Page 278 - The Social Animal

260 The Social Animal

likely to respond in a receptive and understanding manner than those
located in the North.
Taking these findings into account, we would conclude that, al-
though an instinctual component of aggression is almost certainly
present in human beings and other primates, aggression is not caused
entirely by instinct. There are clear examples that show how cultural
influences shape our responses to situational and social events, and
thereby determine whether we will respond aggressively. Even more
important, we know that in human beings, such behavior can be
modified by situational and social factors. In short, aggressive behav-
ior can be reduced.

Is Aggression Useful?

The Survival of the Fittest Okay, aggression in humans can
be reduced, but should it be? Some investigators have suggested that
aggression might be useful and perhaps even necessary. Konrad
18
Lorenz, for example, has argued that aggression is “an essential part
of the life-preserving organization of instincts.” Basing his argument
on nonhumans, he sees aggression as being of prime evolutionary
importance, allowing the young animals to have the strongest and
smartest mothers and fathers and enabling the group to be led by the
best possible leaders. From their study of Old World monkeys, an-
thropologist Sherwood Washburn and psychiatrist David Hamburg
concur. They find that aggression within the same group of mon-
19
keys plays an important role in feeding, reproduction, and determin-
ing dominance patterns. The strongest and most aggressive male in
a colony will assume a dominant position through an initial display
20
of aggressive behavior. Ironically, as Steven Pinker has observed,
this serves to reduce subsequent serious fighting within the colony
because the other males know who is boss and simply back off. Fur-
thermore, because the dominant male is responsible for a large pro-
portion of reproduction, the colony increases its chances of survival
as the strong male passes on his vigor to subsequent generations.
The pattern of behavior among elephant seals is similar—but a
bit more bloody. According to psychobiologist Burney LeBoeuf, 21
every year before mating season, pairs of males square off against
each other to establish dominance. The strongest, most aggressive,