Aggression: A Comparison Between the Biological Approach and the Social Learning Theory

Aggression: A Comparison between the Biological Approach and the Social Learning Theory

Abstract

Aggression is any hostile behavior by an individual person that inflicts physical or psychological damage onto another individual. It can take on a physical form, such as physical acts of violence. It can also take on psychological forms, such as verbal threats or verbal abuse. There are many different theories which aim to explain how aggressive personalities are developed. Theorists who adhere to the Biological Approach to Personality believe that genetics play a large part. They argue that there are biological indicators which make certain people more prone to aggressive personalities. They argue that aggression is not necessarily inherited, but certain predispositions pared with certain factors in an individual's upbringing can spawn aggressive adults. Theorists such as Albert Bandura believe that personality characteristics such as aggression are learned. According to the Behavioral/Social Learning Approach to Personality, individual personalities are developed through observation and experience. Specifically, aggressive personalities are learned much like other behaviors are learned as a child grows and experiences different things. Research has shows that children predisposed to violence and aggression grow up to be aggressive adults.

Aggression, as defined by Merriam-Webster is "a forceful action or procedure (as an unprovoked attack) especially when intended to dominate or master" (Aggression, 2012). It is "hostile, injurious, or destructive behavior" that can vary in terms of how it is carried out or projected (Aggression, 2012). It is any behavior by an individual person that inflicts physical or psychological damage onto another individual. This implies that aggression does not always have to be acted out physically. It can also be verbal. Aggressive actions, gestures, and words can all have a severe impact on the individual or individuals which they are projected onto. This aggressive behavior is nurtured by environmental factors such as social issues being war and the type of upbringing the individual has.

Aggression, when seen as a consistent behavior within a particular individual, can be considered a facet of that individual's personality. "Personality can be defined as consistant patterns and intrapersonal processes originating within the individual" (Burger, 2011, p. 4). There are many different approaches to understanding how personalities are formed in human beings, and thus, many different approaches to understanding how an individual becomes aggressive. There are two approaches which seem based in answering