Bashing Bobo

Abstract

This study looks at how aggressive behaviour develops in children. It has attracted a lot of attention from a number of academic disciplines and is still quoted in many texts despite its age. There are two social issues that the study addresses. First, is aggression an innate feature of our behaviour? And to look at one particular aspect of this issue, can we say that male aggression towards women is a feature of ‘natural’ male behaviour or is it learnt? These questions have a bearing on how we develop social policies to deal with aggressive behaviour. The second issue, which follows on from the first, is if aggression is learnt then how is it learnt?