Causative Factors for Aggressive Behavior and Violent Tendencies: Nature Versus Nurture

For the last few decades, two hypotheses (Nurture and Nature) have strongly influenced the research on human aggressive behavior, violent tendencies, and disease onset. The nurture hypothesis states that humans acquire their behavioral violent tendencies as a result of adapting to their hostile environment such as family violence, societal violence and media violence. Whereas the nature hypothesis states that violent tendencies arise as a result of epigenetic regulation or polymorphism in important genes such as mono-amine oxidase A (MAOA), the serotonin transporter and others, which may be causative factors in the progression and maintenance of chronic violent tendencies. To compare these premises, we conducted a pilot study among young subjects, and data was collected from 130 respondents via convenience and referral sampling through an online survey. A significant correlation between the subjects’ current violent tendencies, and both the hypotheses was noted. However, inherited characteristics play a more impactful role than nurture in most participants.