Aggression as instinctive behavior - psychoanalytic approach. Aggression as instinctive behavior Aggression as instinctive behavior

For almost 80 years of the socio-psychological study of aggression have been put forward various theories explaining reasons for its appearance. Can highlight three main influential points of view:

according to one of them - aggression is a form of behavior determined by innate instincts and drives;

according to the other is aggression, like other forms of behavior , acquired as a result of individual experience;

third, intermediate point of view, connects motivation and acquisition, the hypothesis of frustration - aggression.

All of them reflect the views and empirical experience specific researchers and psychological schools of different times.

* Consider the following episode, which takes place in a bar in an ordinary city, and, unfortunately, in Lately frequently occurring. Young people crowd at the bar and among them a group of people from the Caucasus (China, Africa), living and working in the same city. The two young people (Russians) began to argue, getting more and more heated. Suddenly, one of them jumps up, shouts at the Azerbaijani and hits him on the chin.

Let's try to analyze this episode based on various theoretical constructions.

Aggression as an instinct

considered by two influential theoretical approaches − psychoanalytic and ethological.

Psychoanalytic approach

One of the founders of this theory, without a doubt, is 3. Freud. He believed that there are two most powerful innate instincts in a person: life instinct, Eros, and death instinct - Thanatos. The first was considered as aspirations associated with creative tendencies in human behavior: love, care, intimacy . The second carries the energy of destruction, its task is " to bring everything organically living to a state of lifelessness" - it is malice, hatred, destructiveness .

When the death instinct turned inward, then expresses itself in self-punishment, the extreme form of which becomes suicide when it is converted outside, then expresses itself in hostility, desire for destruction, murder.

Freud was convinced that just as sexual tension is reduced by sexual activity, aggressive energy must also somehow go outside. If people don't let your anger out, her energy will grow, and with it the tension will grow; the energy will seek an outlet, either exploding in acts of extreme violence or expressing itself in the symptoms of mental illness. This led to the idea catharsis».

Catharsis(literally "purification of emotions") is the process of releasing excitation or stored energy, leading to a decrease in the level of tension.

hostile and aggressive tendencies can also be expressed not in a destructive way, For example, through sarcasm or fantasy, they can sublimate, i.e. direct destructive energy in the direction of some acceptable or socially useful behavior.

1.1.2 Ethological approach.

The theme of the conditionality of human aggression, mainly by biological factors, received a new sound in modern times thanks to the works of one of the founders of ethology - K. Lorenz. He claimed that the aggressive instinct meant a lot in the process of evolution, survival and adaptation of man. The rapid development of scientific and technical thought and progress overtook the naturally ongoing biological and psychological maturation of man and led to slowing down the development of inhibitory mechanisms of aggression, which is inevitable entails periodic outward expression of aggression. Otherwise, internal stress will accumulate and create "pressure" inside the body until it leads to an outbreak of uncontrollable behavior (the principle of releasing steam from a locomotive boiler).

However, it should be noted that K. Lorenz's "psychohydraulic model" was mainly based on the often unjustified transfer of the results of studies obtained on animals to human behavior. Other weak point of the theory of instincts was predetermined ways to control aggression. It was believed that a personwill never be able to cope with his aggressiveness . And since the accumulating aggression is bound to should be responded to, then the only hope remains to direct it in the right direction. Proponents of the theory of instincts believe that the most civilized form of détente aggression for a person are competition, various kinds of competitions, physical exercises and participation in sports competitions.

Aggression- a complex phenomenon due to many causes, difficult to predict and often beyond control.

Aggression - any action or series of actions. the immediate purpose of which is to cause physical harm or other damage. Aggression is almost always classified asantisocial behaviorand is seen as a problem caused by biological inferiority, unsuccessful search for one's place in society, or frustration due to adverse environmental conditions. In some cases, aggression leads to positive consequences - for example, when it is used for beneficial changes in society or against the forces of oppression. Listed below are the main explanations for aggressive behavior.

biological explanation. For example. aggression may be the result of overpopulation and the need to defend one's territory (the latter is not supported by conclusive evidence). While animals are able to limit their aggression to ritual performances, in humans, this ability is developed to a much lesser extent. Current Research Points to a Possible Role for the Neurotransmitterserotoninin the aggressive behavior of the chimpanzee is assumed. that this is true for humans as well.

Psychological theories, for exampletheory of suppressed aggression,consider aggression as an inevitable consequence of blocking on the way to the goal. A typical example is a driver caught in a traffic jam and taking out his anger on other drivers or pedestrians.

Social (or sociopsychological) theories such associal learning theory,recognize the importanceimitationsin the development of aggressive behavior. Children learn aggressive behavior by watching adult aggression, whose behavior is rewarded with SCM or otherwise (i.e., they get what they want).

All of these theories use different approaches to reduce or eliminate the causes of aggressive behavior. Biological and psychological theories, with their emphasis on biological inevitability or psychological abnormality, marginalize aggressive behavior and divert attention from other daily life factors that can contribute significantly to its reduction and limitation. On the other hand, sociopsychological theories are much more optimistic in their views on the control of aggressive behavior. After all, what can be learned can always be changed.

