Social Learning Theory Aggression Aggression is behaviour intended to harm another. Aggressive behaviour can be verbal, physical or indirect. The social learning theorists view aggression as a behaviour that is learned through observation and maintained through reinforcement. Within this essay I shall discuss the limitations of these views, as well as other theories of aggression. We learn both aggressiveness and how to express aggression through direct reinforcement, indirect enforcement, identification and imitation. Bandura et al. (1961, 1963) …showed first 75 words of 1385 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1385 total…theories play a part to some extent in explaining the build up and exhibition of aggression. From this basis I go on to address issues including developmental violence in children, violence in the home and real life case studies involving violent crimes like the James Bulger case. To clearly illustrate the magnitude of this problem in our society today and how a greater understanding is needed to avert the often-tragic consequences of uninhibited, primal aggression.