How does psychology explain aggressive behaviors?

Aggression is present every day in our environment. We find it in the news, on the streets and on the networks. It seems to be a natural human tendency., so that, to a greater or lesser degree, it would nest in all of them. Aggressive behaviors occur in multiple forms and there are theories that highlight their adaptive value for our survival as a species.

Psychology has dedicated a lot of time and work to the study of aggressive behaviors., its causes, processes and consequences. There are covert or explicit aggressive behaviors, direct or indirect, by word or deed, physical, verbal, psychological or relational.

Aggressive behaviors: hostile or instrumental

Broadly speaking, we can talk about two types of aggressive behavior. Hostile aggression and instrumental or predatory aggression. They differ mainly in their motivation.. They have different antecedents, predict different problems and are associated with different cognitive and emotional processes.

Hostile aggression: it is an impulsive aggression, with the purpose of doing harm. It has a strong emotional charge. It is reactive aggression.Instrumental or predatory aggression: it is premeditated and cold. The main objective is not to cause harm, although it does, but it hides other interests behind it. It may be guided by theft or the acquisition of power. It is a planned aggression, either out of revenge or interest.

Biology of aggressive behaviors

There does not seem to be a direct correlation between genetics and aggressive behaviors. Rather It would be an interaction between biological and environmental factors that would make us more prone to aggressiveness. On the other hand, let’s think that aggression between human beings is highly socially regulated.

Different types of aggressive behavior seem to originate in different brain areas. The amygdala, hippocampal formation, septal area, prefrontal cortex, and cingulate gyrus appear to modulate aggressive behaviors through connections with the medial and lateral hypothalamus (Haller 2014).

A decrease in gray matter has been found in especially aggressive subjects. It has also been proposed as a stimulator of aggressive behavior. the combination of high levels of testosterone and low levels of cortisol. Serotonin levels also play an important role in aggressive behavior, in its manifestation and in its control.

Innate drive or learned behavior

There is neo-associationist theory, developed by Berkowitz based on the work of Freud, who considers that the aggressive impulse is activated when the subject is prevented from achieving a desired goal. This results in a negative affective state, which is what would cause aggressive behavior in the individual.

We also have the social learning theory by Bandura which proposes that it is external influences that stimulate aggressive behaviors and are integrated into our behavioral repertoire through imitation. That is, it is acquired by watching other people behave aggressively. This occurs especially if the person observed enjoys the sympathy of the learner and considers him or her as a peer. Also if it is observed that some benefit is obtained from aggressive behavior.

These are basically the two positions from which they start Anderson and Bushman, who proposed an integration of both models. This third theory takes into account biological, environmental, psychological and social factors to explain aggressive behavior. Aggression occurs due to an interaction of the individual’s personal characteristics and external stimuli that activate a set of cognitive and emotional processes.

Factors that precipitate or intervene in aggressive behaviors

Among the factors that precipitate or intervene in aggressive behaviors we can point out, among others, social instigators, non-social instigators and internal factors of the individual. Social instigators include triggers such as provocation, the perception of being unfairly treated or social rejection.

One of the non-social instigators are aggressive keys (images or objects present in the situation that activate aggressive thoughts). It would be the case of the presence of weapons in the situation. On the other hand we find environmental stressors such as heat, overcrowding or loud noises that frequently act as triggers for aggressive behavior.

There is also Cognitive factors that intervene in aggressive behaviors. These would be ruminations, moral disconnection or the activation of scripts (schemas that represent situations that guide aggressive behavior). These scripts are memory stores of experiences and situations that are easily retrieved. They also store beliefs about what normal behavior should be like in certain circumstances.

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