Aggression is viewed as a violent reaction or an aggressive action against another person. There are various influential factors that trigger to the development of this behavior. In this discussion we present the reasons of aggression prior and after reading the Chapter 12 of the book. Initially, I believed that the aggression was caused by a mere mental health issue or just a brain damage that influences a person to become an aggressive one. This belief changed after reading the book chapter.
My previous belief tells me that aggression is an outcome of a mental condition of a person. Although this idea is true, there are other underlying reasons as to why such behavior prevails, which changed my opinion about aggression. According to Klinesmith, Kassr, and McAndrew (2006), there are two unrelated reasons that cause aggression to occur. One is the availability of weapons in the environment where the individual stays. This increases the person’s confidence to defeat others as he or she knows that there is something that can be used to support any violent actions. The other reason is related to testosterone hormone. This plays an important role in building a person’s, specifically males, aggressiveness. However, the presence of these two factors together do not serve as evidence for the prevalence of aggression, based on the existing studies.
After reading the text, my opinion towards aggression has changed. I understood that such behavior is caused by various influential factors and not just a mere mental condition. I realized that even a normal person can become aggressive with the help of a weapon that will increase the hostile accessibility. It can also help in the development of aggressive thoughts against the others, which creates more aggressive actions.
References
Klinesmith, J., Kasser, T., & McAndrew, F. T. (2006). Guns, Testosterone, and Aggression: An Experimental Test of a Mediational Hypothesis. Psychological Science, 17(7), 568-571.
