Aggression in Men and Women
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There are differences between aggression in men and women, which may have a biological basis, but they are also tempered by psychological parameters and socialization issues (Archer, 1991; Fishbein, 1992). 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 (Archer, 1991). While there are no outright statistics, males usually tend to be more aggressive than females in terms of physical and verbal aggression. 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 (Harris and Knight-Bohnhoff, 1996). The influence of genes on personality has been studied by comparing identical twins raised in separate environments and the studies have shown that genes have a decided influence over personality (Colt and Kuehn, 1998). Physiological and psychological testing of pairs of both identical and fraternal twins has usually shown that character traits are approximately 60 percent due to inheritance. For instance, assertiveness is 60 percent inherited, while body mass appears to be 70 p
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to more aggressive behavior in these individuals (in Maugh, 1995). Fluvoxamine, which increases brain serotonin levels, is now being used to decrease aggression in some psychiatric disorders.
III. Psychological Theories
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.
Aggressive behavior appears to peak between the ages of 24 months and 30 months in children, according to Richard Tremblay from the University of Montreal (in Ruben, 1998). Half of the mothers in one study reported aggressive acts
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