Human Aggression Essay, Research Paper

There are different reasons why a person may act aggressively towards other human beings. The person may act this way because of his culture or the way he was brought up in society. The person does not, however, act this way based on instinct alone. Aggression is a molded, learnt behavior; it is not simply there from birth. Rather than being an uncontrollable instinct, a person’s behavior is something that is taught to him. For example, a newborn baby is breathing because it is an involuntary reflex. On the other hand, a father may tell his young son to beat up the school bully who is picking on him. As a result, the boy is taught to deal with the situation by using violence.

In order for an individual to display aggression, it must be driven by an instinct interacting with that person’s surroundings. Instinct, as an inherited or innate psycho-physical disposition which determines its possessor to act in regard to its particular manner, basically explains that people have different reactions to different stimuli. Therefore, an individual is prone to act a certain way when he is stimulated to do so from his surrounding environment. For example, the Eskimo does not have an innate instinct that allows him to survive in his climate. He is taught to work with his people in order to survive when he is very young.

When people are brought up in a society, they learn certain customs and traditions. These customs are usually taught to them because it’s part of their society’s way of life, even though some of the customs may seem cruel and repulsive to others. For example, cannibalism is abhorrent to us, but in some primitive cultures, to eat an enemy is to gain his or her strength. This aggressive behavior was taught to the people of this culture and is the reason for its existence. People need to have exposure to aggressiveness in society in order to act aggressive.

To sum up , the aggressive behavior of human beings is a learnt emotion built on the combination of environment, society and culture.