Forms of Violence and Agression

Violence is defined as the purpose to cause harm through the use of physical force. Causing harm might include destroying goods and property or injuring another person. Violence and aggression are sometimes used interchangeably, although they are not the same thing. While violence is the act of causing harm, aggression is primarily the expression of anger in people, as well as violent conduct and feelings of individuals. As a result, an aggressive person does not immediately engage in violent action or respond violently. The psychology of violence is a notion that is focused on the study and analysis of high levels of hostility and violence.The concept is based on a psychological system and is aimed at incorporating multidisciplinary research in realizing the cause of violence, establishing methods of violence reduction or prevention, and establishing treatments and interventions for violent behavior.

There exist various forms of aggression and violence. These forms of aggression and violence include bullying, international and workplace violence, homicide, suicide, child maltreatment, violence on intimate partners, youth violence, sexual violence and violence exposure of young individuals and children. All varieties of aggression and violence have a connection thus require a multidisciplinary research and analysis in order to analyze them. It is thus crucial to include other related disciplines in understanding the cause and treatment of aggression and violence. Therefore, this concept includes research and analysis from medicine, sociology, psychology, neuroscience, public health and similar social and behavioral sciences.

To prevent or reduce violence, individuals need to set up a plan that will enable them to effectively curb this behavior and activities in their lives. However, before establishing such a plan, each and every person needs to understand aggression and violence on a personal level (Gomez, 2017). The first part of my plan is to understand how I can prevent aggression and violence in my life before I can help violence prevention in youths. This also includes understanding unintentional injury and violence that I may face in my life. Understanding violence prevention includes understanding how personal behaviors, physical environment, and social environment can facilitate violence in my life.

In order to prevent violence and injury in my life, I would be conscious of my individual behaviors and how they might influence violence or cause injury in my life. Bad individual behaviors aid in promoting violence in peoples’ lives. Such behaviors can be either known or unknown to the individual as far as their violent nature is concerned. It is, therefore, important for people to familiarize themselves with different personalities, activities, and behaviors that help in the prevention of violence or aggression (Gomez, 2017). I would research and acquire knowledge on the general practices and activities that facilitate violence and activities that prevent it. These general activities that promote violence include the taking of alcohol and drug abuse. These activities are known to cause violence among people who practice them in the community. Therefore, I will shun away from such practices and this will help me prevent violence. The second aspect of preventing personal behavior is through analyzing and noting down personal behaviors that propel violence and behaviors that prevent violence in my life. I will, therefore, try my level best to minimize and ultimately stop such practices and behaviors.

I would also participate in community-based organizations away from school and learn more about people through fully contributing in organizing events that are relevant to such groups. I would also get involved in promoting welfare by getting more young people to join. This would assist me in the reduction of violence tendencies I might harbor because I will now be able to respect other peoples’ right to freedom of expression and speech. Moreover, I would be in a better position to respect opponents and those with whom I disagree with. I would also learn, to be honest with the use of evidence and argumentation. Lastly, I would help those will less experience and side with those in need and willing to speak the truth.

Minimizing or avoiding watching of violent films and playing violent video games are another method I would use to prevent violence in my life. Research shows that violent films present a violent aspect in our day to day lives (Anderson, Gentile, & Buckley, 2007). This is because violence is a learned behavior that. Therefore, avoiding watching bad films will help in preventing aggression and violence in my life. Moreover, I would also avoid playing horrific and violent video games. With the increase in the number of violent video games in the market, it is very difficult to find games that are non-violent. However, according to the General Aggression theory, people acquire aggressive behavior through what they observe.

Another method that I would incorporate in order to avoid violence in my life is through joining an anger management and other related self-help clubs or groups. Since I have anger issues, joining an anger management class will enable me to understand and know how to deal with anger. Psychological research shows that most aggression and violent incidences are as a result of anger. The recalibration theory deals with how people can respond to anger and solve issues amicably without resolving to violence (Sell, 2011). When someone is angry, they tend to take actions that disregard the well-being of the other person. Anger is thus a feeling that facilitates aggression and anger. Therefore, joining such clubs or groups would enable me to interact with other people facing similar situations and this would enable me to gain knowledge of how to control my quick temper.

