The Nature and Nurture of Aggression

• Contents:
• Definition of
Aggression
• Theories of
Aggression
• Psychological
Influences on Presented By:
Aggression Mehreen Ramzan (511115)
• Reducing Eman Bashir (511124)
Ushna Ikram (511138)
Aggression
Nida Fatima (511118)
• Culture Change And Aqsa Illyas (511117)
Cyber bullying
Defined as: Intentional and repeated aggression via email, texts, social
networking sites, and other electronic media.
Seventy-five percent of children and adolescents have experienced
cyber bullying.

Aggression: To a social psychologist, aggression is a physical or

verbal behavior intended to cause harm. This definition excludes
unintentional harm, such as auto-accidents and side walk collisions.
Aggression includes:
o Physical Aggression (Hurting someone’s body)

o Social Aggression ( Hurting someone else’s feelings or

threatening their relationships. Sometimes called as
relational aggression, it includes bullying and cyber bullying,
insults, harmful gossip, or social exclusion that hurt feelings)
 Theories Of Aggression
1. Is aggression inborn ?
2. Frustration-Aggression Theory
3. Social Learning Theory
Instinct theories of aggression
• Instinct Theory
Freud proposed human motivational forces are based on instinct:
Sex- life giving instinct- Eros
Aggression- death instinct- Thanatos
Aggression is an innate, unlearned behavior pattern exhibited by all
members of a species.
• Neural Influences
• Genetic Influences
• Blood Chemistry
 Alcohol
 Testosterone
 Poor Diet
 Psychological Influences on Aggression
Frustration-Aggression Theory (Dollard,1939)
Frustration: The blocking of goal directed behavior.
Frustration-aggression theory:
• Drive theory
• The theory that frustration triggers a readiness to
aggress.
• Frustration creates anger which creates aggression.
Displacement: The redirection of aggression to a target
other than the source of frustration. Generally, the
new target is a safer or more socially acceptable
target.
 The Learning Theory of Aggression
Social Learning Approach (Aggression as social learned
behavior)
• The rewards of aggression (Patterson,1967) People can learn
the rewards of aggression. A child who intimidates other
children by being aggressive will likely become increasingly
aggressive.
• Observational learning: (Bandura and colleagues 1961,1963 )
Children who watched the aggressive model had the highest
level of aggression
Environmental influences on aggression
I. Painful Incidents
II. Heat
III. Attacks
IV. Crowding ( A subjective feeling that there is not enough
 Reducing Aggression
Catharsis: The concept of catharsis is usually
credited to Aristotle.
Emotional release. The catharsis view of aggression
is that aggressive desire is reduced when one
“releases” aggressive energy, either by acting
aggressively or by fantasizing aggression.
 A social learning approach: (Social learning
theory) The theory that we learn social behavior
by observing and imitating and by being rewarded
and punished.
 Culture change and world violence
Thank You