, or objects in the environment (Cherry). There are many

factors that contribute to its cause. Aggression can stem from physical and mental health,

relationships with others, and societal or socioeconomic factors. So, you can imagine with all of

these factors being compromised during this pandemic that aggressive patterns have risen.

Isolation from others takes a toll on mental health and being taken away from daily routines can

have an impact on physical health. Relationships with others during the COVID-19 have been

strained and restricted to online communication, depleting several relationships both romantic

and friendship based. The economy took a hard hit at the beginning leading to fear of a new

recession and financial collapse. More and more people were left without jobs. People who used

travel as a means of coping with stress, going out to a bar, and even walking outside in some

cases, became impossible due to this new world of staying at home. Stores, bars, restaurants, and

parks all closed and left people confused and frustrated, leading to coping strategies that tend to

make their behavior aggressive. Research has shown that these aggressive tendencies have in fact

increased since the beginning of lockdowns.

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Domestic Violence

A main example of aggression patterns rising is seen through the increase of domestic

violence. The article, The Socio-Economic Implications of the Coronavirus and COVID-19

Pandemic: A Review, by Nicola et al. reviews the impacts coronavirus has had on the social

world. Lockdown and social distancing have increased domestic violence, which includes

physical, emotional and sexual abuse (Nicola et al.). In France the domestic violence rates have

risen by 30%. In the UK, it has risen 25%. It seems that worldwide, throughout most cultures

that have stepped out of their daily routines due to the pandemic, have experienced an increase of

aggression. With not being able to get out of the house, one is forced to only socialize with the

member of their households. According to the article by Amanda Taub, A New Covid-19 Crisis:

Domestic Abuse Rises Worldwide, experts see this abrupt rise in aggression as something that the

government should have seen coming and that domestic abuse is acting like an opportunistic

infection (Taub). Domestic violence tends to go up whenever families spend more time together,

which is exactly what COVID-19 forces upon them. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has

even made an announcement regarding this issue that came from the United Nations. Without

being able to go outside tensions build up hostile aggression, which is motivated by feelings of

anger and hostility, builds up and leads to harm as the end goal. These feelings become

heightened during quarantine because one cannot easily leave their home and find safety at a

public place or have an easy means to travel far. Victims of this relational and physical abuse are

forced to stay with their aggressive partners, which causes violence to continue.

Social Learning Theory

The Social Learning theory may prove that this rise in the aggressive pattern of domestic

violence could be a risk factor for children in these households. The Social Learning Theory
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states that we learn behaviors by watching others closely and imitating their behaviors. A study

by Albert Bandura was conducted, during 1961 and 1963, called the Bobo Doll Experiment. In

this experiment, Bandura studied children’s behavior after they watched an adult act aggressively

towards a doll. He measured the children’s behaviors after watching the adult get punished,

rewarded, or have no consequence after abusing the doll. This experiment tested the Social

Learning Theory that found that children may not only behave a certain way in response to

punishments or rewards but by observing someone else being punished or rewarded. This

experiment lead to more research findings that prove that people can learn from and imitate a

person’s behavior. A young child who is increasingly and constantly exposed to violence could

suffer from disposing the same behavior later on in their life. Parents are crucial role models for

them. Kids want to imitate their parents, to be like them in a way. When the parents demonstrate

aggressive tendencies, that is all a child will know. According to the journal, Social Learning

Analysis of Aggression, by Albert Bandura, that aggression can be measured in three ways. One

being how aggressive behaviors are acquired. The next way is looking at what provokes people

to behave aggressively. And lastly, what maintains aggressive actions? (Bandura). In order to

apply this to the Social Learning Theory and children modeling their parents’ aggressive

behavior it’s important to analyze each of these ways. With the first one, it is evident that

aggressive behaviors in children ae acquired from watching their parents behave in aggressive

ways. Next, being stuck at home with the same people may provoke more frequent arguments to

occur, leading to violent tendencies from parents, and later this is how their children will behave

in order to cope in the same way. Lastly, the thing that maintains aggressive actions is constant

exposure to it. If a child is growing up in a household full of violence, that is all the child will

know. Aggression in children, who have witnessed first-hand domestic violence between their
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parents, tends to be seen more. Melissa M. Stiles analyzed the effects domestic violence can have

on children. In her journal, Witnessing Domestic Violence: The Effect on Children, she says that

children who witness violence in the home and children who are abused may display many

similar psychological effects (Stiles). Children may begin to believe that violence is an

acceptable behavior and may themselves become the abuser.

Conclusion

COVID-19 has had several types of impacts in our social world today. The increase in

aggressive patterns is an interesting one to look at because it could have a more drastic impact on

our future. Domestic violence has sky rotted, leaving hotline responders wondering how this

increase of violence has happened during a time of barely being able to see someone. Experts

have proven that being stuck at home with the same people leads to more verbal and physical

fights. The greatest impact this could have for our future is that it will just continue to increase.

With young children being exposed to this behavior it becomes a sort of cycle. Aggressive

patters get imitated at a young age, which in turn gets imitated by their kids, and so on. It’s

important to analyze this behavior to show the detrimental consequences this pandemic has

brought to our social world. By using theories and research from old case studies to new finding,

social psychology helps the world get a better understanding of where all this aggression is

stemming from. Without accessible and safer methods of coping with stress and fear due to most

public places being closed, people learn how to cope in negative ways which typically involve

aggressive behaviors. With research and studies to back it up, it is evident that since lockdowns

due to COVID-19, aggression patterns have risen.

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References

Bandura, Albert, “Social Learning Analysis of Aggression”. Psycnet.Apa.Org, 1976,

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1977-12975-001.

Campbell, Andrew M. “An Increase Risk of Family Violence During the Covis-19 Pandemic:
Strengthening Community Collaborations to Save Lives”. US National Library of
Institutes of Health, 2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7152912/.

Cherry, Kendra. “Factors That Lead to Aggression”. Verywell Mind, 2020,

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-aggression-2794818.

Nicola, Maria et al. “The Socio-Economic Implications of the Coronavirus and COVID-19
Pandemic: A Review. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health,
2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7162753/.

Taub, Amanda. “A New Covid-19 Crisis: Domestic Abuse Rises Worldwide”. Nytimes.com,
2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/world/coronavirus-domestic-violence.html.