If this morning you found yourself getting angry at the person hooting the horn behind you and, in steaming rage, plotted 10 ways to murder the other driver, do not worry.
It may not be your fault: you could have a biological disposition to aggression.
According to Steven Taylor, a sociologist from the University of London, aggression can be inside us, it can be learnt or it can arise from blind obedience.
“The world is made of people with different grades of aggression. At opposite ends there are people who are incredibly placid and those who are criminals,” said Dr Taylor.
In the past, aggression was crucial for humanity. “Aggressive hormones were essential for our survival. Today, we don’t need it, so we try to reduce it and to manage it,” he explained.
Dr Taylor spoke during a public lecture organised at St Martin’s Institute of Higher Education, a private tertiary education institution offering University of London International programmes in Malta.
Studies showed aggression could be the result of a combination of three factors: a dysfunctional brain cortex, the presence of aggressive DNA and a neglected, abusive childhood.
“The Beatles were right after all: all you need is love,” quipped Dr Taylor. Quoting neuroscientist Jim Fallon, he said a dysfunctional brain structure essentially meant that there would be no brake to regulate impulses.
However, the cortex (the front part of the brain) and the presence of aggressive genes was not enough in itself to trigger extreme aggression.
“Fallon himself had the aggressive genes and the brain structure of a psychopath but he was raised in an environment where he was showered with love and that offset the whole thing and he was never aggressive,” Dr Taylor said.
He questioned whether, in future, we would start considering aggression as a neurological condition and whether embryos would be screened in the womb to determine if a baby had a chance to turn out aggressive.
The environment can produce aggressive behaviour, and growing up surrounded by violence would pre-dispose children to it.
“Twenty per cent of child murders are by other children and every time you track back to the parents, there would have been a violent family,” he said.
Studies are not very clear about whether violent media creates violent children. “However, there is no evidence that we have necessarily become a much more violent society.”
Putting parents’ mind at rest, he said three factors indicated that everything was fine: “If children have friends, if they are doing well at school and if they have conversations with you, they’ll be OK.”
Dr Taylor spoke of the chilling obedience experiments carried out by Stanley Milgram, a social psychologist; a person could become aggressive in an act of obedience to authority.
So what can be done to control the possible rise of aggression in society?
Dr Taylor has three solutions.
First, screen children at a young age. “Teachers at primary school can often identify students who will turn out to be criminals later in life,” he said.
Secondly, parents should spend more time with their children in a loving environment.
Thirdly, the authorities must take a stronger line against aggressive media.
In the meantime, if you notice that road rage is getting worse, seek help.
For more information, e-mail infodest@stmartins.edu