Aggression as an instinct

The belief in the instinctive origin of A. has become widespread among ordinary Americans. In the 1960s three fundamental works were published in the USA, in which this idea was carried out: “On Aggression” (On ) Lorenz, "The Territorial Imperative" (The territorial imperative) Ardrey and the "Naked Monkey" (The naked ape) Morris. Each author tried to substantiate the view of A. as a product of the innate instinct to fight. Aggressive energy, according to this view, by virtue of instinct, is produced in the individual continuously and at a constant speed. Over time, energy builds up. The more it is, the weaker the stimulus necessary for its release in the form of aggressive behavior. If a lot of time has passed since the last open manifestation of A., the stimulus is not required at all, A.'s explosion occurs spontaneously. According to this perspective, aggressive energy inevitably accumulates and just as inevitably seeks an outlet.

The theory of instinct is nevertheless very attractive, although it is a mixture of analogies and vague concepts based on fragmentary descriptions and non-systematic observations from the life of animals and people. It justifies irresponsibility: the person himself. supposedly cannot influence his aggressive behavior as soon as the energy accumulates and must inevitably find a way out. The theory claims to be universal, that is, with its help, they try to explain the various forms and manifestations of A., which does not have obvious reasons. Most modern American scientists agree that the geneticist-physiologist. A.'s potential does exist, but it is not the only factor responsible for aggressive behavior.

Aggression as a drive

When scientific interest to the search for the supposed instinctive basis of aggressive behavior faded away, the concept of instinct was replaced by the concept of drive (internal drive or attraction). For more than two decades, the efforts of American scientists have concentrated on trying to explain A. on the basis of one or another drive theory.

Most of the research devoted to testing the frustration-aggression hypothesis and the statements derived from it did not go too smoothly. Although much has been learned about frustration and A., there were problems with the precise definition of concepts, and therefore the relationship between these two essentials was clearly in the nature of a vicious circle. As R. N. Johnson notes, “the presence of frustration a priori suggested that the behavior following this should probably be aggressive, and the manifestation of A. was considered proof of the previous frustration.” L. Berkowitz and S. Fischbach focused on the theory of drive, making significant efforts to revise and expand the frustration-aggression hypothesis. Berkowitz suggested that stimuli regularly associated with manifestations of Aggression gradually acquire the ability to cause aggressive actions in provoked individuals. Frustration, in his opinion, causes anger, which in itself does not lead to open Aggression, but creates a willingness or attitude to react aggressively. Berkowitz suggested that actual open Aggression does not occur if the individual does not detect signals (or signs) that allow Aggression. These signals are usually stimuli (people, places, objects, etc.) associated with current or previous sources of anger.

Aggression as social learning

American psychology after the 1950s for the most part shifted attention from unobservable, putative internal determinants of behavior to external factors influencing observable behavioral responses. The behavior of people has undergone extensive study with t. sp. the stimuli that cause it and the reinforcing consequences.

Theory of social learning is a mixture of cognitive and stimulus-reactive concepts in relation to a wide variety of different forms and types of behavior, including Aggression. According to this theory, the processes responsible for Aggression are essentially identical to the processes related to the development, implementation and maintenance of most types of open behavior. In table. 1 gives a general list of these processes, to-rye, according to the theory of social. learning are responsible for the initial acquisition by the individual of forms of aggressive behavior, the inducement to open acts of Aggression at a given time and the maintenance of such behavior.

Table 1. Social learning theory of aggression

Acquisition

Motivation

Maintenance

1. Neurophysiological background

genetic

Hormonal

C.Sc. (eg, hypothalamus, limbic system)

physical characteristics

1. Aversive events

frustration

Weakening reinforcements:

Relative deprivation;

The unfair hardships of life

Verbal threats and insults

Physical violence

1. Direct external reinforcement

Tangible (material)

Social (status, approval)

Facilitating aversiveness

Expression of resentment

II . observational learning

Family influence (e.g. abuse)

Subcultural influence (e.g. delinquency)

Symbolic modeling (e.g. television)

II . Modeling impact

Release/removal of inhibitions

Facilitation

Emotional arousal

Strong stimuli (getting attention)

II . Vicarious reinforcements

Observable reward (receiving effect - facilitation)

Observed punishment (avoidance-disinhibition effect)

III . direct experience

Hostilities

Reinforced actions

III . Encouraging Incentives

instrumental aggression

Anticipated Consequences

III . Neutralization of self-blame

moral justification

Soothing Comparison

euphemistic notation

Shifting Responsibility

Diffusion of responsibility

Dehumanization of the victim

Victim Blaming

Consequence Distortion

progressive desensitization

IV . Compliance

V . Influence of delusional ideas

VI . Influence of factors environment:

tightness;

Ambient temperature;

Noise;

physical setting

Theory of social learning recognizes that the potential ability of a particular person. behave aggressively, perhaps arises from the neurophysiologist. features. It is believed that genetic, hormonal, neurological and resulting physical. the characteristics of an individual affect in the aggregate the functional or potential possibilities for the expression of Aggression, as well as the likelihood of learning one or another specific form of Aggression.

Considering the presence of neurophysiologist. functionality to acquire and retain aggressive responses in one's behavioral repertoire, Bandura suggests that such acquisition occurs on the basis of direct or vicarious experience. Openly aggressive actions performed by an individual in the context of trial and error or under the guidance and encouragement of others, if reinforced, increase the likelihood that the learning or acquisition of Aggression by this individual will occur. Bandura sees reinforcing actions as a particularly significant event in the learning of Aggression through direct experience, be it childish romp, teenage skirmishes, or adult warfare.