I would also take a stand against violence and all types of harassments that I may come across. Even in cases that I am not involved, I would take a stand and stop harassments or violent activities done to another person. For example, if I find a certain child or youth being harassed by other people, I should stop them and protect the other child or youth. However, I would also be conscious of the violent activities or harassments that I would interrupt and those that would lead me to danger myself. Moreover, I would take a stand on the cyberbullying activities that are becoming an increasing menace not only in my community but also globally. Violent activities and harassments are increasing due to individuals lack or taking a stand or interrupting such activities when they witness them. For example, cases of cyber bullying are increasing due to peoples’ negligence of these situations since it does not involve them. However, if we all took a stand and interrupt violent activities in our own capability, we will be able to minimize and prevent violence.

I would also analyze certain activities and issues that trigger aggression and violence in my life. Various people have various circumstances and situations that trigger violent behavior and anger in their lives (Sell, 2011). These triggers can be either emotional or physical trigger. Determining emotions that trigger violence in my life would help me prevent such emotions and help me realize how to handle them. Youths should take up practices that will help them cope with anger management and self-help groups.

Youth violence is mainly a result of poor social problem-solving methods and practices. Most of the aggressive behavior and violence in youth is due to lack of social cognitive intervention (Hamby, 2017). This is because young people tend to portray aggressive and violent behavior when they are experiencing a social situation which they lack the knowledge of how to cognitively and emotionally respond. As a result, they end up responding to such social situations with violence and aggression. Such social issues and situations include bullying, harassment, physical violence among others. If not responded to in a cognitive manner, these social issues have immense consequences not only to the individual but also to the community. Such consequences on a personal level include the immature death of young people. Young people should, therefore, understand and acquire knowledge on how to solve social situations in the community. Family members and parents should also play a vital role in social cognitive interventions on the youths.

In order to prevent violence and aggression in youth, we need to teach the youth on the social-cognitive interventions and how to deal with social situations both emotionally and cognitively (Hamby, 2017). In my personal capacity, I would, therefore, help the process of enhancing social-cognitive by establishing common interest groups both at school and in the community. These groups would deal with helping the youth and the community at large in dealing with social situations and help in reducing violence among the youth and the society. The focus of this group is establishing common interest groups for the youths and helping them realize the common groups they might fit in.

I would also liaise with the community leaders explore their stand on curbing violence among the youth and the community at large. If I find they have no agenda on the subject, I would introduce the topic and insist that we work together in attaining the same goal of preventing aggression and violence in the youth.

Educating the youth through the social media is another part of my plan to minimize and prevent violence among the youth. This can be achieved by either establishing a blog or a page or group in one of the available social applications currently available. All the youths nowadays have access to the internet through their mobile phones and other gadgets. Therefore, in order to reach a large audience of the youth, I would have to focus on youth education and development through the internet and social media. The platform would also enable me to create awareness of the effects and impacts of violence in youths.

Violence in youths is also influenced and facilitated by what the youths observed. Years of social science studies and analysis reveal that people learn violence. Therefore, the youth learn this behavior through what they are exposed to (Anderson, Gentile, & Buckley, 2007). Violence in the youth largely depends on the surrounding environment. Young people who are exposed to the aggressive or violent environment tend to exhibit a violent nature. As a result, young people who observe aggressive people in their community tend to be more aggressive themselves. It is, therefore, important to teach the young on the importance of hanging out or associating with non-aggressive and non-violent people. Other than people example, violence in youths is also influenced by what they watch. This can be either the films they watch or the violent video games available in the markets. Youths who watch aggressive films tend to be more aggressive and violent than other people.

It is, therefore, crucial to create awareness of the impact of what we associate with and observe as far as violent behavior is concerned. Educating the youth on the importance of watching non-violent movies and playing non-violent video games is important in eradicating aggressive and violent behavior in youths. I would also create awareness to my friends on the effects of viewing violent films or playing violent video games. Educating the youth on a large scale level as an individual would be relatively difficult. However, I would create awareness and educate my friends or the young people around me of the effects of violent behavior. My friends would also create awareness to their other friends and this process will help in reaching many youths.

