When an infant is born, whether it be a newborn human or a newborn animal, a mother will defend it against harm, but is this behavior naturally occurring? Firm believers of evolutionary psychology assert that, “evolution by natural selection, is at present, the only viable scientific explanation of the existence of complex biological and psychological … Read more
It is tempting to focus completely on an individual when studying that person’s development. After all, as the topic of study, he or she should contain a wealth of information about his or her former development. However, that is not necessarily the case. From birth to death, many external factors, most of them outside of … Read more
In the history of humanity, violence in fairy tales or children’s books is not a recent phenomenon, these dates back from the first stories for children when violence was used in the narrative as a didactic element, where the wicked were punished often with physical violence and the virtuous were rewarded (Creasey). For centuries, the … Read more
Altruism is a prosocial act that is done for someone else, perhaps a stranger, and results in the helper losing something. Prosocial behaviors may be helping, sharing, cooperating, and assisting a stranger, but it becomes an altruistic act when the helper performs the act to benefit someone else even when it costs them. To determine … Read more
Bullying has been quite a growing problem in today’s society. Bullying is defined as any repeated negative activity or aggression intended to harm or bother someone who is perceived by peers as being less physically or psychologically powerful than the aggressor. The particular concern with the frequent bullying of children is that it will have … Read more
Genetically inherited or environmentally learned? The question has been asked for years. Is human aggression genetically linked or is it the environment that determines our aggressive nature? Over the years there have been many theories proposed supporting the idea that aggression has a genetic link in humans. “A century ago, Italian physician Cesare Lombroso claimed … Read more
Testosterone Equals Aggression or Aggression Equals Testosterone? High levels of testosterone seem to encourage behavior apparently intended to dominate — to enhance one’s status over — other people. Sometimes dominant behavior is aggressive, it is apparent intent being to inflict harm on another person, but often dominance is expressed nonaggressively. Sometimes dominant behavior takes the … Read more