However, the most important role vicarious processes play in the acquisition of Aggression. This observational learning is believed to occur as a result of three types of modeling influences: familial, subcultural, and symbolic. A child - a victim of parental abuse - behaves aggressively with peers, and as an adult, beats his own children. Such behavior might. learned from their own parents. Subcultural modeling can be explained by the following example: looking at the aggressive behavior of peers, a teenager begins to behave in exactly the same way. Vicarious symbolic modeling while watching television, reading newspapers and comics also serves as an important source of learned Aggression. The most important is the fact that such Aggression. usually "works", that is, allows the hero to achieve his goal. The behavior of the aggressive model (whether parent, peer, or telehero) is often reinforced. People tend to adopt such behavior, for which others are rewarded. The likelihood of learning increases with the detection of certain characteristics of the model (e.g., perceived competence, high status, and also the same age, gender, and race as the observer) exhibited by the behavior model (e.g., clarity, repeatability, difficulty, detail, acceptance and reproduction, etc.). models) and the observer (e.g., similarity to the model, friendliness to the model, instructions to reproduce the behavior of the model, and, most importantly, rewards for imitation).

Summarizing our discussion, we can say that of the three existing approaches in the United States to understanding the origins and nature of aggressive behavior, the theory of A. as an instinct has always remained aloof from an empirically justified and socially useful understanding of A. and ways to control it. The theory of Aggression as a drive turned out to be inadequate in many ways. particulars, but performed and continues to perform an important heuristic function through those empirical and theoretical. research., to which she gave rise. To date, in our opinion, the most theoretically substantiated and empirically supported, as well as useful in practice. t. sp. ideas about A. gives the theory of social. learning. This theory, as befits good scientific theories, is a testable, logically consistent system of constructs, the validity of which is receiving more and more empirical confirmation.

Motivation

If the person has already learned to act aggressively - and knows when, where, in relation to whom it can be done - then what determines whether he will actually commit aggressive acts? According to the theory of social learning, actual aggressive behavior depends on many factors.

Encourage people. aversive events can lead to Aggression. One of these aversive stimuli, as in drive theory, is frustration. But, unlike the theory of drive, the theory of social. learning considers frustration only as one of a number of aversive stimuli, and having, in addition to Aggression, somewhat equally possible consequences such as regression, withdrawal, addiction, psychosomatization, stress relief through drugs and alcohol, and finally constructive problem solving. Aversive weakening of reinforcement is the second proposed class of aversive stimuli to A. Commentators on cases of collective Aggression have pointed to this provocative stimulus (especially when it manifests itself in the form of deprivation (deprivation) perceived by people in comparison with others or the hardships of life perceived by them as unfair, but not at all. not hardships and hardships in the absolute sense) as on main reason crowd violence, riots, etc. Verbal threats and insults, as well as physical. violence serve as additional, but extremely strong aversive stimuli of Aggression. Toch showed that verbal abuse is especially likely to elicit an aggressive response in the form of physical attacks. forces if they pose a threat to reputation, manhood and public humiliation. The likelihood of the use of force in response to an insult by action is especially high when it is difficult to avoid a collision and when provocative actions are of a serious and frequent nature.

Since new patterns of aggressive behavior are acquired by Ch. arr. through imitation of models, these same models can serve as significant incentives for open Aggression. If we are watching other people. (model), which behaves aggressively and is not punished for it, such observation can cause a disinhibitory effect. Through a process similar to the vicarious extinction of fear, such disinhibition can lead to the manifestation of an open A by the observer. If the model is rewarded for the manifestation of Aggression, the effect of a facilitation reaction may occur. From now on, the behavior of the model serves as an incentive for comparable behavior. Observation of manifestations of Aggression often causes emotional arousal in the observer. Enough evidence has been accumulated to suggest that emotional arousal facilitates the appearance of aggressive behavior, especially in individuals for whom this way of responding has become habitual and does not cause tension.

encouraging incentives. S. Fischbach and other researchers distinguish between angry Aggression and instrumental Aggression. In the first case, the task is to cause suffering to another person, in the second - to receive encouragement. Incentives that encourage Aggression are related to the second type of Aggression.

Aggression very often brings dividends, and A., in order to obtain encouragement, allows the aggressor to receive a reward highly valued in society (fashionable, expensive, etc.). And this is precisely one of the obstacles - perhaps a significant one - to successful, widespread control of aggressive behavior.

Following prescriptions. One person can show Aggression towards others by following orders. Obedience is brought up and rewarded differentially by the family and school throughout childhood and adolescence, and then - many others. public in-tami throughout adult life (at work, in military service, etc.).

Irrational beliefs, inner voices, paranoid suspicion, ideas about divine messages, megalomania - all this can act as incentives for A. It can act as a subjectively perceived means of self-defense, the embodiment of messianic ideas, manifestation of heroism, etc. The role of delusional ideas as a factor provoking Aggression should not be underestimated, although the frequency of this form of motivation is usually greatly overestimated.

Influence of environmental factors. Recently, psychologists have begun to show more and more interest in the influence of external events on human behavior, and even a special sub-field of environmental psychology has been formed, devoted to a deep study of environmental events as stimuli for A. Factors such as crowding, temperature, noise, and other characteristics of the environment have been studied. environment. Will aggressive behavior really be caused by cramped conditions, hot days and nights, high level noise and other similar factors, in all likelihood, in some complex way depends on the physical. the intensity of these environmental characteristics, their personological attributes, the level of emotional excitement they cause, as well as the interaction of these factors, external restrictions, and other considerations.

Maintenance

Aggressive behavior is influenced by the external rewards it brings. Such rewards might. material or social, and may consist in weakening the aversive impact. It is possible that by rewarding the aggressor, b. visible manifestations of the suffering of the victim A.

