The Effects of Geographical Location, Religion and Gender on Aggression

Abstract

This investigation was designed to explore aggression as related to gender, geographical location and religion in Bangladeshi people. A factorial design involving two levels of gender (male/ female) two levels of geographical location (migration / non-migration) and two levels of religion (high religiosity/ low religiosity) was used. The main objectives of the study were (i) to study the effect of gender issue on aggression, (ii) to find out the effect of geographical location in terms of migration and non-migration on aggression and (iii) reflect on religious beliefs in terms of high religiosity and low religiosity as a causative factor of aggression. Accordingly, three hypotheses were framed. First hypothesis stated that Female respondents would express higher rates of aggression than male respondents. The second hypothesis stated that migrated respondents would express higher rates of aggression than non-migrated respondents. The third hypothesis stated that respondents with high religiosity would express higher rates of aggression than the respondents with low religiosity. These hypotheses were frame with reference to several theories of aggression such as Psychoanalytical theory, Biological theory, Drive theory, Social learning theory, Cognitive Neo-association Theory, Script Theory, Excitation Transfer Theory, Social Interaction Theory, Cue-Arousal Theory, and General Aggression Model. Moreover, review of relevant literature was presented in support of the hypotheses. A total of 240 respondents constituted the sample of the study. They were college students. A measure of aggressive behavior was used for data collection. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for the computation of data. Results supported first hypothesis and• third hypothesis. However, data provided partial support to the second hypothesis. Thus it was found that males expressed more aggression than females. Again, respondents with high religiosity expressed more aggression than the respondents with low religiosity. In addition gender, geographical location and religion appeared as moderators of aggression. In conclusion, an integrative analysis of results provided relatedness gender, geographical location and religion to aggression in different forms. Thus a distinctive feature has emerged in this relationship. More specifically, masculinity and faminity were found to be In here related with physical aggression and verbal aggression respectively. Again, females revealed higher maturity in indirect aggression through the use of the technique of social manipulation. Males, on the other hand, were found to use social intelligence in higher frequency in case of anger and hostile aggression. Another distinctive feature of the study was that intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity appears as potential mediator of aggression. Extrinsically religious persons were found to the affected by information about human factors in. their aggression. Thus the justification of aggression is moderated by social factors. This communion with God accounted for higher aggression in intrinsically religious people at the cost of social factors. These people with high religiosity were extrinsically aggressive due to juxtaposition of human elements with supernatural elements.