NCJ Number
57527
Date Published
1975
Length
25 pages
Annotation
THIS ARTICLE FROM THE SYMPOSIUM ON NEURAL BASES OF VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION INDICATES THAT AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IS A LEARNED RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENT, REGARDLESS OF INDIVIDUAL PREDISPOSITIONS.
Abstract
THE EXTRAORDINARY NONAGGRESSIVENESS OF SOCIETIES SUCH AS THE ESKIMO, THE PYGMY, AND THE PUEBLO INDIAN INDICATES THAT HUMANITY IS NOT INNATELY AGGRESSIVE. RATHER, HUMAN HISTORY UNDERSCORES THE ROLE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE LEARNING OF AGGRESSION OR NONAGGRESSION. WHATEVER PREDISPOSITIONS INDIVIDUALS IN A SOCIETY MAY HAVE TOWARD VIOLENCE, SUCH TRAITS MAY BE SUCCESSFULLY SUPPRESSED. MOREOVER, THE PREVALENT HUMAN CHARACTERISTIC APPEARS TO BE COOPERATION, AND EXPRESSIONS OF COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR HAVE BEEN THE MOST INFLUENTIAL FACTORS IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. HUMANITY HAS NOT BEEN 'PROGRAMMED' FOR AGGRESSION, BUT RATHER HAS THE OPTION TO PROGRESS TOWARDS WHAT IT LEARNS TO BE. THE THEORIES OF FREUD, LORENZ, AND ARDREY ON A PHYLOGENETICALLY PROGRAMMED FORM OF VIOLENT HUMAN BEHAVIOR MAY RELIEVE PEOPLE OF THE BURDEN OF ACCOUNTING FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS, BUT THESE THEORIES ARE NOT SUFFICIENTLY SUBSTANTIATED. LIKEWISE, THE PREMATURE ATTRIBUTION OF VIOLENT BEHAVIOR TO THE EXTRA Y CHROMOSOME IN SOME MALES IGNORES THE INTERACTION BETWEEN GENES AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN INFLUENCING CHARACTER TRAITS. UNDER THE PRESSURE OF UNFAVORABLE SOCIAL CONDITIONS, TALL MALES MAY BE NURTURED TO VIOLENCE AS A MEANS OF CULTURAL ADAPTATION. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT VIOLENCE, EVEN IF ORGANICALLY DETERMINED, MAY BE CULTURALLY REDUCED OR ELIMINATED. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (TWK)