Attitude, behaviour, and identity
Aggression is defined as hostile behaviour towards something or someone. Aggression is a vital factor in social psychology since it helps explain human behaviour. This essay part will focus on aggression and how culture influences aggression. The main aim is to prove that aggression is not embedded in our DNAs and can, therefore, not be an innate characteristic that some of us possess, and others do not. It is essential to differentiate between the two types of aggression; hostile aggression and instrumental aggression. Hostile aggression is aggression that stems from anger and feelings of pain- this type of aggression is aimed at inflicting pain or injury to another person. Instrumental aggression, on the other hand, refers to aggression as a means of achieving some other goal other than causing pain. Psychologists believe that aggression is an options strategy; every human being can inflict pain; however, the circumstances in which we express this highly depend on our cultures.
Three factors point to the fact that our cultures influence aggression. These include; studies across cultures, studies across time and laboratory experiments. For instance, consider the Iroquois of North America, these people lived and coexisted with each other peacefully; however, the coming of the Europeans influenced competition with the neighbouring Hurons over trade. The Hurons developed into ferocious warriors within a short period. This proves the point that aggression is highly influenced by culture. See, the culture of these people allowed them to live peacefully with other tribes without competition. However, when the competition increased, they adapted to protect themselves and their territories- their aggressiveness was influenced by a social change rather than their innate nature.
It is hard to ignore the fact that over time, different countries and cultures have become more peaceful. People understand the importance of peace and the disadvantages of aggression. For instance, there have been various rallies organized for the sole purpose of initiating peace and collaboration across different cultures—the human rights movement aimed at respecting the individual rights of every person. Aggression and war have steadily declined over time. For instance, warlike communities like the Scandinavians and the Portuguese have become some of the most peaceful societies. If it were an issue of innate capabilities, their aggression and ill feelings towards each other would have sufficed overtime. Aggression is greatly influenced by social change and what different cultures and communities choose to embrace. As a result, aggression cannot be termed as something innate. Aggression is an option as people have the rational capabilities of deciding whether to become violent and hostile or not.
Part B
Every single person has a personal identity- this implies the particular traits and unique life history that they identify to. This is what is known as social identity- this is also developed through our affiliate groups, including our religious, political and national groups. Social identity is essential as it gives people a sense of place in the world- you know and understand the particular group niche where you belong. Social identity has been associated with ethnocentrism. Some superior feelings may develop due to one being affiliated to a specific group or population. Ethnocentrism is the belief that your religion, culture and group beliefs are better and superior to that of others. The advantage of this is that it aids in the increased attachment of people to their affiliate groups. However, it also leads to conflicts due to feelings of oppression and superiority. Secondly, as soon as people have created a specific group, they automatically assume that other outside people are not part of the group. Their instincts kick in, and they become suspicious towards the outsiders.
Another defining factor of social identity is the in-group bias. In-group bias is the concept in which a certain group of people identify a specific characteristic that defines them. In-group bias is different from ethnocentrism as this describes collective factors that determine a group. An example of in-group bias is when a cheerleader meets another cheerleader. They almost immediately form a bond due to this one defining factor and what they identify to regardless of their religions, cultures and nations. In-group bias helps bring people together and connect each other irrespective of their differences. However, it also leads to some form of prejudice to the individuals not considered as in-group. They are discriminated off of this one factor. In-group bias helps describe the identity of a person and what this person believes in or identifies to.
Out-group homogeneity is another effect of social categorization- this refers to the perception and belief that ‘they are all alike’. Out-group homogeneity happens when there is in-group bias – the people in these categories tend to perceive the outsiders as the out-group. For instance, in a typical college school, there are two categories- the ‘queen bees’ of the school, which describes those that are in power and the ‘other students’. In this case, ‘the other students’ are the ones that form the out-group homogeneity. It is essential to understand that all these factors describe the social identity theory- it attempts to explain the factors that categorize a person into specific groups and those that do not.
Part C
Prejudice is defined as the attitudes and emotions that form our opinions. Attitudes are categorized into three components; the cognitive component, an affective component and the behavioural component. All of these factors relate to a person’s actions and activities. Prejudice is often a hostile and negative attitude towards a specific group of people. For instance, some people are prejudiced against the black, which means that they consider them all the same and people of no meaning. In essence, they view them in a negative light. The cognitive aspect of prejudice is based on the human mind. The human mind creates categories and places people into this based on their beliefs and characteristics. This turns to prejudice once we begin judging these people and defining them by our preconceived groups. For instance, in most cases, cheerleaders are considered to be skinny and pretty- it is almost impossible to imagine a cheerleader as someone fat and ugly. In essence, the world has a build-up image in their heads on what a cheerleader should be and should not-this is what is known as prejudice.
The affective component of prejudice deals with the emotional part of prejudice. It is easy to change someone preconceived ideas about something-however when emotion is involved, it is often impossible to change their view. For instance, if a person lost someone in the 911 incident and you try to convince them that not all Muslims are violent, it becomes near impossible. In their minds and their hearts, they perceive all Muslims as violent and harmful. Even with the aid of proof, it becomes impossible to convince them to change their mind. The behavioural component of prejudice often leads to discrimination. For instance, in the above example, the negative attitudes and ill feelings towards the Muslim community can lead to discrimination. The person may refuse to serve them in a restaurant or employ people who affiliate with this religion. One crucial factor to consider is that prejudice leads to the development of stereotypes- people begin categorizing people into their preconceived groups and ideas.