Mindy (Mytien) Nguyen
Professor Montagne
Anthropology 185
03 November 2015
Innate or Learned?
Aggression refers to an array of behaviors that may have consequences in both physical and psychological harm to oneself, others, or objects in the environment. It can take a variety of forms that include physical, verbal, mental, and emotional. As aggression progresses in human behavior from adolescent to adult, we often wonder if these qualities are innate in humans or if it is a learned behavior. In society, individuals have often been conditioned to believe that some people are born violent and that there is a genetic link between aggression and humans. Such theories of violence and aggression often stem from the underlying question: Are human …show more content…
Their intensive study on a group of wild baboons provides evidence that primates can live peacefully amongst one another. These findings also suggest that aggressive behavior in baboons is a result of cultural traits rather than a biological factor. This entire study provides some insight into the same phenomenon with aggression in human beings, given the fact that our genetics are extremely similar. Primatologists usually suggest that learned behaviors are inherited through cultural traits given the fact that they arise independently of genetic factors. Even though these learned behaviors arise from independent of genetic factors, they can still be inherited and passed on to succeeding generations. There is a belief that aggression evolved specifically because of the benefit and advantages it gave males, including an edge in competition with one another and between groups of males. In other words, it is suggesting that aggression and violence result in evolutionary …show more content…
As stated before, science has not yet 100% proven that violence is built into our DNA. However, there have been recent studies that show a minor link of aggression and the human gene. According to Julia Steiney, a writer for The Providence Journal, Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), dubbed “the warrior gene,” has recently been mentioned in the study of genetic influences on aggressive behavior. This gene is found on the X chromosome, where males have one and females have two. It regulates the release and breakdown of enzymes so that once they fulfill their job, the enzymes don’t build up or interact with other receptors, causing problems for communication between regions of the brain. According to extensive research done by Agustin Fuentes, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame, there are at least four different common alleles for this gene that have the effect of either increasing or decreasing the amount of MAOA produced. His study suggested that humans, under certain conditions, that have lowered amounts of MAOA in the brain is associated with increased aggression and reduced ability to control impulsive behavior. A noticeable number of human males who had the low-MAOA-production alleles and who have been in severe traumatic experiences during early childhood development were more likely to engage in highly aggressive and antisocial behavior as
Professor Montagne
Anthropology 185
03 November 2015
Innate or Learned?
Aggression refers to an array of behaviors that may have consequences in both physical and psychological harm to oneself, others, or objects in the environment. It can take a variety of forms that include physical, verbal, mental, and emotional. As aggression progresses in human behavior from adolescent to adult, we often wonder if these qualities are innate in humans or if it is a learned behavior. In society, individuals have often been conditioned to believe that some people are born violent and that there is a genetic link between aggression and humans. Such theories of violence and aggression often stem from the underlying question: Are human …show more content…
Their intensive study on a group of wild baboons provides evidence that primates can live peacefully amongst one another. These findings also suggest that aggressive behavior in baboons is a result of cultural traits rather than a biological factor. This entire study provides some insight into the same phenomenon with aggression in human beings, given the fact that our genetics are extremely similar. Primatologists usually suggest that learned behaviors are inherited through cultural traits given the fact that they arise independently of genetic factors. Even though these learned behaviors arise from independent of genetic factors, they can still be inherited and passed on to succeeding generations. There is a belief that aggression evolved specifically because of the benefit and advantages it gave males, including an edge in competition with one another and between groups of males. In other words, it is suggesting that aggression and violence result in evolutionary …show more content…
As stated before, science has not yet 100% proven that violence is built into our DNA. However, there have been recent studies that show a minor link of aggression and the human gene. According to Julia Steiney, a writer for The Providence Journal, Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), dubbed “the warrior gene,” has recently been mentioned in the study of genetic influences on aggressive behavior. This gene is found on the X chromosome, where males have one and females have two. It regulates the release and breakdown of enzymes so that once they fulfill their job, the enzymes don’t build up or interact with other receptors, causing problems for communication between regions of the brain. According to extensive research done by Agustin Fuentes, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame, there are at least four different common alleles for this gene that have the effect of either increasing or decreasing the amount of MAOA produced. His study suggested that humans, under certain conditions, that have lowered amounts of MAOA in the brain is associated with increased aggression and reduced ability to control impulsive behavior. A noticeable number of human males who had the low-MAOA-production alleles and who have been in severe traumatic experiences during early childhood development were more likely to engage in highly aggressive and antisocial behavior as