"Offering the first comprehensive analysis of this topic in over 30 years, this book is sure to fuel discussion and debate among researchers, practitioners, and students in developmental psychology, child clinical psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry, criminology, and related disciplines. In the classroom, it is a unique and valuable text for graduate-level courses."--BOOK JACKET.

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject Psychology - Social Psychology, grade: A, ( Atlantic International University ), course: PhD Project Management, language: English, abstract: The origins of aggression dominate psychological debate. Psychologists are divided on what really is the cause of aggression in human behavior. This has evoked the inconclusive nature v nurture debate on the origins of aggression. The psycho dynamic theory is a psychological theory Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and his later followers applied to trace and explain the origins of aggression. Sigmund Freud’s psycho dynamic theory is founded on the assumption that human behavior is propelled by thoughts and feelings that lie in our sub conscious mind . Aggression refers to action or behavior intended to cause harm to a person toward whom it is directed . Thus aggression manifests itself in varied forms which can be verbal attacks, violent acts and threats to unleash destruction . However, the psycho dynamic theory has been criticized for over emphasis on innate personality at the exclusion of external effects in an individual’s environment which may predispose them to aggressive behavior. This paper analyses Sigmund Freud’s psycho dynamic theory in explaining the origins of aggression. The paper further argues that the psycho dynamic theory has its own inherent shortcomings when it comes to explaining the origins of aggression. A wholesome explanation of the origins of aggression can be achieved if theories such as the externally stimulated aggression and learned aggression theory are also considered as they offer complementary alternative aggression explanations.

Unchecked aggression and violence take a significant toll on society. With recent advances in pharmacology and genetic manipulation techniques, new interest has developed in the biological mechanisms of aggression. The primary goal of this title is to summarise and synthesis recent advances in the subject.

The underlying theme uniting the papers of this volume is the quest for a further understanding of human behavior. The similarities between the behaviors of other primates and humans have captivated us even before a science arose. But what is the justification for making such comparisons? Comparisons, like classifications, can be made on any basis whatever. The aim in making any scientific comparison is the same as doing a classification. That is, one attempts to make the comparison on a "natural" basis. Natural, in this case, means that the comparison reflects processes that occur in nature. The fundamental paradigm for making natural comparisons in biology is based on evolutionary theory. The evolutionary paradigm is inherently one of comparisons between and within species. Conversely, it is impossible to begin to make cross species comparisons without making, implicitly at least, evolutionary arguments. But evolution is a complex construct of theories (Lewis, 1980), and comparisons can be made out of different theoretical bases. F or the sake of this discussion we can combine varieties of sub-theories into two categories: those having to do with descent with modification, and those concerned with the mechanics of evolutionary change--notably natural selection.

No detailed description available for "Origins of Aggression".

Based on a conference held at the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Md. in April 1982, under the auspices of the Society for Research in Child Development and the Child Development Foundation.