Nature versus nurture is a theme I have remembered since high school and is prevalent in most undergraduate psychology courses in college, or at least most of the ones I have taken.
In this week’s lesson, especially after watching the video on Albert Bandura’s bobo doll experiment, I am reminded that children and adults can be fairly aggressive at times, but we especially characterize men as being aggressive even when they are young boys. I found myself watching the little girl beat the bobo doll aggressively, and the stereotypical thought crossed my mind that she was “aggressive for a girl” even though I am a woman who experiences a wide range of emotions including anger.
What I normally think of when I think of a person being aggressive is the sex hormone testosterone. No matter how much I learn from college-level courses, that belief has been pretty deeply engrained in me and I believe as our society as a whole. And I found a scientific study that supports the claim that societal norms have influenced our view on the relation between testosterone and aggression.
Although it is only one study, I still find it interesting that aggression seems to be more so a learned or observed behavior like in Bandura’s experiment than anything else. This study found that among a group who were given 0.5mg of testosterone, and a group that were given a placebo, the placebo group behaved more unfairly, unfavorably, and aggressively. And the group given the testosterone actually behaved fairly and more favorably. The study does note that testosterone plays a role in behavior, but that social and biological factors are obviously at play.
Zurich, U. of (Ed.). (2009, December 9). Testosterone does not induce aggression, study shows. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091208132241.htm
I really liked this post as it sort of related to mine. I found it interesting to read and have to respectfully disagree. I think aggression is an inherit behavior. Although the experiment of the Bobo doll might argue that that is aggression learned towards a specific object, like racism. Racism is not born in us but learned. Aggression is a natural response to different stimuli. Look at nature and how certain animals treat each other. For example, deer. During mating season, it is common to see bucks fighting with each other to be more dominant or over a doe. No one taught them this, the deer did not exhibit other people behaving like that. Rather it is an emotional and behavioral response to the hormones in them. The example of the Bobo doll experiment only teaches us that behavior towards an object or group of objects can be learned and carried on. However, the idea of aggression itself is an innate response in human and animal behavior.
Gruman, Jamie, A. et al. Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Available from: MBS Direct, (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US), 2016.