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Instructions

The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to eachΒ question.

Aggression is any behavior that is directed toward injuring, harming, or inflicting pain onΒ another living being or group of beings. Generally, the victim(s) of aggression must wish toΒ avoid such behavior in order for it to be considered true aggression. Aggression is alsoΒ categorized according to its ultimate intent. Hostile aggression is an aggressive act thatΒ results from anger, and is intended to inflict pain or injury because of that anger. InstrumentalΒ aggression is an aggressive act that is regarded as a means to an end other than pain orΒ injury. For example, an enemy combatant may be subjected to torture in order to extractΒ useful intelligence, though those inflicting the torture may have no real feelings of anger orΒ animosity toward their subject. The concept of aggression is very broad, and includes manyΒ categories of behavior (e.g., verbal aggression, street crime, child abuse, spouse abuse,Β group conflict, war, etc.). A number of theories and models of aggression have arisen toΒ explain these diverse forms of behavior, and these theories/models tend to be categorizedΒ according to their specific focus. The most common system of categorization groups theΒ various approaches to aggression into three separate areas, based upon the three keyΒ variables that are present whenever any aggressive act or set of acts is committed. The firstΒ variable is the aggressor him/herself. The second is the social situation or circumstance inΒ which the aggressive act(s) occur. The third variable is the target or victim of aggression.

Regarding theories and research on the aggressor, the fundamental focus is on the factorsΒ that lead an individual (or group) to commit aggressive acts. At the most basic level, someΒ argue that aggressive urges and actions are the result of inborn, biological factors. SigmundΒ Freud (1930) proposed that all individuals are born with a death instinct that predisposes us toΒ a variety of aggressive behaviors, including suicide (self directed aggression) and mentalΒ illness (possibly due to an unhealthy or unnatural suppression of aggressive urges). OtherΒ influential perspectives supporting a biological basis for aggression conclude that humansΒ evolved with an abnormally low neural inhibition of aggressive impulses (in comparison toΒ other species), and that humans possess a powerful instinct for property accumulation andΒ territorialism. It is proposed that this instinct accounts for hostile behaviors ranging from minorΒ street crime to world wars. Hormonal factors also appear to play a significant role in fosteringΒ aggressive tendencies. For example, the hormone testosterone has been shown to increaseΒ aggressive behaviors when injected into animals. Men and women convicted of violent crimesΒ also possess significantly higher levels of testosterone than men and women convicted of nonΒ violent crimes. Numerous studies comparing different age groups, racial/ethnic groups, andΒ cultures also indicate that men, overall, are more likely to engage in a variety of aggressiveΒ behaviors (e.g., sexual assault, aggravated assault, etc.) than women. One explanation forΒ higher levels of aggression in men is based on the assumption that, on average, men haveΒ higher levels of testosterone than women.

Question 11

The author identifies three essential factors according to which theories of aggressionΒ are most commonly categorised. Which of the following options is closest to theΒ factors identified by the author?

The author explains that theories of aggression are often categorized based on three main factors: the aggressor (the person or group committing the aggression), the circumstances surrounding the aggressive act, and the victim (the person or group being targeted). These factors help to understand and explain different types of aggression.

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