ESSAY ON HUMAN AGGRESSION, AND VIOLENCE, ITS RISK FACTORS

Running Head: ESSAY ON HUMAN AGGRESSION, AND VIOLENCE, ITS RISK
FACTORS AND EFFECTS OF MASS MEDIA
Essay on Human Aggression, and Violence; its risk factors and effects of Mass Media
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ESSAY ON HUMAN AGGRESSION, AND VIOLENCE, ITS RISK FACTORS AND
EFFECTS OF MASS MEDIA
1
Introduction
Aggression and violence are words that are used on an everyday basis by human beings
in order to categorize some behaviors of the fellow human beings or even of themselves. It can
be instances when people yell, hit each other try to overtake a vehicle in traffic. Aggression is
also known as banging fists on tables as an outward sign of frustration. However, the
demarcating factor between aggression and harm is the intent behind the actions. In the same
light, it has been a struggle for social psychologists to define the terms of aggression and
violence as it includes the perception of intension. Hence, what might be acts of violence and
aggression for a particular person, might not be for another. Violence, on the other hand, is
referred to aggression that comes with extreme physical harm as consequences. Acts of violence
can lead to the consequences such as injury, or even death. Hence, violence can be defined as a
subset of aggression. Therefore, any kind of violent acts are aggressive but acts that committed
to cause consequences such as murder, assault, abuse, rape, and death are termed as violent.
Discussion
With the current rise in the instances of violence, it is very easy to jump to the conclusion
that human nature is aggressive, that there is an innate tendency in us, an instinct that leads us to
commit various aggressive and violent acts. Many philosophers and social psychologists have
conducted study in this context and have arrived to a variety of conclusions (Jhangiani, Tarry &
Stangor, 2014). Well known among them are Thomas Hobbes who believed that human beings
are naturally evil and it is the responsibility of the society to put a constraint on them. A different
opinion is available from the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud who concluded that human
beings have two tendencies in them- “life instinct” and “death instinct” (Jhangiani, Tarry &

ESSAY ON HUMAN AGGRESSION, AND VIOLENCE, ITS RISK FACTORS AND
EFFECTS OF MASS MEDIA
2
Stangor, 2014). The death instinct leads to the impulsive acts of destruction of each other and
other people around them.
As the previous paragraph states that aggression is a part of human nature, in order to
understand the extent to which the biological factor contribute to the aggressive streaks in
humans, it is important to take a few facts into consideration (Jhangiani, Tarry & Stangor, 2014).
A substantial part of the brain is responsible for controlling the aggression, known as the
amygdala. The regulation of reception, aggression, and fear is done by this part of the brain.
With the connection of many other body parts such as the sympathetic nervous system, that is
directly related to fear. It is also related to the various facial responses, the manner in which we
process smells, along with the release of neurotransmitters that directly related to stress as well
as aggression (Jhangiani, Tarry & Stangor, 2014). Apart from the amygdala, hormones are also
responsible for creating aggressive situations. The most important among all the hormones,
testosterone is responsible for aggressive streaks. However, it is important to note that
testosterone in men alone are not responsible for aggression. Women too are vulnerable to
various acts of aggression although they are subjected to a very little amount of testosterone the
expression of aggression is different when it comes to women (Jhangiani, Tarry & Stangor,
2014).
Apart from the biological factors, many emotions are responsible towards an increase in
violent and aggressive behavior of individuals. Negative emotions such as frustration act as a
trigger to various aggressive acts. More specifically, any form of discomfort or negative emotion
leads to aggressive behavior. Hence, any possible threat one’s existing worldview leads to an
increase of aggression, but this nature of behavior is mostly limited to those who have been
contemplating their death. Nonetheless, just as the arousal of negative feelings lead to the