Download free aggression and violence: a social psychological perspective

These findings build on existing research on the cycle of violence by identifying a specific pattern of atypical social cognitive processes influenced by childhood experiences of interpersonal violence. Findings not only enhance knowledge of how adverse environments alter development in ways that might increase risk for aggression, but also indicate possible targets for preventive interventions aimed at reducing aggressive behavior in adolescents who are victims of violence.

Adolescent aggression : a study of the influence of child training practices and family interrelationships Author : Albert Bandura,Richard H. Hence, theory, especially, explanatory theory has a central role in science. Therefore, scientific knowledge production involves collecting empirical data about phenomena of interest, building theories to explain the data we have collected, and testing those theories against new data.

This is the scientific method of accumulating knowledge about our world. Theory and empirical data therefore play central roles in scientific research. From the foregoing, scientific inquiries verify test or generate build theory. Theory-testing or theory verification research tests the scientific propositions of a particular theory ies Punch, Traditionally, positivist quantitative research is usually theory-testing research with clearly defined theory ies prespecified before the empirical work of data collection.

Theory verification research is useful in areas or fields where there are many unverified theories. As Punch points out, while both quantitative and qualitative approaches can be used for both verification and generation, however, theory generation research is more likely to use the unstructured fieldwork techniques of qualitative approach.

Theory generation on the other hand is more suitable in areas or fields with scanty theories. Both tradition positivism in the Social Sciences and convention prevalence of quantitative over qualitative research, rooted in the positivist tradition favor the former over the latter.

Hence theory verification researches are disproportionately prevalent over theory generation researches in the Social Sciences. To this end there have been repeated calls to build more theories to understand and explain contemporary social issues Punch, The situation is the same in PCR.

Though as a multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary field, many theories in other fields are useful in explaining the core field definition and distinctive issues of PCS. This might have been somehow contingent on the relatively young status of the field.

However, this does not augur well for the field given the realities of its phenomena of interest—the ever-so-dynamic contemporary conflicts, the challenges of nonviolent conflict transformation and of building sustainable peace.

Therefore, in spite of the relatively young status of the field, the complexity and dynamism of its phenomena of interest require new theories to understand, explain, and predict the realities of these phenomena. There is therefore the need for concerted effort to build theories to understand, explain, and predict contemporary peace and conflict issues.

And more so on contemporary African conflicts. In other instances it may mean building the capacity of peace and conflict researchers through methodology trainings.

This may include boot camps on peace and conflict research methodology. And yet in some other instances the deliberate steps may include changing the attitudes of peace and conflict researchers. This involves reducing hostility to, embracing and building our capacities in the qualitative methodology as the more friendly approach to theory building. Moreover, there may be need for conscientious effort to encourage theory building among African peace and conflict scholars.

It links the philosophical foundations with empirical data, thus completing and validating an investigation as a scientific endeavor. Theoretical assumptions, concepts, and scientific propositions are the elements of theories. There are different levels of theories—hypothesis, theory of middle range and theoretical orientations, based on the stage of formation and applicability.

As a multi- and transdisciplinary field, Peace and Conflict Studies enjoys the utility of theories from other fields in the social sciences. However the complex and dynamic nature of its phenomena of interest and their implications for human existence demands generation of new theories to understand, explain, and predict the contemporary challenges of nonviolent conflict transformation, human security and building sustainable peace.

There is need for conscientious effort to reverse the theory generation versus theory testing research tension in favour of the former. This may necessitate some changes in the Peace and Conflict Studies curriculum, capacity building, and change of attitude to encourage the teaching and adoption of appropriate methodology for theory building.

Ontology and Epistemology of Peace and Conflict Studies. Ibadan: Institute of African Studies. Alemika, E. Epistemological Foundations of the Scientific Method. Erinosho, I. Maduekwe Eds. Asika, N. Research Methodology in the Behavioural Sciences. Ikeja: Longman Nigeria Plc. Bangura, A. McCandless, A.

Bangura, M. Sall Eds. Bryman, A. Social Research Methods. Cunningham, W. Theoretical Framework for Conflict Resolution. Auckland, North Island, New Zealand. Dane, F. But folklore Lynn, and official histories feature a series of violent conflicts and the exploits of violent heroes. The U. Cavalry, G. Carrie Nation is remembered because she was violent, and most Americans feel some personal pride in winning two world wars.

The American fascination with violence is not only focused on violent heroes, however. Victims of violence, displayed in newspapers and on television news, bring to life another part of the discourse: fear. Fear of an enemy helps to justify more violence. An armed citizenry stands ready to attack, but cannot agree on the identity of the enemy.

In contemporary society the young are still being trained to be killers; video games have enabled the child in the s to develop perceptual skills and eye-hand coordination in preparation for space wars as well as street warfare.

But these young people are also growing up in a world where cooperative efforts are increasingly valued and violence is increasingly punished.

As the number of arrests for violence is increasing, the number of individuals imprisoned for violence also increases. But the ideal remains the same; toughness is valued, and the young know what really matters. The societal response—meeting violence with violence—does nothing to alter the theme. Economic and racial segregation. A constructionist theory of such marginalization calls attention to differing views of opportunity and success. Among those who see themselves excluded from well-paying employment, success through nonviolent means seems to be based on luck.

