From the dawning of man, violence has always been one of the defining characteristics of humankind. Throughout all of history we see evidence of man's.

From the dawning of man, violence has always been one of the defining characteristics of humankind.

Throughout all of history we see evidence of man's tendencies toward acting violently in response to his emotions- everything from anger, fear, to just plain enjoyment.

Violence: An aggressive act in which the perpetrator abuses individuals indirectly or directly

Examples of violence: Murder, bullying, war, genocide, domestic violence, suicide

Twin studies suggest that genes influence human aggression.

Animals have been bred for aggressiveness.

Researchers are looking into specific gene traits or genetic markers with people who commit violent crimes.

Testosterone- Drugs that lower testosterone subdue aggressive behavior.

High testosterone correlates with irritability, low tolerance for frustration, assertiveness, and impulsiveness.

James Dabbs, professor at Georgia State did a study on testosterone in female inmates at a correctional institution.

The study measured testosterone in 87 female inmates at a maximum security prison. Their criminal behavior was scored from court records, and their prison behavior was assessed from prison records and staff interviews.

Testosterone was found related both to the violence of the women's crimes and to the aggressive dominance of their behavior in prison.

This finding was further supported by assessing how an inmate's age corresponded to her behavior and testosterone levels.

The findings, by Dabbs, are similar to those in studies of male prisoners.

This indicates testosterone's effects on behavior are the same in women as in men, says Dabbs.

Testosterone levels were highest among male inmates convicted of violent crimes such as rape, homicide and assault. These men also violated more prison rules.

THE ROLE OF TESTOSTERONETHE ROLE OF TESTOSTERONE

Testosterone Their development came about over time, as

science progressed. The earliest experimentation with steroids is

credited to John Hunter, a man who in the 1700s put the testosterone hormone from a rooster into a hen, and observed the hen to develop male, rooster characteristics.

Hormone linked to masculine body development and behavior in a wide range of species

Hens given testosterone act like roosters, and rise in dominance hierarchy

New research on the origins of antisocial behavior, published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, suggests that early-onset antisocial behavior in children with psychopathic tendencies is largely inherited.

Dr Viding's research looked into the factors that contribute to antisocial behavior in children with and without psychopathic tendencies.

By studying sets of 7-year-old twins, Dr. Viding and her colleagues were able to pinpoint to what extent antisocial behavior in these two groups was caused by genetic and/or environmental risk factors.

A sample of 3687 twin pairs formed the starting point for this research. Teacher ratings for antisocial behavior and psychopathic tendencies (i.e. lack of empathy and remorse) were used to classify the twins. Those who were in the top 10% of the sample for antisocial behavior were separated into two groups - those with and without psychopathic tendencies.

Following analysis, the results showed that, in children with psychopathic tendencies, antisocial behavior was strongly inherited.

In contrast, the antisocial behavior of children who did not have psychopathic tendencies was mainly influenced by environmental factors.

These findings are in line with previous research showing that children with psychopathic tendencies are at risk to continue their antisocial behavior and are often resistant to traditional forms of intervention.

Cultural norms Social learning theory Agency theory

Some cultures have norms of violence, e.g. the culture of honor in the Southern United States

Culture of honor: A cultural norm where people need to maintain their reputation by not accepting improper conduct by others, such as insults. These cultures encourage retribution and toughness.

Cohen and Nisbett (1995): College students from the southern and northern part of the United States were insulted by a confederate. Students who had grown up in the southern United States were more upset (had a higher rise in cortisol levels) and were more likely to engage in aggressive and dominant behavior.

SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECTSSOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECTS Homicide rates for White southern males

are substantially higher than for White northern males (especially in rural areas) However, they do not endorse

violence in general, only as a tool for protection of property and in response to insults: “Culture of honor” based upon history as herding society

Nisbett research on southerners reaction to being bumped and cursed at More upset, primed for aggression

(testosterone increase), more likely to engage in aggression after the incident.

CULTURAL NORMS- VIOLENCE

What is the norm of violence in domestic situations?

-What would you do?

People can learn antisocial/violent behavior through observational learning. (e.g. Bandura et al., 1961)

PRO Eron (1986): Found a positive correlation between number

of hours of violence watched on television at the age of 8 and the level of aggression they demonstrated as teenagers, as well as the number of criminal acts as adults.

CON Charlton et al. (1999): The introduction of television in St

Helena in 1995 did not increase the observed aggression in primary school children.

Plagens, et al. (1991) Typical American child sees 200,000

acts of violence on TV by age 18 Children who watch a lot of violent TV

are more violent towards peers Experimental studies, in which

violence is controlled, also find effects of watching violence

By the end of elementary school, a typical American child will have seen: 8,000 murders More than 100,000 other acts of violence

2003 study (Parents Television Council) found 534 separate episodes of prime-time violence during a 2 week period

The most violent TV shows are targeted to children (e.g., cartoons)

Several studies have shown significant results indicating that playing violent video games is associated with a history of property destruction and hitting other students… Anderson & Dill (2000)

College students randomly assigned to play a violent video game (Wulfenstein) later had more aggressive thoughts and feelings than those who played a nonviolent game (Tetrix)

Video games have been studied for links to addiction and violent behavior. Some studies have found that video games do not contribute to these problems, while others claim to have established a link.

Recently, several groups have argued that there are few if any scientifically proven studies to back up such claims, and that the video game industry has become a scapegoat for the media to blame for various social ills.

