Aggression Case

In psychology, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause pain or harm. Aggression takes a variety of forms among humans and can be physical, mental, or verbal. Aggression can lead to many problems, and I have come to learn that it is best to try to avoid this wild emotion. There are however a few ways of reducing the amount of aggression shown to you and make the situation safer. There is a theory that one way to reduce aggression is for the individual, who caused the frustration to take responsibility for the action, apologize for it, and indicate that is unlikely to happen again. It is shown to defuse the situation and helps prevent escalating aggression. I believe this is the most successful way to reduce aggression and have used it in my personal life to avoid the escalating tempers. The most effective times I use this technique is it in my relationship to make sure a "ant hole" does not turn into a "mountain".

An example from that I used the apology to defuse a situation before it got out of control was when I overslept and was late picking up my girlfriend from her house to drop her off at the airport. When I pulled up to the house she was pretty angry and was saying how I was terrible with my sleep patterns. I could have chosen this time to remind her about all the times she overslept or forgot about the dinner reservations I made. Instead I did the smart choice and tried to defuse the situation with an apology. I said, "I am sorry, it will not happen again." Instead of continuing the fight she just told me to get her to the airport in time! What could have been a detrimental fight right before she left to go home turned into a pleasant (but fast) car ride to the airport. That is why when the situation arises and I am at fault I have no problem apologizing because I know how successful reducing aggression can be!

One of the most influential and extensively studies theories in social psychology is Cognitive dissonance. This happens when a person is holding conflicting ideas at the same time and it causes an uncomfortable feeling. The theory of Cognitive dissonance states that people have an unconscious drive to reduce that dissonance. They can do it in a number on ways including changing their attitudes, beliefs, or actions. As well as justifying, blaming and denying too reduce the dissonance. Our dissonance can often be strong when we believe something about ourselves and then do something to go against our belief. Cognitive dissonance is a powerful motivator and has led me to make a couple changes in my behavior to reduce the conflicting feelings.

An example of a time that I have experienced cognitive dissonance is when I really wanted to buy myself a 2008 Ford Mustang GT. It was a car that I pined for, however I was unable to afford it at the time. As a freshman going into a new school University I had to think intelligent and allocate