Aggression in Men and Women

Paper Summary:

There are differences between aggression in men and women, which may have a biological basis, but are also tempered by psychological parameters and socialization issues. The paper shows that in animals, aggression is usually studied in terms of behavior alone, but in humans aggression encompasses the intention to harm another person, some form of behavior carried out as a result of this intention, and an emotion which can be anything from mere irritation to outright rage. While there are no clear statistics available, males usually tend to be more aggressive than females in terms of physical and verbal aggression. The paper shows that a still unanswered question is how much of this difference is biological and how much is psychological. Differences are not only found between genders, but also with age and education (aggression decreasing with increasing age and education level), and between different ethnic groups.

From the Paper:

"While biological theories propose that there is a chemical basis for the differences in aggressiveness between males and females, psychological theories propose that aggressiveness is a learned response rather than an innate one. Although genetic makeup may give someone a propensity for aggressive tendencies, these tendencies can be positively or negatively affected by socialization and environmental influences (Colt and Kuehn, 1998). It has been shown by many studies that females exhibit less physical aggression than males from infancy onward (Fishbein, 1992). They are less inclined to explore and engage in less rough and tumble play than boys do. Females are raised differently than males, and this is in part responsible for suppressing aggressive tendencies in females."

More papers on Aggression in Men and Women:

• Analytical Essay # 132862 : "Differences in Male and Female Brains"
• Essay # 28223 : "Men and Psychology"
• Essay # 53976 : "Aggression in Males"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: