The Epidemic of Violence Part 3

Albert Bandera, a behaviorist, demonstrated the significance of modeling and/or imitation in explaining aggressive responses. For example, preschool children, in experimentation, were exposed to real life, fantasy movies or television models exhibiting aggressive behavior. Two groups of non-frustrated, nonaggressive preschool children, then observed a live adult model acting aggressively toward dolls in the experimental room. 90% of the children, in the experimental group, imitated the aggressive responses of the model, while none in the control group displayed such behavior. Remember, that an aggressive model’s behavior can and does generalize to other settings, situations and interactions. Just think of all the models of violence that are displayed over and over again in our movies, TV and video games. Not only are we learning about violent behavior and death, we are also viewing the disrespect between human beings. It’s okay to kill the” bad” guy, irrespective of the reason. Bad guys are dressed in black. Are there any of us who have not witnessed either a verbal and/or physical aggressive interaction between adults or parents? Are there any of us who have not witnessed an individual being yelled at or physically hit? Are there any parents who have not yelled, spanked, shook, or pinched their infant or child? We have witnessed over and over again plenty of models that have exhibited inappropriate aggressive behavior. Why do people demonstrate so much aggression and why is there an absence of love thy neighbor? Very early in the life of an infant, about six months, it has been was shown that parts of the baby’s brain [amygdala, hypothalamus] becomes activated in the presence of a stranger. It’s as if there’s an activating as well as a deactivating or inhibiting switch mechanism. When activated, the newborn cries. Crying is the infant’s self-protection or self-preservation mode of response. Obviously, it’s one mechanism available at that early age. Is crying an aggressive response? It can be more easily argued that excessive biting behavior in the infant is aggressive. Just ask a nursing mother. This biting behavior, in this developmental phase, is called h oral sadistic. Looking at animal behavior, as with a deer, the animal could fight, flight or freeze. Just today, I encountered a deer and her two offspring’s. The mother obviously was not going to fight. The three of them froze which is generally the behavioral response I find when I’m running on the trail. To Be Continued