Nature and Nurture

• The social learning theory of violence rejects the idea that violence and aggression are natural and thus should be accepted. In the social learning theory, issues of gender attitudes come into play because men are often socialized to be aggressive from an early age. This hypothesis is corroborated by Bandura's research on modeling, in which he had male and female children watch a video of aggressive behavior toward a doll. The children, who were then left alone in a room with the same doll, exhibited a familiar pattern: male children were more aggressive than female children.
  
  

Situational Factors

• Certain circumstances lead to the reproduction of violence much more quickly than others. A family full of stress, aggression or violent behavior is likely to condition any child to behave in the same way. In addition, other factors such as substance abuse, financial difficulty or marital instability tend to lead to violence being accommodated within the home.
  
  

Studies

• Other larger studies have corroborated the social learning theory of violence. In a 20-year study following children through adolescence and into adult romantic relationships, the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons found that children who experienced violence or witnessed their parents using violence against one another were at a significantly increased risk of being involved in an abusive relationship when they became adults. Unlike other studies, this one found no gender pattern in the relationship between child violence and adult violence.
  
  

Alternative Theories

• The two most common alternate theories for the existence of violence are the instinct theory and the drive theory. As popularized by Sigmund Freud, the instinct theory holds that man is automatically equipped with an aggression-generating system, and that such aggression must be periodically discharged. The drive theory states that the aggressive drive is not inherent but instead stems from frustration. In contrast, the social learning theory finds a multiplicity of causes and effects of human aggression; aversive experiences lead to emotional arousal, which leads to many specific types of violent behavior.
  
  

Important Differences

• An important theoretical part of the social learning approach to violence is Bandura's assertion that violence stems from a common, diffuse state of emotional arousal. Unlike past theorists, he does not distinguish between drive states or assert that one specific state causes violence. Because this state of emotional arousal begins with no set path, instincts that could lead to aggression could just as easily lead to euphoria; emotional states can be relabeled. Thus, with social adjustments, emotional arousal does not necessarily have to lead to violence and can be channeled in another direction.