Psychological Sources Of Violence: Joseph And Jeffrey Hall

Society has been facing many difficulties for the past years that are contributing to the expansion of violence. In order to understand why some people practice violence behavior, it is extremely important to know and understand about the cycle of violence. According to Chauhan and Widom (2014), the cycle of violence can be defined as follow; the act that an individual who was previously physically, mentally and/or emotionally abused will repeat the same maltreatment to another person (s) in the future. In some words, the cycle of violence support the idea that people who were abused in any way when they were

This, however, can be seen as an instinct for survival. Take Johnny from “The Outsiders”. During one of the scenes, Ponyboy and Johnny are being bullied by the Socs for walking Cherry and Marcia. As they continue to bully the two boys, the group of Socs decide to try to drown Ponyboy, and while the scene plays on, Johnny stabs a Soc to protect his friend. Even though Johnny is not a naturally violent boy, in that instant he was, because in that moment and time his only goal was to protect Ponyboy. In real world situations, sometimes this is the reasoning behind someone’s death. There is always a reason for someone to choose to be violent and use a weapon to get what they want, and sometimes it is purely an instinct to pull that trigger, because if they don’t, they might die. Humans are still animals, and when it is needed, the animal instinct to survive will kick

Historically, society has believed that people with mental disorders tend to be more violent than normal people, creating a stigma for patients. They thought that a mentally ill person tends to cause harm and chaos which was difficult for this person to deal with. In fact, research suggests that public opinions on the relationship between mental illness and violence do not reflect reality, although some people with psychiatric disorders commit violent crimes, it was not really clear about how much mental illness or substance abuse affect violent behaviour. Media had a great effect on people by making them think that the mentally ill are violent which was proved to be a myth, as they are more likely to be victims than offenders.

In 2012, 16259 people in the United States were murdered and another 1.8 million people were sent to the hospital due to assault. Humans resorting to violence and harming others is a daily occurrence, but why? Is it in our nature, are we instinctively violent, and why is it that these acts are not only happening in the United States but worldwide. Although the average person does not leave their home planning on harming somebody that day, under the right circumstances almost every single person in this world will commit an act of violence. Sometimes these acts are justified, such as when we are trying to protect ourselves or a loved one, but what about the smaller acts that we all do every day.

Public violence appears to be the main topic of news coverage today. Society is susceptible to violence and no one is safe from the possibility of becoming a victim to crime. Crimes are committed with the belief that getting caught is impractical. People want to understand the insanity of criminals. When perpetrators kill themselves after taking the lives of others, the idea of questioning or assessing them are lost. The researchers that study crimes combine their knowledge with psychologist and sociologist to gain full spectrum of understanding why people commit violent crimes.

You must also take a look at the reasons for violent acts and what constitutes as such. In the “Meanings of Violence” by Dov Cohen and Joe Vandello, they examine the difference in the meaning of insults between the Southerners and Northerners in the United States. They talk about the importance in social status and the concept that anthropologist have called “Culture of Honor”. With the concept individual is based on their social position and how tough they are or what courage they carry. There is also the idea that if a persons social standing in reduced for whatever reason that there is belief that violence could be used to restore their position. The idea of culture-of-honor is that an incident may occur over something as “trivial” as being glanced at wrongly, or showing a threatening insult. The individuals may not see it as being a trivial circumstance but a threat to stand their ground and prove their

They have a fascination towards it that is a part of their own nature, which is looked down in today’s society. Research has shown that, “all humans have the ‘warrior gene’ also known as monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) that causes them to act violent” (). Mankind is genetically engineered to be violent and to act in harmful ways. With this gene people will have erratic and destructive behavior from early childhood to their late adulthood. People are never innocent and will always have a mindset that is willing to become cruel and fierce and will be capable of harming others. Cruelty and destruction are factors that never have to be taught. Man is born with these qualities that allows them to be this way, unlike kindness and sympathy whereas people must be nurtured into attaining these

The violence in America is increasing. Violence has always been and continues to be a problem all individuals are facing. This issue has been among the people because there is always something to encourage it. Since the news on television is continuously covering stories about murders and violent acts, it becomes a common thing for society to view. Furthermore, people are still racist till this day. Moreover, a certain individual can influence a person in a negative way. On the other hand, there are significant amount of people who believe the rate of violence has been decreasing throughout the years. Although some argue that violence is in decline, media, racism, and negative influences cause it to increase.

Violence has always been a crucial factor in many genres of cinemas and film productions. The Western genre and the film in the genre is a fascinating approach to analyze the treatment of violence. Violence in the Western genre has changed multiple times into completely different but interesting view points over the course of history. The traditional western treatment of violence is related to the myth of purgative violence, or the idea of “regeneration through violence” suggested by Richard Slotkin. In the traditional Western treatment of violence, violence is considered honored and purified because the conduction of violence eliminates and eradicates the otherness in the society and restore stability as a direct result of violence. Moving to 1960s, the trend of Western genre shifted from classical western to the theme of revisionist western. Revisionist western, unlike classical western, strongly criticizes violence. Revisionist western focuses on the lawlessness of the American west, depicts the randomness and irrationality of violence, and destroys the romanticism of violence by replacing it with a more realistic and authentic approach to the real execution and consequence of violence in the west.

People commit cruel acts for their own selfish interests. Individuals greedy for power will do anything to get their way, even if it means killing other people. Money, land, and social status are some reasons why people are willing to ruin another’s life. Leaders who desire more power than given do these things as well. Selfish people ignore others inferior to them during their conquest for supremacy. The indifference of these individuals is the cause of catastrophes such as genocides and mass killings.

everybody knows what terrorist and assassins do, but most of the people do not know why they do it.

Violence is a primal instinct. From a baboon that attacks another baboon for encroaching on its food; to a mother bear that mauls a wolf for approaching its cubs, animals possess violence as a natural response. Despite all of their technological advances and societal standards, people too are genetically predisposed to violence. From the thief that shoots a store clerk for a few dollars in a cash register; to a politician that buries blackmail by killing someone, people respond with violence.

Many can say that humans are naturally violent, especially when when they are put in stressful situations. On several occasions we have proven when worst comes to worst we usually end up making the wrong decisions because in some way that seems easier to us . For example we’ve started wars, riots and genocides. Not to say that there aren’t any people who haven’t resorted to violence but generally speaking most humans will participate or at least agree to these violent actions if it can benefit them. Even though they know it’s wrong.

Karl Marx was the founder of the conflict theory. He believed that there was an inequality between two types of people in this world, capitalists and the workers. This inequality was developed from the lack of resources. (Carl 2012, p.20-21) John started a temporary job on a farm, placing him in the ‘working’ category. According to the conflict theory, he is looking for authority and power as he doesn’t have it at his workplace. As a result, he looks for this power in his marriage by taking his anger out on his wife and showing her that he is in charge. Symbolic interactionism acknowledges social interactions influence on a person. It studies relationships, ethnicity, cultures,

The inclination to violence stems from several circumstances of life among the poor; the stigma of race, drug use and drug trafficking, and lack of employment, as well as the media and, family/peer association. The Code of the Streets by Elijah Anderson, is a groundbreaking essay the social scientist wrote, taking us inside of a world that most of us only read about. Anderson shows us how a frantic search for acceptance and respect governs social relations among the African American race; primarily the young men.