In keeping up the Aggression great importance have vicarious processes. Supporting Aggression effect of observing the reward of the aggressor, according to Bandura, arises due to: a) inform. monitoring functions; b) its motivational function; c) its disinhibitory action, when the observer sees that others are avoiding punishment for their aggressive behavior.

Theory of social learning assumes that people regulate their behavior based on their own conclusions regarding its consequences. Thus, most people know that aggressive behavior is frowned upon, so they say or think badly about themselves after aggressive manifestations. There are those who believe that aggressive actions prove their masculinity and allow them to be proud of themselves. Such people are usually belligerent, and aggressive actions increase their self-esteem.

Aggression prediction

Prevention of aggressive manifestations would be more effective if we could know exactly who, when and under what circumstances is prone to Aggression. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to achieve high prediction accuracy. Through extensive research data, it has been found that criminal violent behavior is strongly correlated with demographic and related variables such as past criminal behavior, age, gender, (national) origin, socioeconomic status, alcohol and opiate abuse. However, such actuarial probabilities are of limited value in predicting overt Aggression in a particular individual. or a specific group of people.

In his work "Clinical Prediction of Violent Behavior" (The clinical prediction of violent behavior) Monahan gave a critical review of the results of 5 major studies, the purpose of which was to evaluate the usefulness of psychol. tests and interview data for prediction A. The results of these prediction attempts are summarized in Table. 2.

Table 2. Studies on the validity of clinical prediction of violent behavior

Research	Correct positive forecasts, %	False alarm errors, %	Correct negative forecasts, %	Errors of the “missing target” type, %	Number of predicted incidents of violence	Number of predicted cases of non-violence	Duration of follow-up, years
Kozol et al., (1972)	34,7	65,3	92,0
Steadman & Cocozza (1974)	20,0	80,0
Cocozza & Steadman (1976)	14,0	86,0	84,0	16,0
Steadman (1977)	41,3	58,7	68,8	31,2
Thornberry & Jacoby (1979)	14,0	86,0

From Table. 2 shows that A.'s clinical prognosis in adults leads to a discouraging number of errors. In all 5 research. especially a lot of "false alarm" type errors, i.e. when pl. people predicted to have committed aggressive acts did not do so during the follow-up period. Monahan concludes: "The 'best' available on currently clinical research. shows that the accuracy of psychiatrists and psychologists does not exceed one in three predictions of violent behavior over a period of several years.

Aggression control

Relaxation training with ist. roots in the methods of previous years, proposed by Jacobson, are extremely popular in modern times. therapeutic practice, especially as a component of systematic desensitization procedures. Its effectiveness has been empirically confirmed in a wide series of studies. This is an effective means of easing the states of tension and excitement, to-rye are usually considered harbingers of open Aggression.

Self-control training as an approach to controlling anger and A. has several. forms, the main of which is to accustom the client to engage in the procedure, called. different specialists in different ways: rational restructuring, cognitive self-instruction or inoculation against stress. The main idea of the training is to train people. give yourself verbal instructions to help you respond to feelings of anger and arousal more deliberately (reflexively) and less aggressively. This aggression control intervention has been proven to be effective and is becoming increasingly popular.

Communication skills training uses dyad techniques to teach specific patterns of constructive communication behavior. Particular attention is paid to approaches to conflict resolution through negotiations. Negotiation training is provided after clients have mastered general communication skills. Finally, in order to maximize the likelihood that the agreements reached during the negotiations and aimed at resolving the conflict will be respected by the conflicting parties in real life, participants in the conflict are taught to draw up and implement written agreements, called. behavioral contracts. This commonly combined triad of interventions appears to be a particularly promising approach to A.'s control and the resulting reduction in interpersonal conflict.

Situational management, or the use of rewards and non-physical. punishment has the longest research history of the interventions discussed here. Situational management is a highly effective intervention for controlling A., especially in applications that combine rewards to enhance constructive or prosocial behavior.

Psychoter. was not very effective in terms of controlA. Psychotherapeutic applications that are sensitive to patient specifics, such as the exposure of aggressive adolescents to peer group influence, have been found to be more effective in reducing A. Instructional therapies, usually borrowing specific procedures from social theory. learning have been shown to be effective in changing behavior quite consistently.

Interventions at the level of small groups. Psychological training. skills uses a range of psychopedagogical procedures to teach A coping skills. Teaching procedures typically include modeling, behavioral feedback about pract. application of acquired skills. The effectiveness of improving skills with this type of intervention has been widely and reliably confirmed.

Character education - in his modern. version presented by the Character Education Program (character Education Curriculum) , - is implemented in the form of a full cycle of classes devoted to the features of a prosocial character. The program is designed primarily for primary school students.

Values clarification aims to increase the attractiveness of pro-social values without being too dogmatic and relies on rather heterogeneous assumptions and methodologies. The goal is to help students form, clarify and apply their values in life by freely and thoughtfully choosing among various alternatives. Preliminary empirical evidence has been obtained that partly supports the effectiveness of value clarification in reducing destructive attitudes and behaviors and enhancing constructs. active alternatives.

Moral enlightenment, as detailed in Kohlberg's writings, is perhaps the most effective view small group interventions to teach prosocial alternatives A.

Various forms of deviant behavior have general properties, which are a criterion for belonging to a group of deviations. One of these significant features is destructiveness - destructiveness. Destructiveness is closely related to such a basic human characteristic as aggression.

Aggression- it is any form of behavior aimed at insulting or harming another living being who does not want such treatment.

