A division of the Nature vs. Nurture debate is whether violence and aggression is caused by nature or nurture. Aggression has been characterized as, “deliberately unfriendly behaviour” and violence has been defined as, “the exertion of force so as to injure or abuse”. However, all of you reading probably know what aggression and violence is and have experienced it or used it. The real question is not if you have seen it but what causes aggression and violence? Nature or Nurture?
There have been studies conducted that illustrate levels of serotonin, testosterone, and the frontal lobe brain chemistry may play a key factor in how aggressive and violent someone is. Such a study is where Terrie Moffitt and colleagues measured blood serotonin levels of 781 21-year-old men and women. After the study they concluded that, "in this study, elevated whole blood serotonin was a characteristic of violent men.” This study was also supported by (Meloy, 1988; Raine, 1993) who both found a link between serotonin levels and aggression. There have also been cases where people have had biological or psychical damage to their Hypothalamus, Limbic System or Frontal Lobe. Consequently they exhibited high levels of aggression and could become randomly violent.
However, there are just as many studies and theories that illustrate that violence and aggression is caused by nurture. (Lykken, 1995) found that some environmental factors can lead to aggression and violence. Family d
iscord, abuse, sexualised environments and peers are some of the environmental factors that could contribute to a person becoming aggressive or violent. Other theories such as the Social Learning Theory can support and explain how people become aggressive and violent. People may see their role models exhibiting aggressive or violent behaviour and if the role model is rewarded for the behaviour than the original person will copy the behaviour. If the aggressive or violent behaviour then works for the original person then they will use it again and again. They may then become a role model for somebody and that person may copy the aggressive or violent behaviour. So aggression and violence could just be a behaviour that is pasted on from generation to generation as they see it works for other people.Questions:
· So is aggression and violence caused by nature or nurture?
· Do you think that aggression and violence can ever totally be stopped? Why or why not?
Sources:
1. Aggression can be caused by nature. It can be in a person's genetics to be aggressive however, if they do not have the correct nurturing environments to make them aggressive, they can not be. Thus I think that the cause of aggression lies somewhere in the middle of the nature vs. nurture debate. If a child grows up with aggression, they are more likely to be aggressive.
ReplyDelete2. Yes, it can be stopped if we can create such an environment where aggression is not present and where everyone is taught to be peaceful. Take monks for an example. Although this may be teh solution, it will be very difficult to put into place in such a violent environment that we live in today.
Based on the evidence that was gathered to support this theory, I believe that Aggression and violence is the result of someone’s upbringing. As well as the studies above, it was also proved by Bandura in the Bobo Doll experiment that aggression is caused by nurture. As Iain and Connor said, aggression is defined as “deliberately unfriendly behaviour” and violence was defined as, “the exertion of force so as to injure or abuse”. Behaviour that is optional is not the result of one’s genes, but the result of their childhood and nurturing.
ReplyDeleteI believe that aggression and violence cannot be totally stopped. I think that as a role model/parent, you can limit the violence and aggression that your child is exposed to which would minimize the anger and partly stop the violence and aggression that is being observed.
Lucy
I believe that violence is mainly nature because of the chemicals in our body that causes violence. The studies listed above show this to be true. As to the other explanations of role models or SLT, I believe that a person without the specific levels of testosterone or serotonin an individual would not react.
ReplyDeleteI believe that while aggression is amplified by testosterone and serotonin levels, anybody will show aggression at some time in their life as a result of their environment. I also believe that though somebody may have high blood serotonin levels, they would not just commit random acts of violence unless provocation occurred.
ReplyDeleteWe also see in the news that acts of violence are happening all over the world, and most of the time it is concentrated in certain areas. Some may argue that this is nature, because of racial background, but I believe it is a result of growing up in areas prone to violence and aggression, and is therefore nurture.
I do not believe that aggression and violence can ever be stopped because no matter how horrific the consequences of our acts, we will never really learn. Think back to the first and second world wars. So many lives were lost, so many ruined, and yet there have been and still are wars today.
Caitlin
Violence I believe is mainly a part of someone’s nurture; however some people have a more aggressive behaviour in their personality from birth. As Lykken’s study found, that some environmental factors can lead to aggression and violence.
ReplyDeleteI believe that if a child is NOT exposed to aggressive behaviour from birth, there is a low chance of the person becoming a violent threat.
However, with the aggressive personality trait, mixed with an exposure to violence, the child will become a serious threat to others, and could even each his/her peers to become abusive.
Yes, I believe that violence can be controlled, but the patient would need a serious change of friend, atmosphere and habits.
