Microsoft Word Chapter 1 done doc

Konrad Lorenz on Aggression : Konrad Lorenz held the view that 
instinct to aggress is common to many animal species. Lorenz, 
however, differs from Freud, since he states that aggressive 
behaviour will not occur unless it is triggered by external cues. 
Instinct view Rejected by Social Psychologists : Most Social 
Psychologists rejected the instinctive theories of aggression. 
According to them it is difficult to give a genetic explanation of 
human aggression because aggression in human beings is 
expressed in many different forms, how can such a huge variation 
be caused by genetic factors. Secondly, the genetic theory of 
aggression is weak because all societies are not equally 
aggressive. The frequency of aggressive actions varies 
tremendously across human societies, so that it is much more likely 
to occur in some than in others. Do biologically inherited tendencies 
toward aggression actually exist among human beings? Most 
social psychologists doubt that they do, primarily for two important 
reasons: 
(i) First, they note that instinctive view such as the one proposed 
by Freud and Lorenz is somewhat circular in nature. These 
views begin by observing that aggression is a common form of 
behaviour. On the basis of this they then reason that such 
behaviour must stem from universal built-in urges or tendencies.
Finally, they use the high incidence of aggression as support for 
the presence of such instances and impulses. 
(ii) Second, and perhaps more important - several findings argue 
against the existence of universal, innate human tendencies 
toward aggression. Comparisons among various societies 
indicate that the level of at least some forms of aggression 

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varies greatly. For example, more murders are committed each 
year in each city in the United States than in entire nations (with 
ten times their population) in Europe and the Orient. Similarly, 
the incidence of aggression seems to change over time in 
different societies. If aggression is indeed a universal human 
tendency based largely on genetic factors, such differences and 
shifts would not occur. 
The present day Social Psychologists generally conclude 
that genetic and biological factors play little if any role in human 
aggression.