Characteristics of aggression:

1. orientation

To external objects (people or objects)

Or on yourself (body or personality);

2. forms of manifestation :

Explicit - conflict, slander, pressure, coercion

Latent - avoiding contacts, inaction in order to harm someone);

3. intensity.

Manifestations of aggression in people are endless and diverse, Bass described aggressive actions.

According to Bass, aggressive actions can be described on the basis of three scales:

1. physical - verbal;

2. active - passive;

3. direct - indirect.

Their combination gives eight possible categories under which most aggressive actions fall.

No. p / p	Type of aggression	Examples
1.	Physical - active - direct	Striking another person with a cold weapon, beating or injuring with a firearm
2.	Physical - active - indirect	Laying booby traps, collusion with a hired killer
3.	Physical - passive - direct	The desire to physically prevent another person from achieving a desired goal or engaging in a desired activity (eg, sit-down display)
4.	Physical - passive - indirect	Refusing to perform necessary tasks (for example, refusing to vacate the area during a sit-in)
5.	Verbal - active - direct	Verbal abuse or humiliation of another person
6.		Spreading malicious slander or gossip about another person
7.	Verbal - passive - direct	Refusal to talk to the other person, answer their questions, etc.
8.	Verbal - active - indirect	Refusal to give certain verbal explanations or explanations (for example, to speak up in defense of a person who is being unfairly criticized)

Basic theories of aggression

There is no doubt that people often commit dangerous aggressive actions. Nevertheless, the question of why they do this has long been the subject of serious debate. There are many theoretical directions in their own way considered the essence and causes of aggression.

Most of them fall under one of four categories:

I. aggression as instinctive behavior (innate urges or inclinations);

II. aggression as a manifestation of motivation (need activated by external stimuli);

III. aggression as a result of cognitive and emotional activity (refers to cognitive and emotional processes);

IV. aggression as an acquired social behavior (associated with actual social conditions in combination with previous learning).

I. Aggression as instinctive behavior(evolutionary approach)

Psychoanalytic approach.

In his early works, Z. Freud argued that all human behavior stems, directly or indirectly, from eros (libido), life instinct . The energy of eros is directed to consolidation, preservation and reproduction of life. In this context, aggression was seen as reaction to blockage or destruction of libidinal impulses.

Freud later proposed the existence of a second basic instinct , thanatosa - attraction to death. Thanatos energy is directed to destruction and cessation of life.

He argued that all human behavior is the result of a complex interplay of these two instincts and that there is a constant tension between them. In view of the fact that there is a sharp conflict between the preservation of life (eros) and its destruction (thanatos), other mechanisms (for example, displacement) serve to direct the energy of thanatos outward, away from the "I".

In this way, thanatos indirectly contributes to the fact that aggression is brought out and directed to others.

In Freud's psychoanalytic theory aggression, directed at others is explained as the result of a constant conflict between self-destruction and self-preservation.

Ethological approach

It is similar to the theory of Z. Freud. According to the author of this approach, Lorenz, aggression originates primarily from the innate instinct of the struggle for survival, which is also present in people. Aggressive Energy (having as its source the instinct of struggle), according to Lorenz, generated in the body spontaneously, continuously, at a constant rate, accumulates over time. The greater the amount of aggressive energy available at the moment, the less force the stimulus is needed in order for aggression to "splash out" outward.

Sociobiological approach

The main argument of sociobiologists is this: the influence of genes is so long-lasting because they provide adaptive behavior. Genes are “tailored” to the extent that they contribute to successful reproduction, thereby ensuring their survival in future generations.

According to sociobiologists, individuals are more likely to promote those with similar genes through altruism and self-sacrifice, and will be aggressive toward those who are different or unrelated, i.e., those who have least likely to have similar genes.

Sociologists convince us that aggression – it is the means by which individuals try to get their share of resources, which in turn ensures success (mainly at the genetic level) in natural selection.

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Russian State Social University

"Aggression and aggressiveness as an instinct"

Completed by: 2nd year student of the faculty

"Economics" Ulitina A.A.

Checked: Candidate biological sciences assistant professor

Antonova S.I.

Introduction

1. Aggressiveness

1.1 Aggressive behavior

1.2 Criminal aggression

2. Heredity

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Aggression is a one-sided, fueled negative emotions reflection of reality, leading to a distorted, biased, incorrect understanding of reality, to inadequate behavior.

From the point of view of psychology, it is generally accepted that aggressive people usually compensate for the lack of self-confidence with their behavior. Usually rough. However, such facts have always been known that do not fit into this scheme. Thus, according to statistics, over 96% of crimes involving the use of force are committed by men, although they are hardly less self-confident than women.

Scientists believe that the relationship between conscious self-confidence and aggressiveness is rooted in the evolution of heredity. For example, in the animal kingdom, those representatives of the fauna who force their brethren into submission win a higher status.

In the history of foreign psychology, there are various approaches to understanding and explaining the essence and causes of aggressive human behavior. Despite the differences, there is a desire to develop a unified theoretical and methodological basis for the study of human aggression, to integrate various concepts for the development of new, promising technologies for studying this phenomenon.

Start learning psychological mechanisms aggressiveness is associated with the name of Sigmund Freud, who singled out two fundamental instincts - life (the creative principle in a person, manifested in sexual desire, Eros) and death (the destructive principle, with which aggressiveness is associated, Thanatos). These instincts are innate, eternal and unchanging. Therefore, aggressiveness is an inherent property of human nature.

1. Aggressiveness

aggression emotion inadequate

1.1 Aggressive behavior

Aggressive behavior is one of the forms of human activity. Aggression is usually understood as destructive interpersonal interaction.