Alex W
I believe that aggression is caused by the upbringing or nurture of a person. For example a son or daughter with an aggressive father or mother is more likely to become aggressive than a son or daughter with non-aggressive parents.
ReplyDeleteI believe that aggression and violence is caused by nurture. You do not see a baby trying to bit or hit someone unless they have seen someone else do it. This is proven in the experiment done by Bandura. Bandura did a study in 1961 which found when children viewed aggressive behaviour; most children repeated the behaviour that was shown on a bobo doll. They showed a good deal of both physical and verbal aggressive behaviour resembling that of the model. This is why I believe that aggression and violence is caused by nurture and not nature.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that aggression and violence can ever totally be stopped this is because trying to do this, would be like trying to take away alcohol. It have always been there so trying to take it away, would just make people want it more because it wouldn't see normal without it. We could easily lower the amount of violence and aggression by handing out heavy fines if caught being violence or aggressive and lowering the amount of it seen of T.V. This might make this two things look less appealing to do or try.
Nicole Craig
1. I think these behaviours are due to nurturing. I support the social learning theory. If positive consequences don't occur due to behaviour, the behaviour ceases. Bandura's Bobo doll study showed that when positive reinforcement of aggressive behaviour occurs vicariously, the behaviour is repeated. Although I believe that aggression can be more common among people with elevated levels of serotonin, as stated in the blog, aggressive behaviours do need to be learnt reinforced through nurturing, as shown in the Social learning theory. Also, levels of serotonin (the chemical which, in the blog, was stated to increase aggression) are completely dependent on diet, as the body does not create its own serotonin and must take it from food. (http://www.quality-nutritional-supplements.com/natural-serotonin.html ). This also supports the ‘nurture’ side of the debate.
ReplyDelete2. I do not believe that aggression can be stopped as it is just a natural human behaviour. However this statement supports the nature side of the debate.
Ryan
I believe one’s susceptibility to the use of aggression and violence is due to nature. The genetic makeup of a person, as mentioned in the blog have a large impact on the likelihood that one will revert to aggressive behaviour. Research has shown that aggression may have a chemical, genetic or hormonal basis.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I agree with what many have already said. The level of aggression someone displays is more likely to be impacted by their upbringing or the situation they are in. As Caitlin said, the the balance of hormones and serotonin in the body is bound to change throughout one’s life due to external factors. Therefore, aggression occurs in certain situations, with influence from family, neighbourhood, and peers. There is a hypothesis that states “the existence of frustration always leads to some form of aggression" (McCawley, 2001). I see this to be correct and is further evidence of the influence of nurture in this debate. I believe that Bandura’s Social Learning Theory supports nurture. Overall, all humans have the potential to become aggressive or violent, some more genetically predisposed than others. However the correct nurture and situation is more critical towards one displaying aggressive behavior.
Aggression and violence cannot be totally stopped. We are all born with the potential for aggression and violence and some more than others. We could attempt to minimize exposure to violence so that people are less likely to be nurtured in an aggressive environment. However aggression and violence may still exist when people are placed in certain situations.
McCawley, B. (2001) The Nature of Aggression. Pennsylvania: Bryn Mawr College, viewed 2 June 2009, [http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro01/web2/Mccawley.html]
cathy
Aggression and violence is prevalent in our everyday lives no matter how big or how small the expression of aggression is. When you drive home you might get cut off, children push each other in the playground or a student goes on a wild rampage and shoots anyone in their way. My stance is that nurture has more of an effect on a person’s level of aggression but nature does impact as well but only to a degree.
ReplyDeleteWhen living in an area where drive-bys are a common occurrence, kids bring knifes to school every day and a punch-up in the playground is no big deal, how can you not say that this is a perfect environment in which aggression is cultivated and day in day out, it boils up and bubbles out. Specific factors like family, neighbourhoods and peers contribute and influence an individual’s aggression. The Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis model states simply that: "Aggression is always a consequence of frustration." and "The existence of frustration always leads to some form of aggression."[1]
Aggression can also be due to possible biological factors. These can be based on chemical, hormonal or genetic imbalances. Some believe that serotonin levels have some direct link to violence. Terrie Moffitt tested 781 twenty-one year old men and women to see if there was a direct correlation between blood serotonin levels and aggression. What was found was that among females, there was no relationship at all but in the males, violent males had a .48 standard deviation and non-violent males had a .56 standard deviation. Another belief included the idea that testosterone impacts on a person’s level of violent behaviour.
As much as I’d like to say that violence and aggression could be eliminated, it just sounds too good to be true. I think it is unlikely that aggression could be eradicated completely because to monitor every person in the world to make sure it is never exhibited would be impossible. Like I said earlier, Aggression and violence is prevalent in our everyday lives no matter how big or how small the expression of aggression is, so imagine trying to stop every single expression of aggression in the world.