Furthermore, numerous researchers have proposed potential positive effects of video games on aspects of social and cognitive development and psychological well-being.

Milgram (1974) proposed that our tendency to obey people in authority is a way of maintaining a stable society. in order to live in complex societies we need social rules. sticking to these rules means that at least some of the time we have to give up some of our free will.

Milgram proposed that in order to accomplish this we have developed two social states:

-In the Autonomous state we are free to act as we wish.

-However in our Agentic state we surrender our free will and conscience in order to serve the interests of the wider group.

Milgram argues that people may enter an “agentic state” where they choose not to take responsibility of their actions and become the tool of an authority. This agentic state may lead to violent behavior. This is a situational approach

Examples: Milgram (1963), My Lai massacre

In November 1969, journalists learned of a massacre where U.S. soldiers had killed hundreds of unarmed civilians.

The massacre was covered up. There was no battle. U.S.

troops went in looking for Vietcong.

The soldiers had recently suffered many attacks by booby traps, snipers, and land mines.

When they entered the village the found only women, children, and the elderly.

The Lucifer Effect

Philip Zimbardo- The Lucifer Effect

“When Good People do Bad Things”

This transformation of human character is what I call the "Lucifer Effect," named after God's favorite angel, Lucifer, who fell from grace and ultimately became Satan. ~ Philip Zimbardo

Zimbardo was asked to look into the happenings at Abu Ghraib prison and make a comparison to his Stanford Prison Experiment.

Bullying: When a person is exposed repeatedly over time to negative actions on the part of one or more people

Cyber bullying: The use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others

Happy slapping: Using physical violence against a person while a third person videotapes the event.

15,000 students were surveyed between the ages of 12 and 17.

17% said they had been bullied. 19% reported they had bullied others 6% said they were bullied and were

bullying. 50% of girls said they were bullied by

boys.

This modern twist on bullying includes use of mobile phones, texting, websites, and social media.

The perception of anonymity has emboldened the belief that they cannot be identified and can therefore remove social norms.

The cyber-bully can behave in ways they would never behave in person.

Olweus, 1992 found a correlation between frequent victimization in middle school and low self-esteem and depression by the age of 25.

SHORT TERM LONG TERMAnger Lingering feelings of anger

Depression Difficulty trusting people

Higher rate of illness Fear/avoidance of social situations

Lower grades Increased tendancy to be a loner

Suicidal thoughts Low self-esteem

Teaching social skills

Anti bullying programs

Feschbach (1982): Trained junior school children to imagine how they would feel in other children’s circumstances, to recognize the feelings of others, and to share their emotions. Children who engaged in empathy training were less aggressive in everyday playground activities

Aronson (1979): The use of cooperative learning/jigsaw classroom; a technique that works on the idea that everyone works together to a common goal and that everyone has something to contribute to the learning process; lowers the rate of bullying in schools and increases positive interaction between outgroups.

Vreeman (2006): Classroom discussions, role-playing or detention are ineffective. Whole school interventions that involve teachers, administrators and social workers committed to change, are the most effective, especially throughout high school.

Olweus (1972): Developed a whole-school programme for schools in Norway. This programme uses cooperative learning, teachers are trained to recognize and deal with bullying, lunchrooms and playgrounds are supervised, and counsellors conduct therapy with bullies and their parents. The programme has reduced bullying by 50 %.

Very curious about the brain mechanisms that control aggression and that may change because of exposure to threat and stress,

Delville began to examine the effects of social stress and aggression on a rather late developmental period: adolescence.

Because of their solitary and territorial predisposition, Delville selected golden hamsters as the animal model with which he would experiment.

In a series of experiments, weaned, male pubescent golden hamsters were placed for an hour a day, for two weeks, into an adult hamster’s cage.

The older hamsters’ territorial and antisocial tendencies compelled them to respond with aggression and hostility to the adolescent males, nipping and chasing them.

Although the adult hamsters’ behavior was antagonistic and disturbing to the young hamsters, it was not violent or lethal.

A second control group of adolescent male hamsters were simply placed in an empty, unfamiliar cage for one hour a day. Both environments elicited stress reactions in the young hamsters, but the long-term effects of the two different kinds of stress were surprisingly dissimilar.

Cortisol, a stress hormone secreted by the adrenal glands in hamsters and humans, was found to be high in both groups of adolescents during the first day of the experiment.

However, the cortisol levels remained elevated for the entire two weeks only in the chased and threatened hamsters. The bullying was a stressor to which they could not seem to adapt.

“The concern with humans is that children who are bathing their brains in cortisol may be at risk for abnormal brain development and irreversible changes to the brain,” said Dr. George Holden, associate chair of The University of Texas at Austin Department of Psychology.

Before they are repeatedly exposed to threat and stress, adolescent hamsters engage in benign play behavior.

Closely observing the young males that had been threatened by hostile adults during the experiment, Delville and graduate students Joel Wommack and Kereshmeh Taravosh-Lahn saw that the traumatized adolescents exhibited exaggerated attack behavior toward smaller males, while being fearful and subordinate with hamsters of equal size or larger. The kitten-like play behavior of their youth had disappeared.

The bullied hamsters had turned into classic bullies themselves. Both their behavior and their brain chemistry revealed a distinct transformation.

“What was found was that the stressors in the environment accelerate the onset of adult-like behavior and the termination of childhood play-fighting,” Delville said. “The exposure to stress and threat make the adolescents attack earlier and act more like adults.”