Another step I would take to eradicate aggression and violence in the youth is through teaching them and creating awareness of how to solve the problem without the inclusion of violence (Hamby, 2017). This is possible since nonviolence practices and activities can be taught and learned by individuals. Research shows that just like violence is a learned practice or behavior, youth can also be taught about non-violent problem-solving practices. It is, therefore, the duty of society and family members to teach the youth on the processes and methods of solving problems without incorporating violence. This is a community-based process that will require the involvement of each and every member of the community.

Youth violence is becoming increasingly uncontrollable aspect in the community. This is because the youth nowadays are involved in gang-related activities, drug abuse, and harassment among other vices in the community. These activities facilitate crime in the society and increase violence among the youth. Members of the public and family members especially parents need to take the initiative of counseling and advising the youth of the dangers of drug abuse and gang related activities. The school management should also play a vital role in teaching the youth more about the consequences of drug abuse and joining of gangs.

The society can also play a crucial part in minimizing youth violence. Involving youth in economic activities through common interest groups is also important in helping them eradicate violence (Dodge, & Rabiner, 2009). This can be achieved through teaching youth to pay more attention to political, economic and social events in the society. The youth should also investigate issues and come up with opinions based on solid reasoning, speak out in convincing ways and at the right time, and aim at serving as opinion leaders in the communities. This process will result in respecting peoples’ rights to freedom of expression and speech and enable honesty in arguments with regards to evidence. All these activities will help people in the community to respect one another and this will aid in the prevention of violence in the society.

A society deeply influenced by the experience of community participation would involve less coercion and violence since people learn to disagree productively instead of viewing those who disagree as personal enemies (Dodge, & Rabiner, 2009). By understanding this virtues and practices, there exists less need to intimidate others, hurt others or threaten other people in order to resolve issues. A society aimed at community participation involves more informed participation by members of the society based on real information regarding the disagreements and provide real arguments concerning the problems and solutions. The youth would look at real proposals and programs and get used to finding useful information on the best ways of solving disagreements through better communication other that using violence.

Better communication skills and speaking out by the youth gives them more satisfaction with life since they are willing to be heard and speak out thus facilitating their ability to engage better with others they disagree with. The fundamental human needs to be heard and make a difference are better met by a society giving more common interest groups participation. The youth can achieve this better if a society offers more exposure to community participation through common interest groups. The youth also has to be more vibrant in local communities as people grapple with local problems and find local answers instead of defaulting to unknown and unknowable outside forces and influence.

The society needs to be more willing to compromise. This will enable people to begin understanding that all sides may have valid arguments about an issue. This will enable members of to community to work together in finding solutions that are acceptable to the largest number of their community (Dodge, & Rabiner, 2009). This will ultimately lead to reduction and prevention of violence.

There exist various methods of curbing violence either on a personal level or in a particular group or society. This is because there are various aspects associated with violence both on an individual level and in the community. However, we need to understand how to eradicate violence through critically analyzing the different theories of the psychology of violence. On the other hand, the argument that common interest groups and community participation will solve all our problems or that it would end violence in a society is not completely true but it is crucial in providing positive aspects that will aid in molding our young people to be active in the society. When we promote common interest groups among the youth, we try to change past mistakes and create a better future. Though the contribution may seem to have a small impact, it is very crucial none the less.

References

Anderson, C., Gentile, D., & Buckley, K. (2007). Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public Policy. Oxford Scholarship Online.

Dodge, K., & Rabiner, D. (2009). Returning to Roots: on Social Inforemation Processing and Moral Development. NCBI.

Gomez, J. (2017). Personality and Aggression: a Contribution of the General Aggression Model. Psychological Assessments.

Hamby, S. (2017). Psychology of Violence. American Psychological Association, 7.

Sell, A. (2011). The Recalibrational Theory and Violent Anger. Aggression And Violent Behavior, 16(5).