Alex Reddy
[1] http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro01/web2/Mccawley.html
I believe that aggression and violence is caused mainly by nurture. There have been no fully conclusive studies to prove that people gain their high serotonin, testosterone, or frontal lobe brain chemistry from their parents. Studies throughout the 1990’s and early 2000’s have proven that these high levels of hormones and chemicals are linked to aggression and violence though these levels can change quite rapidly throughout the course of one’s life.
ReplyDeleteAs in Lykken’s study, I believe that aggression and violence are caused by the main environmental factors of poor parenting, abuse and peer pressure. It was proven in Bandura’s 1973 experiment that children can learn aggression through the theory of social learning. Simply by viewing role models perform acts of aggression were enough to make the children repeat them. Therefore, it is likely that aggressive children are a product of aggressive parents or role models in their life, due to copying their behaviour.
I do not believe that aggression and violence will never be able to be completely stopped. It something we witness every day, through ourselves and other animals in the environment. It is one of the basic human instincts and is therefore impossible to completely eradicate. Though it could be reduced by every child having a positive role model in their life, as ways to learn how to deal with the feeling of anger and aggression in a non violent or abusive way.
-Izzy.
I believe that aggression and violence are caused by nurture. I think that everyone has the capability of being violent but what people are exposed to through their live has the biggest impact. Animals compete with each other over food, mates and shelters, often showing aggression. This commonly occurs among all vertebrate species, including humans. This trait has still not been wiped out. Aggression lies within all of the human species; it is an instinct that can be traced far into our past. It certainly does remain in our genes, but the level of aggression someone exhibits is due to something else. Our surroundings.
ReplyDeleteAggression is a behaviour that must be learnt. The social learning theory explains this. We use observation and mental representation to learn the behaviour and as a result we will or will not use this behaviour depending on how we were taught it. For example our parents punish and reward their children for different behaviours. When this idea of aggression is reinforced with a smack or praise we learn what is “good” (worth repeating) and what is “bad” (not worth repeating). As children grow older they learn about the consequences of their actions but not all children are exposed to the same situations in life. Some may have past family conflict, abuse or sexual assaults which are some environmental factors that could contribute to a person becoming aggressive or violent.
So therefore, even though everyone has the inbuilt trait of aggression, each one of us has a different level of severity of this behaviour due to how we have been taught and what experiences we have had.
Mandy
Aggression and Violence can be caused by both Nature and Nurture. If someone is aggressive, it could be completely psychological because of the lack of nurture they have received as a child. What I mean is that someone could resent their childhood and not care about anything, therefore turning to anger and violence. Studies have shown that it can also be caused by damage to certain parts of the brain, and or high levels of testosterone and serotonin. This also shows a different reason that aggression can be caused by nature.
ReplyDeleteSomeone could have a perfectly perfect upbringing, but still turn to violence or aggression. This is most likely due to the fact that this person has a genetic tendency to be violent or aggressive and, no matter how much nurture they are provided with, will be aggressive and violent. This may be due to the fact that they have genetically high serotonin or testosterone levels and avert to violence when worked up.
On the other hand, someone could have the most horrible upbringing with absolutely no nurture and therefore avert to violence because they simply don’t know what to do anymore, similar to some drug addictions. It is quite possible that they have no abnormal amount of serotonin or testosterone, or that they do not have any damage to their brain whatsoever, but they are still being violent. This could be caused by repressed memories, making them not care about anything at all; violence may be the only thing they have.
‘Aggression also seems to be a way of maintaining social order among many species. Animals compete with each other over food, mates, and dwelling spaces, often showing aggression and occurring among virtually all vertebrate species, including humans. However, if aggression is an effective way of maintaining social order, reckless violence appears to be a poor survival mechanism. Nevertheless, this trait has not been wiped out.’
The quote above shows that aggression will always be needed to maintain a social order among people, which means that violence and aggression will never totally be stopped. The only thing that may be able to be stopped is reckless, unnecessary violence.
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro01/web2/Mccawley.html
Katy
I believe that Aggression and violence is a characteristic primarily dominated by the way we are brought up. We have to have a certain amount of genes to trigger how we react, however, if aggression has been seen as the right thing to do, then this is the way in which we are most likely to act. For expamle, Bandura's Bobo doll experiment clearly outlined aggression in children. When the children saw the doll being attacked by the model, they imitated it. However, the children who did not see the doll being attacked did not harm the doll. This experiment showed that aggression is primarily a taught or observed behaviour
ReplyDeleteJillease