The passenger angrily hits the car and drives away, the driver sticks his head out of the window and curses at him. The passenger turns back and the driver gets out of the car, and it doesn’t take long for blood to start running down someone’s face… We may have all seen this scene or something similar on the streets. When getting on a bus or metro, we witness other conflicts. Behind the traffic, hands are on horns and frowns are everywhere. Social spaces are filled with anger, waiting for a disaster to occur between two people. Currently, society is in a situation where in different spaces, people’s social interactions lack tolerance and mutual understanding. Aggressive behaviors and a decrease in people’s tolerance threshold have become one of the main problems in our society, and if a solution is not found soon, its consequences will lead to the destruction of a society. Therefore, in order to examine the roots of the increase in aggression in society, we had a conversation with a behavior

• سلام

  Hello

  “بهترین راه برای رسیدن به موفقیت، شروع کردن است”

  “The best way to achieve success is to start.”

  What is aggression and what behaviors are considered aggressive?

Aggression refers to a behavior that is intentionally harmful, aggressive, and hostile towards others. It is a behavior that is caused by anger towards someone and is intended to cause physical or emotional harm.

We have two types of aggression: one is explosive anger and the other is instrumental aggression. I made this distinction myself.

Because aggression is a destructive anger that suddenly and without warning makes someone upset and causes harm to others. This harm can be physical, emotional, or behavioral.

Another type of aggression is a means of violence. This type of aggression is carried out with planning and premeditation. It means that a person goes with the intention of revenge, buys acid, and carries out an acid attack. It means that it takes place with a previous background. The person buys a weapon and goes to beat someone.

• من می خواهم به دانشگاه بروم

  I want to go to university.

  What is the reason for aggressive behavior? What factors cause a person to exhibit such behavior?

There are multiple factors that contribute to the emergence of aggression; one of them is genetic factors, meaning when a fetus is in the mother’s womb, the mother’s anxiety and stress, her nutrition, the environments she is in, the aggressions that occur towards the mother during pregnancy, or the neurological and psychological disorders that the parents had, all together are considered as genetic factors in the development of aggressive behavior.

Another factor is aggression, failure, and lack of success. Someone who has not been successful in their life and has failed in terms of education, emotions, economics, or social aspects, becomes prone to displaying aggressive behaviors.

Another reason is environmental conditions. Usually, conflicts are more prevalent in summers than in winters, and environmental factors such as weather, darkness and light, cold and heat, have a significant impact on aggression.

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  How do social factors play a role? How much can the social conditions an individual is in contribute to the occurrence of aggressive behaviors?

The social factor that can be mentioned in the emergence of such behaviors is the presence, occurrence, and increase of violence in society. When a person grows up in a tumultuous and tense family and enters a society full of social tensions and anxieties, the ground is set for aggressive behavior to arise in this person. This person is like a warehouse of gunpowder waiting to explode.

Social factors are more important than other factors in terms of aggression according to behaviorists. For example, noisy and polluted streets are another factor that can lead to violent behaviors.

Currently, about 320 of our educational centers in Tehran are in a critical stage of noise pollution. This noise pollution creates a state of behavioral stress.

Currently, in society, passengers and drivers are fighting over taxi fares, while on the bus and metro, they are fighting over getting on first. All of these behavioral patterns lead to the emergence of aggressive tendencies.

• من می خواهم به دانشگاه بروم

  I want to go to university.

  What other factors can lead to an increase in aggression among individuals in society?

In my opinion, computer games also play a significant role in promoting aggression among children. Currently, 95% of our computer games contain violent scenes and only a behaviorist can identify this issue.

While more than 75% of the toys available in the market are violent toys such as tanks, guns, swords, etc., these toys create a culture of violence.

Also, movies and series that have action and violent scenes. Unfortunately, this issue also exists in Iranian television where, in order to make programs more appealing, killing and shooting have become one of the main components of many movies.

• من به دنبال یافتن راهی برای بهبود زندگی خود هستم

  I am looking for a way to improve my life.

  Regardless of how this violence and aggression occur, where do you think we should look for the root of the decrease in people’s tolerance threshold, which leads to the eruption of angry aggression?

We have two coefficients for evaluating intelligence. One is IQ or the cognitive intelligence quotient and the other is EQ, which stands for emotional intelligence quotient. Those with a high EQ have a high tolerance threshold and vice versa.

Weak life skills, including family and academic skills, lead to a decrease in people’s tolerance threshold. Low levels of social energy and happiness, high levels of violence in society, and even the spread of news about existing crimes in society can cause a decrease in tolerance threshold.

Poverty, unemployment, and inflation, along with social and familial violence, and peer groups lacking social skills, also contribute to lowering the threshold of tolerance.

• من می خواهم به دانشگاه بروم

  I want to go to university.

  Is there an exact definition for the threshold of tolerance?

The threshold of tolerance is said to be a border, if the mental and intellectual ability of a person falls below it, their behavior becomes out of their control. When we go below the threshold of our ability to control our behavior, we have lost our threshold of tolerance.

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  There is no text provided in Farsi to translate. Please provide the text to be translated.

  What consequences can lowering the tolerance threshold have?