In his writings, K. Lorenz wrote that "for the layman, the concept of aggression is associated with a wide variety of phenomena everyday life, starting from a fight between roosters and dogs, boyish fights, etc. and ending in war and atomic bomb". In the theory of K. Lorenz, human aggression is likened to animal aggression and this is explained purely biologically - as a means of surviving in the fight against other creatures, as a means of protecting and asserting oneself, one's life through destruction or victory over an opponent.

1) attack and seizure, accompanied by acts of violence;

2) illegal use of force from the point of view of law, morality and ethics.

However, there is another essence of aggressiveness - dialectical and fundamental. It should be noted that this does not negate the negativity in the content of the first two semantic interpretations of aggressiveness. It's just that these different essences of aggressiveness should be interpreted at different system levels, and therefore will have different meanings.

The category of "aggressiveness" in its dialectical content should be considered in its connection with the processes of human historical evolution and with the concepts of social anthropology. Sigmund Freud once identified two basic human instincts - thanatos and eros. The first is the death instinct, the second is the life instinct. The first instinct, thanatos, is associated with the self-preservation of life. It deals dialectically with death as an eternal threat to life. The second instinct - eros, is associated with vital activity.

The manifestation of aggression is often identified with the manifestation of the “death instinct”. Konrad Lorenz believes that this is the same instinct as all other instincts, and in natural conditions, just like them, it serves to preserve life and species.

However, in a person who has changed the conditions of his life too quickly by his own work, the aggressive instinct often leads to disastrous consequences. Similarly, although not so dramatic, is the case with other instincts.

Uniform distribution in space of animals of the same species is the most important function of intraspecific aggression. For a person, this instinct was embodied in the desire for an even distribution of resources, however, in practice, we do not see any uniformity either at the level of countries (globalism) or at the level of personal capital (rich and poor). This is the first reason for the aggression instinct to go beyond the equilibrium state.

Social divergence (intraspecies) can lead to the emergence of ethnic and behavioral stereotypes that are not only completely useless in terms of adapting to the surrounding reality, but also directly harmful to the preservation of humanity itself. As a result, development may reach a social impasse. This always happens when the selection is directed by only one competition of relatives, without connection with the extraspecific environment. As soon as people have advanced so much that, being armed, clothed and socially organized, they could to some extent limit external dangers - hunger, cold, wild animals, so that these dangers have lost their role as essential selection traits - as soon as was to enter intraspecific selection. From now on, the driving factor in the selection was the war waged with each other by warring neighboring tribes. And the war was to develop all the so-called "military prowess" to the extreme.

Another role of aggression is the emergence of a hierarchy of relationships ranging from the community of social animals to modern human society to streamline living together. It simply consists in the fact that everyone knows who is stronger than himself and who is weaker. The wide distribution of the hierarchy convincingly testifies to its important species-preserving function - the avoidance of struggle between members of the community.

Most experts insist that only behavior that includes the intentional infliction of harm to living beings can be considered aggression.

The main danger of the instinct of aggression lies in its spontaneity. This is not just a reaction to certain external conditions that can be studied and excluded, it is the inner essence of a living purposeful personality.

Destructiveness can be characterized both by the external, objective side of activity, and by its internal, intrapsychic components. In this case, various combinations and combinations are possible, which determine the uniqueness of specific aggressive acts.

There are different theoretical directions in the study of aggression, representatives of which interpret its essence and origins in their own way. Thus, followers of the theory of instinct consider aggressive behavior as innate. Freud, the most famous of the adherents of this rather widespread theory, believed that aggression originates in the innate death instinct directed at its own carrier, i.e. believed that, in its essence, aggression is the same instinct, only projected outward and directed at external objects. According to evolutionary theorists, the source of aggressive behavior is another innate instinct - the instinct to fight, inherent in all animals, including humans.

Adherents of the motivation theory consider the source of aggression caused by external reasons, the urge to harm others. Among the theories of this trend, the most authoritative is the frustration-aggression theory proposed several decades ago by Dollard and his colleagues. According to this theory, an individual who has experienced frustration has an impulse to aggression. The aggressive urge may meet some external obstacle or be suppressed by the fear of punishment. However, even in these cases, the impulse remains and can lead to aggressive actions, although then they will be directed not at the one who caused the frustration, but at other objects in relation to which aggressive actions can be performed without hindrance and with impunity. This general position on displaced aggression was expanded and revised by Miller, who proposed a systematic model to explain the emergence of this phenomenon. At the heart of cognitive models of aggression are emotional and behavioral processes. In accordance with the theories of this direction, the determining influence on the feelings and behavior of the individual has the nature of understanding or interpreting someone's actions as threatening or provocative. At the same time, the degree of emotional arousal or negative affectation experienced by an individual, in turn, affects the cognitive processes involved in determining the degree of danger threatening him.

According to the theories of social learning, in order to understand the sources and essence of aggression, it is necessary to know, firstly, the way in which the aggressive model of behavior was learned; secondly, the factors provoking its manifestation; thirdly, the conditions conducive to the consolidation of this behavior model. Aggressive reactions are acquired and maintained through direct participation in situations of manifestation of aggression and as a result of passive observation of these manifestations.

