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Scientific Study of Non-Violence
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extinguishing their tendency to attack and substituting other instrumental responses that lead to rewards in a peaceful society. A less extreme example is the individual who fights his way out of poverty by knocking down anyone who blocks his path to success. Such a person typically continues his aggressive ways after he has attained success, despite changed conditions that no longer call for aggression. The aggressive habit is too strong and too pervasive to fade away.
Social Facilitation: Group tendencies and attitudes towards aggression are an important determinant of its habit strength, whether the group is the family, the community, the social class, or the entire culture. Anthropologists have demonstrated the wide range of differences in aggressiveness to be found in different cultures and also the links between aggressiveness and child-training practices. Much of the learning that occurs in childhood is of the imitative variety, the child mimicking his parents, teachers and other older members of the group. When aggression predominates in the group, there is ample opportunity for the child to acquire a strong aggressive habil merely by following in the footsteps of older group members. When aggression is relatively absent in the group, the models of behaviour that the child imitates are marked by nonaggressiveness, and the tendency to attack remains weak.
Temperament: Temperament refers to the characteristics of behaviour that appear early in life and remain relatively unchanged. It is not clear whether these characteristics are more innate than learned. Temperament variables affect all behaviour, not just aggression.
The temperament variables that influence the development of aggressiveness are: (1) impulsiveness (2) activity level, (3) intensity of reaction, and (4) independence.
All infants are impulsive, being unable to inhibit responses. As children mature they are expected to delay, to think before acting, and the ability to delay a response is one sign of maturity. Individuals differ considerably in their ability to delay, to tolerate frustration. Those who cannot wait are more likely to be aggressive than those who can tolerate the tension of having to delay. When an anger stimulus occurs, the impulsive person tends to become angry and immediately responds with aggression. There is insufficient time to develop
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