Aggressive Behavior Essay

Submitted By Simona-Morris
Words: 871
Pages: 4
Open Document
Aggressive Behavior and its Effect on Romantic Relationships
Simona Morris
University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Aggression is a behavior that is possible for anyone to display. It is a type of social behavior that varies across cultures and is also shown to have some gender differences. The goal of acting out aggressively is to cause physical or psychological pain to another person. Domestic violence, which is acting aggressively towards a spouse or intimate partner, has become an issues for many couples today. For one to understand the connection between aggressive behavior and romantic relationships, related key terms must first be clearly defined.
Hostile aggression is triggered by anger and is typically shown by acting out violently. For this type of aggression, inflicting pain and causing injury to others is the key behind the behavior. It is typically much more common for males to display this type of aggression. When one acts with the intent to harm someone as a reaction of being harmed themselves, this type of aggression is considered reactive aggression.
Relational aggression is designed to interfere with one’s social status. Its purpose is to cause harm through relationships, social status, and social interactions. This type of aggression tends to be more common with females rather than males.
In Females’ Reasons for Their Physical Aggression in Dating Relationships, the use of physical aggression by women in a relationship was examined. Participants were asked to answer open-ended, as well as close-ended questions regarding their relationship. Results showed that 32% of participants admitted to engaging in physical abuse with their partners (Hettrich 2007). These participants were young college women who also reportedly felt pressured to engage in certain sexual activities with their partner. Those who were in aggressive relationships were not satisfied with their relationships. Physical aggression was negatively correlated with positive feelings for their partner (Hettrich 2007). Young adults were also examined for the use of relational aggression in their romantic relationships. In Profiles and Correlates of Relational Aggression in Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships, results showed that females reported higher levels of perpetration while males tend to show higher levels of victimization (Goldstein 2008). This study supports the idea that some women tend to practice relational aggression while in a relationship. The reason for this could possibly be for reasons such as sexual pressure from their partner.
Women’s Perspective on Men’s Control and Aggression in Intimate Relationships is a study of 2,544 women. This study suggests that verbal abuse from men is not necessarily due to the need to display aggressive behavior towards their partner but rather to gain personal control. This finding is important to consider due to the fact that it may give some insight on why women tend to accept this type of behavior from their partner.
In College Women’s Aggression in Relationships: The Role of Childhood and Adolescent Victimization, research suggest that it is important to consider previous abuse when predicting if one will become abusive or involved in an abusive romantic relationship. Some things to consider are if one has previous victimization experiences, mutual partner aggression and a history of aggressive behavior (Edwards 2009). When considering one’s past experiences, childhood experiences should be examined. In Experiences of Psychological and Physical Aggression in Adolescent Romantic Relationships, the connection between psychological distress of adolescents and their psychological and physical aggressive relationships were examined. Results showed that
Show More

Related Documents: Aggressive Behavior Essay

Aggressive Behavior Analysis

In the research article, “Factors Associated With Aggressive Behavior Among Nursing Home Residents With Dementia” the researchers studied the occurrence of negative behaviors using cognitive status and personality characteristics, as well as sets of proximal factors, such as characteristics of physical and social environments (Whall et al., 2008). They worked with a Need-Driven Dementia Compromised Behavior Model. This model examines a patient’s health status, psychosocial status and cognitive ability…

Words 1830 - Pages 8

The Salem Witch Trials: Cause Or Aggressive Behavior?

isolated community, had a heightened and almost irrational fear of the devil and its supposed agenda to destroy Christians. In February of 1962, two young girls started to demonstrate unusual and aggressive behavior. A doctor was called to examine the girls and found no physical causes for their strange behavior, so he concluded that the girls' problems might have a “supernatural origin.” Based on a reference, “[m]any modern theories suggest the girls were suffering from epilepsy, boredom, child abuse…

Words 291 - Pages 2

Does Media Violence Promote Aggressive Behavior?

Running head: Does Media Violence Promote Aggressive Behavior Does Exposure to Media Violence Promote Aggressive Behavior? Valerie Bean Psychology 150-107 October 29, 2011 Abstract There have been many studies done on the effects of media violence exposure and aggressive behavior. First the term media violence needs to be examined. What form of media violence is perceived to be the most influential? There are television shows, movies, music, news shows and newspapers, video games and cartoons…

Words 1654 - Pages 7

Intermittent Explosive Disorder Essay examples

classified as a “disorder of impulsive aggression”. In the DSM-I, this disorder was called “passive-aggressive personality. It was categorized as “persistent reaction to frustration with irritability, temper tantrums, and destructive behavior.” This disorder became “explosive personality” in DSM-II in 1968. Individuals with explosive personalities were “aggressive individuals” who exhibited violent behavior, and were typically over responsive to environmental pressures. Criteria for the disorder, however…

Words 1228 - Pages 5

Violence on Television Essay example

than they do almost anywhere else, with school being one of the only exceptions. It is important to know what children are watching and what possible effects this can have on their attitudes and behaviors. Television has the ability to influence many aspects of a child’s life, with attitudes and behaviors possibly being the most serious area. Children are known to often mimic what they see and what they hear, which is not always a good thing, because what they see and hear does not always have a positive…

Words 1503 - Pages 7

Video Games and Violence Essay example

games and Violence Testing on young adults for the effects on behavior that violent video games have has been going on since video games were developed. There are numerous amounts of parents trying to see if violent games play apart in their child’s or young adult’s life. Problems with violent video games are hard to understand because of the many different symptoms they give off to young adults and children such as aggressive behavior, competitiveness, and the long term problems with violence. Some…

Words 501 - Pages 3

Media Violence Essay

that there exists a relationship between exposure to media violence and aggressive behavior, even if sometimes it’s very small. I can say this from my observations as well. Aggressive behaviors are caused by multiple factors, as many researchers say; however, media violence is one of those factors. Media violence stimulates aggression by making the children imitate what they observe in their favorite heroes, by making the aggressive feeling and thoughts that they had before go out and by desensitizing…

Words 655 - Pages 3

Zimbardo's Deindividuation Theory

The theory of deindividuation postulates that people are more susceptible to engage in anti-normative behaviors when their self-awareness has been stripped (Zimbardo, 1969). This idea was first introduced by Le Bon (1895), who noticed that personalities disintegrate in the presence of crowds. He stated that this environment leads them to act more by the pleasure principle rather than being liable for their actions. This idea intrigued others to research more in depth the consequences of treating…

Words 2307 - Pages 10

Media Violence Essay

nature as they converse with each other. Bandura argued that by watching aggressive behavior acts, people learn to act aggressively, especially children. "Albert Bandura argued that aggression in children is influenced by the reinforcement of family members, the media, and the environment"(Bandura, 1976: pp. 206-208). Bandura is famous for his Bobo doll experiment. He explained three aspects, development of aggressive behavior patterns, what influences or makes people act aggressively, and will the…

Words 1009 - Pages 5

Road Rage Essay

Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior by a driver of an automobile or other motor vehicle. Such behavior might include rude gestures, verbal insults, deliberately driving in an unsafe or threatening manner, or making threats. Road rage can lead to altercations, assaults, and collisions which result in injuries and even deaths. It can be thought of as an extreme case of aggressive driving. Society is moving at a faster pace now more than ever. It is possible the increased value of time is causing…

Words 613 - Pages 3