Genetics of Aggression - Future Research

Future Research

The explosion of genetic discoveries and the thinking of a new generation of scientists and social scientists have allowed genetics and aggression to be linked together without as much controversy as was characteristic in the past. Much of the current research involving genetics and aggression is aimed at understanding the link between genes and the environment that leads to aggression. Psychosocial researchers are now using genetic information as a control variable in experiments allowing them to be better able to study the environmental effects on aggression. Current thinking is that eventually studies investigating the effectiveness of aggression prevention programs will test genotypes of participants and identify those who are at "more risk" towards aggression. These more at risk people will be compared to less at risk individuals to examine how well prevention programs can combat genetic aggression. For now it is safe to say that studies exploring the genetic factors of aggression will still be mostly confined to animal studies as the ethics of human studies is still a debate.

Many species of animals still need to be studied to better understand genetics of aggression. At the moment, studies on monkeys, fish, and small mammals are being conducted and will utilize genetic information and understanding to better understand the role the environment plays alongside genetics in the development of aggression. These comparative genetics studies will allow researchers to compare similar traits of aggression in many species and also identify special aggressive traits specific to certain animals all allowing for a better model of human aggression.