PSYCHOLOGY,
Aggression: Definition, Types, Factors, Impact & How to Control It
aggression
Aggression is an individual behavior that often occurs when he is dealing with an interest. This is because aggression can be one of the tools to achieve desires in these interests. However, aggression is a behavior that will have a negative social influence. In fact, according to Tremblay & Archer (in Mulyadi et al, 2016, p. 23) in general any behavior that harms or causes victims on the part of others can be referred to as aggressive behavior.
Of course, if the loss or victim occurs due to something unintentional, this does not include aggressive behavior. Aggressive behavior is intentional physical or verbal behavior with the intent to hurt or harm another person. Aggression is something that is actually clearly detrimental to all parties but is still a social reality that will occur. Therefore, it is important for individuals to understand aggressive behavior in order to be able to avoid and control their aggressiveness.
Definition of Aggression
Aggression is behavior that is intended to injure other people, either physically or psychologically (Rahman, 2018, p. 197). This means that aggression is not always physical, even in social reality it occurs more often than verbally. Aggressive behavior is influenced by affection or feelings that cover or block one’s cognitive abilities.
Thus, apart from being ridden by interests, aggression can also be carried out without any purpose as a result of cognitive abilities that are hampered by feelings that are too overwhelming. As stated by Aronson et al (in Mulyadi et al, 2016, p. 21) that aggressive behavior is behavior carried out by individuals with the intention of injuring or harming other individuals with or without a specific purpose.
Meanwhile, according to Bandura (in the FP UI Writing Team, 2018, p. 146) what is aggression is behavior intending to injure or harm others resulting from a social learning process through observing the social world. That is, aggressive behavior does not automatically appear in a person, a person will commit aggression because he imitates a model in his own environment. For example, children who were exposed to aggressive adult models were consistently more aggressive than children who were exposed to non-aggressive adult models.
Berkowitz further (in Mulyadi et al, 2016, p. 21) aggressive behavior is a form of effort or behavior that is intentionally carried out to injure or destroy physically or psychologically other people in the form of coercion or an effort to maintain power, dominance, or social status somebody. Several attempts to maintain power, domination, and social status are some clear examples of interests that drive aggressive behavior.
It can be concluded that aggression is a form of effort or behavior that is intentionally carried out to injure other people both physically and psychologically, both based on goals such as protecting an interest, or without a goal.
Factors Causing Aggression
According to Sears et al; Aronson et al (in Mulyadi et al, 2016, pp. 24-26) there are several factors that can cause aggressive behavior which include the following.
Learning Process Factors
That is, the main mechanism that determines human aggressive behavior is the past learning process. Newborns exhibit aggressive behavior that is very impulsive, but in adulthood humans will control their aggressive impulses strongly and only act aggressively in certain circumstances.
Reinforcement Factor
When forming a behavior, reinforcement plays an important role. When a certain behavior is rewarded, the individual is more likely to repeat that behavior in the future, and when the behavior is punished, it is less likely that he will repeat it.
Social Norms Factor
When cues that give rise to aggression are present, anger tends to turn into aggression. But when cues that suppress aggression are present, anger will not lead to aggressive behavior. Cues associated with expressing aggression and cues associated with suppressing aggression are well regulated by learned social norms for particular situations. In other words, social norms are important in determining what aggressive habits will be learned.
Biological Factors
There are several biological factors that influence aggressive behavior, namely genetic factors, brain system factors and bleeding chemical factors. These biological factors include: a) Genes, influence the formation of the brain’s neural system that regulates research conducted on animals, ranging from the most difficult to the most irritable, heredity factors seem to make male animals irritable compared to females; b) It turns out that the brain systems involved in aggression can strengthen or control aggression; c) Blood chemistry, especially sex hormones which are partly determined by hereditary factors influence aggressive behavior.
Social Learning Factors
By witnessing fights and killings, even a little bit, it will certainly cause stimulation and make it possible to imitate this model of violence.
Environmental factor
Aggressive behavior is caused by several factors that surround a person’s environment which include: a) Poverty, if a child is raised in a poverty environment, then their aggressive behavior naturally increases; b) Anonymity, if a person is anonymous or whose identity is not known, he tends to behave as he pleases, because he feels that he is no longer bound by societal norms and is less sympathetic to other people as is the case in cyberspace and social media; c) Hot temperatures and stuffiness have an impact on social behavior in the form of increased aggressiveness.
Anger Factor
Anger is an emotion characterized by high activity of the parasympathetic nervous system and a very strong feeling of dislike which is usually the result of an error, which may or may not be real or wrong.
Type/Type of Aggression
Berkowitz (in Mulyadi et al, 2016, p. 27) distinguishes aggression into two main types, namely:
Instrumental Aggression, namely aggression carried out by organisms or individuals as a tool or way to achieve certain goals;
Hate Aggression, namely aggression that is carried out solely as an outlet for the desire to injure or hurt, or aggression without a purpose other than to cause damage, pain or death to the target or victim.
Meanwhile according to Moyer (1976) the types of aggression are as follows.
Predatory Aggression
Aggression aroused by the presence of a natural object (prey). Usually found in organisms or animal species that make animals from other species as prey.
Male aggression
Namely aggression that is typically aroused by the presence of fellow males of a species. In relation to humans, this aggression often occurs in masculinity conflicts.
Fear aggression
Aggression that is aroused by the closing of opportunities to avoid threats.
Offended aggression
Namely aggression that is aroused by feelings of offense or anger, an attack response appears against a broad stimulus (without choosing a target), both in the form of living objects and inanimate objects.
Defense Aggression
Aggression carried out by organisms in order to defend their territory from threats or disturbances of their own species. This defensive aggression is also called territorial aggression.
Maternal Aggression
Namely aggression that is specific to the species or female organism (parent) carried out in an effort to protect their children from various threats.
Instrumental Aggression
Aggression is learned, reinforced (reinforced) and carried out to achieve certain goals.
Impact of Aggression
It has been discussed previously that aggression will result in harm to both the perpetrator and the victim who becomes the aggressive behavior. In addition, aggression that is carried out successively in the long term, especially if it occurs in children or since childhood, or during adulthood can have an impact on personality development.
Successive aggression will lead to a tendency to repress (store in the subconscious) these traumatic experiences. Aggression that can continue from generation to generation. Aggressive parents tend to have children who are aggressive towards other people and their children too (Cappell & Heiner, 1990 in Mulyadi et al, 2016, p. 31).
Controlling Aggression
How to control aggressive behavior? According to Aronson & Akert (in Mulyadi et al, 2016, p. 41) ways, techniques, and concrete steps that can be taken to prevent the emergence or development of aggressive behavior are investment, development of non-aggressive behavior, and development of the ability to provide Empathy, which can be done in the following ways.
Moral Cultivation
Investment is the most appropriate step to prevent the emergence of aggressive behavior. This moral cultivation will be successful if carried out continuously and consistently from an early age in various environments by involving all parties who bear responsibility in the socialization process.
Development of Non Aggressive Behavior
To prevent the development of aggressive behavior, what needs to be done is to develop values that support the development of non-aggressive behavior, and remove or at least reduce the values that encourage the development of aggressive behavior.
Development of Empathy Ability
Prevention of aggressive behavior can and should include developing the capacity to love in individuals. As for the ability to love itself, it can develop properly if individuals are trained and train themselves to be able to place themselves in the inner world of others and be able to understand what is felt or experienced and what others want or don’t want. Developing the ability to give empathy is a step that needs to be taken in order to prevent the development of aggressive behavior.