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Discuss the Variables Involved in Aggression. Which Variables Are Most Important?

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Discuss the Variables Involved in Aggression. Which Variables Are Most Important?
Although aggression is a difficult term to correctly identify, it can be described as a type of behaviour that is characterised by physical or verbal violence. It can be directed to others, where physical harm or verbal insults take place, or it can be directed to oneself, where self-destructive actions take place. There are many factors that provoke aggression. It can be caused by overwhelming emotions of frustration, genetic inheritance, triggering of certain environments and aggressive influences. Forms of aggression can range from inter-male aggression, fear induced aggression, irritable aggression, territorial aggression and instrumental aggression. Through out the many generations of humans, aggression has been a well-known behaviour that affects each and every one of us at some point of our lives. The variables that could possibly determine the severity of aggression are biological influences, neural influences, social influences, biochemical influences, and environmental influences. Biological influences refer to the genes each and every one of us withholds. Through genetics, characteristics of aggression have been thought to be inherited. The instinct theory explains that instinctive behaviours involving aggression are inborn within all humans. Through this, we can understand that aggression can be used as an instrumental tool to achieve success in various endeavours such as sports and debating. Genetically speaking, the belief that aggression is an inherited behaviour is partially true as research has proven that only specific personality traits that determine the probability of aggression are inherited. A research study conducted by Caspi in 1998 found that aggressive behaviour is only partly inherited. This conclusion was made through data collection involving the use of identical twins and non-identical twins. In 1994, research conducted by Baron and Richardson, also found that certain temperaments are inherited. As aggression is a

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