What is aggression?

Exercise

From the following list decide which acts you feel are aggressive and which are not. Try to explain why you think some are aggressive and some are not.

A farmer chops the head off a chicken

A tennis player throws his racket at the umpire

A drunk threatens someone in the street

A lion kills an antelope

A boxer knocks out his opponent

A shopkeeper shoots a man stealing his takings

A child kicks her playmate

A football supporter attacks a rival supporter

A rugby player breaks an opponents nose

Aggression may be seen as any behaviour that is intended to hurt or destroy someone or something else. In some cases aggression can become violence — which is a destructive act against a person or object.

Psychologists attempt to offer a variety of explanations for aggressive behaviour which highlight both inherited, biological pre-dispositions and the role of the environment in promoting aggressive behaviours.

On the biological side, Konrad Lorenz (1966) offers an explanation that sees aggression as an instinct. He argues that aggression exists in all animals, including humans and that this is genetically determined. Anthropologist J. Robin Fox (1983) also suggests that human beings are ‘wired’ for aggression and that it is a drive that is essential for the functioning of any organism. He also suggests that in humans, in can be turned on or off according to how it fits in with other behaviours.

Because aggression is widespread amongst non-human animals, sociobiologists such as Barash (1977) suggest that it is an adaptive behaviour.