1.2 Criminal aggression

A special aspect of aggressive behavior is criminal aggression, which underlies a violent criminal attack on a person. A number of studies in the field of legal psychology are devoted to its analysis. The methodological foundations of criminal aggression were developed by A.R. Ratinov, who considers aggressiveness as a property of a person, a person as a member of society, and makes a distinction between aggressiveness and aggression. Aggression, in his opinion, is associated with the structure of the motivational sphere and the specifics of the value system of the individual. This is a personal position, which consists in the presence of destructive tendencies in the field of interpersonal relations, in the readiness and preference for the use of violent means to achieve one's goals. Aggression is understood as a manifestation of aggressiveness in destructive actions, the purpose of which is to harm one or another person.

In itself, aggressiveness as a personality trait, according to A.R. Ratinov, is not yet an indicator of the social danger of the subject. This is explained by the fact that the connection between aggressiveness and aggression is not fatal, rigidly determined. It is also important that aggression can take not only illegal, but also socially acceptable and approved forms. Its orientation is determined only by the social context, the motivational sphere of the individual, the values for the achievement of which its activities are carried out. At the same time, actions can play a different role: they can serve as a means of achieving a certain goal, a way of psychological relaxation, replacing a blocked need, and finally, an end in itself that satisfies the need for self-realization and self-affirmation. In the latter case, aggression is an independent value and aggressiveness is included in the ideological core of the personality, in its self-concept.

The attention of researchers was attracted by the study of the early genesis of aggressiveness, factors contributing to its formation in childhood and adolescence. Yes, the analysis was life path, biographical data of persons who have committed particularly cruel crimes.

The results of a study of the nature and conditions of family education, in which they acquired the primary experience of aggressive interaction, factors of family ill-being that contributed to the formation of cruelty and aggressiveness, the moral and emotional situation in families indicate that adolescents, observing violence, experiencing it for themselves, learn these patterns of behavior acquire a conviction of their effectiveness, at first on a purely verbal level. Personal, practical mastering of models of aggressive behavior, fixing it in habits, skills and stereotypes occurs mainly in informal communication. The skills of aggressive response are mastered and consolidated in the personal experience of retaliatory violence, and the technical methods of aggressive interaction are also practiced. At the same time, the most common motives for aggression are self-affirmation, anxiety for one's own future, and group solidarity.

At the same time, the opinion is expressed that the mere facts of observing violent forms of behavior and experiencing violence on oneself are not enough for the early formation of aggressiveness, a necessary condition for this is the instability of the motivational-value structure of the personality.

Based on the study of the correlation and role of personal and situational factors in the determination of aggressive-violent crimes, carried out taking into account the structural and procedural structure of activity, its motives and goals, L.P. Konysheva singled out different types aggression - expressive, pseudo-moral, "infantilely conditioned", and showed that they differ in structure, dynamics, semantic content, depending on the motivating motives.

The expressive type of aggression is provoked by the behavior of the victim. It is typical for persons with instability of the motivational-value structure. Criminal actions in this type of aggression were carried out without taking into account the requirements of the situation and were of an impulsive nature. The author calls pseudo-moral the type of aggression, which is systematic, indirect. It is typical for individuals who are distinguished by a narrowed semantic sphere, rigidity, stiffness of the system of motives, and a desire for dominance. Their conflict with the victim, as a rule, was of a protracted nature and was due to a conflict of values.

An infantile conditioned type of aggression is characterized by an active role, the initiative of the perpetrator in the conflict. His actions were situational, not pre-planned. Such criminal acts were committed either by subjects with insufficient personality maturity, a weakly hierarchized motivational sphere, or by people prone to anti-social ways of self-affirmation, in situations that threaten their status, such cases can be called "demonstrative aggression".

Aggression committed on its own initiative, without provocation from the victim, thought out, pre-planned, according to the observations of L.P. Konysheva, were committed by three different categories of persons. The former acted out of cruel motives (according to the author's designation - "a sadistic form of aggression"); the second committed acts of aggression based on "sociopathic youth self-actualization", and the third - based on "group self-affirmation". All these persons had a deformation of the system of value orientations.

There are also different motives for criminal aggressive behavior. Impulsive motives, as their name implies, arise situationally in a difficult environment for the subject under the influence of strong emotional experiences. At the same time, the mediation of behavior is violated, it is determined mainly by external circumstances without prior planning, awareness, choice of goals and methods of action, without taking into account existing norms and possible consequences of the deed. With instrumental motives, aggression acts as a means to achieve significant goals, a way to suppress the resistance of the victim, forcing her to certain actions. Hostile motives realize aggression as a value in itself, and aggressive behavior is often accompanied by mockery, humiliation of the victim without any utilitarian goals. This is self-incited aggression, which does not depend on the situation and does not require an external reason for its deployment. The last of these aggressive motives is the motive of group solidarity. The type of aggression induced by it is aimed at obtaining approval from the reference group in order to gain the desired status in it, sometimes it is also realized under the influence of the group pressure factor.

Conflict situations during criminal aggression can be objective, due to mutual claims for the possession of any material benefits, and objectless, caused by the incompatibility of the activities carried out. One of the varieties of objectless conflicts are provocative conflicts. Their specificity lies in the fact that the subject, initially striving for the realization of aggression, creates a situation that provokes negative reactions in the potential victim in order to morally justify his own, supposedly retaliatory, violent actions.

Based on the study of various modalities of aggressiveness, four of its subtypes have been described:

1) undifferentiated aggressiveness;

2) local aggressiveness;

3) hostile aggressiveness;

4) brutal aggressiveness

In general, among the causes of aggression, three main groups can be distinguished: biological, psychological and social. But there are also theories of multifactorial conditionality of aggression. According to one of them, a person's aggressive behavior is associated with temperament and the learning of aggression. At the same time, the constancy of aggressive behavior depends on the perception of the situation: if the subject receives signals that are “threshold” in relation to a typical situation, and interprets them specifically, then with weak mechanisms of behavior control and fixed skills for reacting with aggression to stress, a new situation causes aggressive behavior. Such persons have weak anti-stress protection, impulsiveness, low self-control, increased readiness for fear, muscular type of development.

