CultureandAggression

Introduction
Individualsinsocietyhavedifferentwaystheyreacttosituationsandsolveproblems.For
manytheyusewhatiscalledcooperationtosolvetheirproblembyworkingandcommunicating
withothers.Thesetypesofpeoplearemorelikelytotaketheirtimetothinkaboutasolutionand
maybelessreactivethanonewhousesaggressiontosolveoralleviatetheirproblem.According
tothetext(Gilbert,Nock,Schacter,Wegener,2015,p.382)aggressioncanhaveabiological
basisbutisalsogreatlyinfluencedbycultureandsocietytoday.Therearemanyaspectsof
culturethatareeffectingaggressioninchildren,teens,andadults.Theissueofculturehaving
suchaninfluenceonaggressionisstrikingandimportanttounderstandsoindividualscanbe
morecautiousandliveabalancedlifestyle.
LiteratureReview
InthebookSocialPsychologicalPrinciples,itdefinesaggressionandhighlightshow
thereareindividualdifferencesinaggression.Thiscanbeaccordingtotheirpersonalities,self
esteem,media,personalperceptions,gender,culture,andsociety.Itsimportanttonotethat
aggressionisnotonlymanifestedinphysicalform.Nonphysicalaggressioncanincludeyelling,
swearing,gossiping,criticizing,bullying,etc.(Stangor,2012,p.528).
AninterestingstatementthatthisauthormakesisthatResearchhasfoundthat
individualswithinflatedorunstableselfesteemaremorepronetoangerandarehighly
aggressivewhentheirhighselfimageisthreatened(Stangor,2012,p.568).Also,social
learningandsituationsplayaroleinhowindividualsvalueviolence.Forexample,personswho
areinvolvedingangsfindviolenceandaggressionacceptableandarevaluedamongthem.

Individualswhosaytheyhaveaconcernpeopleotherthanthemselvesareratedmorealtruistic
andlessaggressive.
Theinfluenceoftelevisionviolenceanditseffectonchildrenmaybeaprecursorto
aggression.Thisinformationisvaluablebecauseitleadsintotheassumptionthatcertaincultures
maybemorepronetoaggressionaccordingtotheamountoftelevisionisbeingwatched.Most
ofthestudiesconductedinthepast25yearshavesupportedthehypothesisthatthereisa
positivecorrelationwithTVviolenceviewingandaggressivebehavior(Eron,Huesmann,1986,
p.259).
Additionally,genderplaysaroleinaggressionwithmenuniversallybeingmoresothan
women.Womencanalsobeaggressive(mostlywithverbalaggressiveness)butmenoverall
haveahigherconcernofgainingstatusandhigherlevelsoftestosteronewhicheffectsthis
behavior.Whatisfascinatingaboutgenderdifferencesisnotonlyduetothefactofbiology,but
becauseofsocialnormsandexpectations.Men are socialized to value more self-oriented
attributes, such as independence and assertiveness, and they are more likely to use aggression to
attain social or material rewards (Stangor, 2012, p. 568).
Lastly, culture plays a significant role with the way individuals behave and assert
themselves. Depending on where you live demographically can affect aggressiveness in citizens.
With states that value a culture of honor, respect, social status, defending their family and
reputation are more prone to aggression and school violence. There are several aspects of the
causes and risk factors for aggression and violence. This information is crucial for us to know
because it establishes a foundation of knowing how to prevent violence, which is critical in our
society today.

Application
Todayinoursocietyterroristattackshavebeenprevalentevents.Justyesterday,wefind
outaboutthemassshootingatagayclubinOrlando,Florida.Thisisaanexampleofaggression
becauseamanhadhatebuiltupforagroupofpeoplesomuchsothathemurderedthem.This
typeofaggressionmaystemfromreligiousbeliefs,childhoodexperience,orsociallearningand
affiliation.TheshooterwasAmericanbornbutwasassociatedwiththeISISterroristgroup.The
factthathewasapartofthisterroristgroupisevidencethatculturecanplayaroleinbehavior,
especiallyviolenceandaggression.
Iaskedacouplepeoplewhattheythoughtaboutculturalaggressionandwherethey
thinkitstemsfrom.Oneofthemsaidthatitsalmostnormalizedtoactaggressivelytowards
otherpeople,almostasifitsencouraged.Thismaybebecausemenespeciallyfeelthatitsthe
masculinethingtodotostickupforthemselvesandtheirreputation.
Also,anotherpersonsaidthataTVshowrecentlyusedviolenceandaggressionasa
tactictogetmoreviewersandincreasetheirratings.Alongwiththis,inordertoattractmore
buyers,videogameproducerscomeoutwithgamesthatareextremelyviolentthatanyonecan
playintheirhome.Viewing violence increases the cognitive accessibility of violence, leads us
to model that behavior, and desensitizes us to violence (Stangor,2012,p.579). When violence
becomes a part of the cognitive process of an individual, theres a higher chance that they
retaliate using aggressive behavior, whether thats through gossiping, hitting, etc. Althoughthere
canbebiologicaldispositionsforaggressivebehavior,muchofitisduetothecultureaperson
surroundshimselfwith.
Conclusion

Itishumannaturetoaggress.Therearemanyfactorsthatrelatetothetendenciestodo
so.Despiteotherfactors,akeyplayerofthistendencyiscultureandsociety.Itisthroughculture
thathumanscanlearnbehavior.Theactofaggressionisseeninmanyinstancesthroughoutthe
culturehereintheUnitedStates.Itisthroughsocialgroups,religion,culturalnorms,andmedia
thatcanhaveadirecteffect.Inordertopreventaggressivebehaviorwithinoneselfandothers,
itsimportanttolimittheamountofviolentactivitybeingplayed,watched,orlistenedto.

References
Ellis,R.,Fantz,A.,Karimi,F.,Mclaughlin,E.C.(2016).Orlandoshooting:50killed,shooter
pledgedISISallegiance.Retrievedfromhttp://www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/us/orlando
nightclubshooting/
Gilbert,E.,Nock,M.,Schacter,D.,WegenerD.(2015).Introducingpsychology:Thirdedition.
NewYork,NY:WorthPublishers.
Huesmann,L.R.,EronL.D.(2013).Televisionandtheaggressivechild:Acrossnational
comparison.NewYork,NY:Routledge.
Stangor,C.(2012).SocialPsychologyPrinciples.UnnamedPublisher