Who believes aggression is learned?

Who believes aggression is learned?

• A. Psychoanalytic theorists
• B. Humanistic theorists
• C. Cognitive theorists
• D. Social learning theorists

Answer: (D)

Aggression can be learned through social learning theory, which says people pick up new behaviors by watching others and noting what happens to them. When aggressive actions are modeled and rewarded or not punished, observers imitate those actions. This observational and reinforcement-based learning explains why aggression can appear after exposure to aggressive models, without needing innate aggression. Other theories emphasize different processes: psychoanalytic accounts focus on internal drives and childhood conflicts, humanistic on personal growth and self-concept, and cognitive on thinking patterns and interpretations rather than learning from the social environment. So the idea that aggression is learned through modeling and reinforcement is the hallmark of social learning theory.

Aggression can be learned through social learning theory, which says people pick up new behaviors by watching others and noting what happens to them. When aggressive actions are modeled and rewarded or not punished, observers imitate those actions. This observational and reinforcement-based learning explains why aggression can appear after exposure to aggressive models, without needing innate aggression. Other theories emphasize different processes: psychoanalytic accounts focus on internal drives and childhood conflicts, humanistic on personal growth and self-concept, and cognitive on thinking patterns and interpretations rather than learning from the social environment. So the idea that aggression is learned through modeling and reinforcement is the hallmark of social learning theory.