2. Heredity

The ethological approach proceeds from the biological interpretation of aggression as a special innate instinct and, in fact, is a modernized form of social Darwinism. That is why it should be considered as historically the first attempt in the ideological plan to explain the nature of aggression - through a direct appeal to the biological nature of man. This approach is based on the well-known postulate of the teachings of Ch. Darwin, which says: it is possible to change a person in relation to his biological heredity and innate inclinations only to the extent that it is realistic as a result of natural selection and special exercises.

The main representatives of the ethological approach were K. Lorenz, T. Thompson, R. Ardrey, J.P. Scott. They developed the idea human innate instinctive aggressiveness and argued that evolution has not developed in people the ability and need to curb their instincts. R. Ardrey directly wrote that a person is "genetically programmed to commit violent acts", and that he is "powerless against the instincts of his own nature", which "inevitably lead him to social conflicts".

Following the erroneous proposition formulated by Thorpe that "it is unlikely that one can find at least one aspect in the behavior of animals that would not be related to the problem of human behavior," ethologists consider the aggressive behavior of people as a spontaneous innate reaction. This point of view is reflected in the works of K. Lorenz.

K. Lorenz wrote that intraspecific aggression in humans is exactly the same spontaneous instinctive desire as in other higher vertebrates. In his opinion, in the human organism, as well as in the animal, a kind of energy of aggressive inclination is accumulated, and the accumulation occurs until it is discharged as a result of the corresponding starting stimulus. As an example, K. Lorenz points to a teenager who, at the first meeting with a peer, immediately begins to fight with him, acting in the same way as monkeys, rats and lizards do in a similar case. K. Lorentz writes that aggression is "a true instinct - primary, aimed at preserving the species."

Within the framework of the ethological approach, aggression is considered as an expedient instinct, developed and fixed in the process of evolution. K. Lorenz argued that there is a connection between the “natural history of aggression”, which describes the attraction to fight in an animal, the attraction directed against its relatives, and “aggressions in the history of mankind. Aggression, according to K. Lorenz, is an instinct not of death (as, for example, Z. Freud), but the preservation of life and species, and therefore, the same instinct as everyone else.

In ethology, several functions of intraspecific aggression are distinguished. These include: the function of territoriality, the function of sexual selection, the parental function, the function of the hierarchy, the function of partnership, etc.

A person has inherited from his "smaller brothers" instinctive mechanisms for turning on, implementing and completing aggressive behavior (provided by certain brain structures), as well as its subjectively positive emotional component (inspiration, similar to the instinctive triumphal cry of gray geese), capable of becoming an autonomous motive for aggression.

The instinctive nature of human aggression was also defended in the psychoanalytic model of Z. Freud. Freud singled out two fundamental instincts - the instinct of life (the creative principle in man, Eros) and the instinct of death (Thanatos - the destructive principle, with which aggressiveness is associated). The death drive, according to Freud, encourages self-destruction, and aggression is the mechanism by which this drive is switched: destruction is directed to other objects, primarily to other people. Mac Daugol recognized the "instinct of pugnacity" inherent in man by nature as the causes of aggression. Murray also introduced the need for aggression into the number of primary human needs, prompting him to look for cases to attack in order to cause harm. A. Maslow in his monograph "Motivation and Personality" analyzed the problem of whether destructiveness is instinctoid. By instinctoid, Maslow understands personality traits that are not reducible to instincts, but have some natural basis. Maslow concluded that aggressiveness is not an instinct, but instinctoid, i.e. like an instinct.

Conclusion

Studies of the nature of instincts have shown quite clearly that aggression directed against fellow species, generally speaking, is in no way harmful to this species, but, on the contrary, is necessary for its preservation. However, this should not deceive you with optimism about state of the art humanity, quite the opposite.

In the process of evolution of mankind as a species, especially in the social sense, there were radical changes in the communication plan, which directly influenced the manifestation of the mechanism of aggression. When the external and real competitors of a person disappeared, mechanisms for shifting the vector of aggression arose. The essence of the violation of the balance homeostatic balance of aggressiveness is in the destruction of the traditional (ritual) arrangement of society. The pinnacle of this ethnic foundation, which determines social stability, has every reason to shake and fall due to the violation of the foundation - the traditional communication infrastructure of society.

Due to the fact that still distant times man lost the main factor of harmonization of the instinct of aggressiveness - external enemies and other fundamental threats to the mind disappeared - man acquired wars, weapons as a “reward” mass destruction and many other "sores" that remain real problems to this day.

Aggression is not a symptom of modern cultural decline, pathological in nature. Knowing that aggression is a genuine instinct - primary, aimed at the preservation and development of the species - allows you to understand how dangerous it is. The main danger of the instinct of aggression lies in its spontaneity. If it were only a reaction to certain sociologists and psychologists, then the position of mankind would not be as dangerous as it really is. Then it would be possible to thoroughly study and eliminate the factors that give rise to this reaction.

And, finally, understanding the structure of interpersonal communications definitely shows the role and great importance of the quality of the means (modalities of communication) through which the communications themselves take place (speech and intonations, facial expressions and gestures, visual range, tactile sensations and smells). We see how easy it is to destroy communication, and how great the role of rituals and traditional communications is.

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