Stories told in the economically deprived underclass are more likely to describe the folk hero who "got over" on the wealthy than the person who succeeded through hard work, study, and consistency. On the other hand, violent means to success are portrayed as highly effective and have the additional advantage that violent acts bring social recognition.

This violence-supporting discourse is promoted by the fact that members of marginalized groups are unlikely to be exposed to mainstream society where success and opportunity are described in other terms. Role models are likely to validate a belief in discrimination and limited opportunity, just as they are likely to demonstrate the success that can be achieved through violent means.

Young people may grow up with detailed knowledge of guns, but lacking equivalent knowledge of appropriate behavior. Constructionist contributions.

Social constructionism focuses not on the objective social system but rather on the ways in which it is understood by its members. Whereas functionalist approaches to violence call for changing the situation, constructionist approaches call for changing socially constructed views of the situation. The advantage of such an approach lies in its ability to identify and describe many different discourse themes that contribute to violence.

The theory also suggests a strategy for change: intervene in the public and private conversations that make up the discourse. This approach empowers every person to be an agent of change even as it focuses attention on the mass communicators whose messages reach large numbers of people. The theory does not, however, describe what changes should take place to produce a discourse that does not support or encourage violence.

Finally, in the most integrative of the efforts to understand human behavior, systems theories have both philosophical and pragmatic roots. The term "system" is one that may be used in many ways. In simple usage it refers only to the fact that separate elements are connected in some way. In more sophisticated usage, systems theories predict the nature of interactions among the individuals, families, or groups that make up the system that is being studied.

Bateson focused on the epistemological error of using individual-level theories e. Systems approaches to intervention e. Systems theorists view all social interactions as somehow patterned in ways that regulate violence—along with all other forms of behavior.

System levels are nested, and each level operates according to its own rules. Feedback processes enable each level to assess its effectiveness and to make necessary modifications to continue functioning. Systems are always in a state of change but the changes do not disturb the stability of the system. Understanding the processes, however, is not sufficient for planning and implementing more permanent change.

Systems theorists believe that direct efforts to change any system element will fail; the system will restore the missing piece or replace it—often in a more exaggerated form. Making a long-term change in a system problem—such as violence—requires a coordinated approach that includes an understanding of how violence fits into the system.

Subsystem contributions would be seen as organized in ways that both encouraged violent acts and imposed limits on violence. The various system levels would be seen responding to changing resources, challenges, opportunities, and barriers. Above all, the analysis would demonstrate that various attempts to reduce or eliminate violence seem to have instead activated a "positive feedback loop" in which the problem appears to be getting worse.

Systems contributions. Systems theory has proved most useful for sorting through complex situations and guiding action. A systems approach suggests that interventions will be most effective if they are carefully coordinated. The systems-oriented professional monitors changes at all levels as various interventions "perturb" the system. Efforts that increase the problem are stopped, even if they made sense as possible solutions.

The systems approach is pragmatic; if it works, it should be continued until it stops working, at which time something else should be done. The strength of systems theory lies in its ability to describe the relationships among events and the actors—groups and individuals—who take part in them. With this awareness it is possible to focus interventions at the levels where they are most likely to be effective and to monitor whether or not the interventions are working. Systems theory is value-free, however, and other theories are needed to suggest desired directions for change.

This article has summarized social understandings of violence, showing ways in which violent acts are linked to the social environment. Attempts to reduce or eliminate violence would be expected to be most effective if they use these linkages, and in fact many policymakers, teachers, social workers, and corrections personnel are familiar with social theories.

But the community response to violence tends to be fragmented and inconsistent; socially-aware programs coexist with approaches based on mechanistic assumptions of individual punishment and reward.

What appears to be missing is the kind of coordination and monitoring called for by an understanding of system change. Control efforts continue to present a challenge. Violence on the part of law enforcement personnel can be seen as actually increasing the levels of violence in the community. Informal control structures offer other possibilities for nonviolent, supportive means of averting potential violence. But existing values emphasize individual autonomy at the expense of the community.

A major effort is required before private citizens without official status will feel empowered to step into conflicts in their communities. In the meantime, training in nonviolent tactics needs to continue in attempts to reduce or eliminate institutional violence. Constructionist theories point to the underlying problem: social meanings of violence. Our society should be working toward a more accurate picture of violence that includes its limitations and its costs both to the victim and to the attacker.

Research on violence has already started to precipitate such a change among many professionals; they are less tolerant of violence and more willing to work toward its elimination. Other groups in society are also working to change their ways of talking about violence: Feminist groups, for example, are encouraging women to speak up for their right to a safe environment.

Men—many who have recently begun to organize a discussion of their shared experience—have the potential to redefine their social world and reject violence as a solution. The discourse of violence would lose much of its power if groups differing on gender, racial, ethnic and economic bases had more complex and realistic views of each other. Genuine dialogue should reduce the tendency to exclude "the other" Staub, and justify violence. At the family level it has been demonstrated that genuine exchange can replace the rhetoric of power and domination: Couple relationships as well as parent-child relationships can be restructured on the basis of mutual respect.

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