In today’s world there seems to be a needless growth in intensity and frequency of violent crimes and incidents. Keven Spaulding has an interesting piece where he’s outlined some of the possible causes for violent and aggressive behavior. Of course we may not be able to completely curb this phenomenon, but there are things that can increase the frequency of the problem.
Spaulding’s article goes back to the time argued question, “are we born violent or is it partially due to the way we’ve been raised and the things we expose ourselves to.” In answering this question, Mr. Spaulding introduces some interesting insights into the “nature vs. nurture” scenario, including physiological, the media, and innate issues that could be present.
Spaulding states,
Frustration stemming from social situations is a common cause of aggression. Imagine someone is talking negatively about someone you love very much, or that you are stuck in traffic and it is your first day to a new job.
Both of these situations bring with them high levels of frustration and anger. The natural response is to try and verbally or physically attack something, even if deep down you know that it isn’t going to help the situation. This is summed up in the frustration-aggression theory, which states that frustration, or the perception of being prevented from attaining a goal, increases the probability of an aggressive response.
The question may never be solved, but Spaulding may help us better understand a growing phenomenon in our society.
Kevin Spaulding on Violence and Aggression.
Image by base2wave.
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