The consequences of such aggression and violence are evident. Currently, verbal aggression has become prevalent in our society, while smiling in our social interactions has significantly decreased.

The low threshold of tolerance in society leads to an increase in the level of violence and creates social anxiety, as a result, the rise in violence and social anxiety deprives the society of a sense of security.

• من به تو اعتماد دارم

  I trust you.

  What is the reason for this?

All of these are signs that social skills are at a low level in society. When social skills are low, the tolerance threshold decreases. When the tolerance threshold decreases, behavior management is no longer in the hands of humans and as a result, there will be no control over emotions, neither anger nor rage will be controlled. The understanding relationship between citizens is lost.

Currently, we are witnessing in society that sometimes disputes over rent, verbal arguments, physical fights, and even murder occur. Sometimes a simple apology can prevent a murder. 60% of murders happen without any prior warning due to the low threshold of people’s tolerance.

When a person lacks social skills and has a low tolerance threshold, a simple conflict can lead to murder. Currently, we are witnessing an increase in violence, even among women.

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  There is no Farsi text provided. Please provide the text to be translated.

  What is the reason for this increase in violence among women?

One of the reasons for emotional problems in women is their husbands’ addiction, abusive behavior, or financial difficulties and inability to fulfill their desires, which causes the woman to feel unsuccessful.

One of the reasons for this is that a woman cannot fulfill her sexual needs in married life. 70% of marital conflicts are due to lack of sexual understanding, but since talking about this issue is taboo, no one brings it up.

I have examined over 50,000 divorce cases and witnessed that 70% of divorces are due to sexual incompatibility between the husband and wife. Difficult economic conditions, along with these factors, also contribute to lowering the threshold of tolerance in women.

• I’m sorry, I cannot provide a translation without the Farsi text. Please provide the Farsi text for me to translate.

  Does lowering the tolerance threshold in individuals necessarily lead to physical conflicts?

Good, having a low tolerance threshold does not necessarily manifest in physical confrontation, many social behaviors are caused by having a low tolerance threshold. For example, when a person is stuck in heavy traffic, even though they know honking won’t open up the road, they still honk their horn. Honking in traffic, yelling, and risky driving behaviors are all signs of a low tolerance threshold in society.

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  I’m sorry, I cannot provide a translation as the Farsi text is not provided. Please provide the text for accurate translation.

  You mentioned increasing social skills to improve people’s tolerance threshold. What groups can play a role in improving people’s social skills?

There are two groups responsible for promoting social skills in society. One group is behavioral models. One of these behavioral models is parents. Parents are the first ones to accept their child into society. Acceptance into society means conforming to social norms.

Many behavioral patterns are not familiar with their social skills. The family is the first established center for building norms in children. Teachers are another behavioral pattern. Another pattern is peers, and ultimately, norm setters such as athletes, artists, and socially popular individuals; these patterns establish norms.

The second group responsible for improving social skills are institutions such as education, universities, radio and television, newspapers and other media.

“We teach lessons in school that are not useful for social life. To include social skills in school programs, different professionals must come together and review the education system. We have been neglecting this for thirty years. The media should also teach social skills.”

• به مناسبت روز جهانی زن

  On the occasion of International Women’s Day

  You mentioned media as one of the responsible institutions for promoting social skills. Considering that television is widespread in Iran and is the only visual media in the country, how do you evaluate the performance of the national broadcasting company in this regard?

I am currently banned from filming. The red lines of censorship are very wide and working within them is very difficult. However, if the media utilizes experienced artists and experts, many of its problems can be solved. When experts are invited to TV programs and roundtables based on the recommendations and orders of certain individuals, the result is boring and exhausting discussions, causing people to turn away from television. One of the reasons for my ban was that I had said television was responsible for the spread of satellite dishes in Iran.

Currently, the selection of experts in radio and television is done without any criteria and is solely based on certain relationships. Furthermore, a committee composed of experts from various fields should be responsible for the programs of radio and television.

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  I’m sorry, I cannot provide a translation as the Farsi text is not included. Please provide the text for an accurate translation.

  Does it mean that you believe there is no evaluation done for the effects of TV series and movies on society?

Seda va Sima currently has a unit called “evaluation” that holds sessions after the end of series, where experts give their opinions about them. In my opinion, this is useless because before airing, the negative effects of some programs and series should be evaluated. Seda va Sima, with its poor productions, drives people towards satellite networks. We currently have many professional artists who are not willing to program there due to the regulations and conditions of Seda va Sima.

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  I’m sorry, I cannot provide a translation without the Farsi text. Please provide the Farsi text for me to translate.

  How do you see the role of legal rules in the emergence of aggressive behaviors in society?

Our laws are not prevention-oriented. Our laws are punishment-oriented and more prison-oriented. We must have prevention-oriented laws.

Article 153 of the Constitution has determined that the prevention of social crimes, deviances, and social harms is the responsibility of the judiciary. Currently, after thirty-two years since the revolution, it has been almost a year since the establishment of the Prevention Deputy in the judiciary. Before that, we had 22 prevention institutions in the country, and this lack of focus in policies has led to the occurrence of crimes in society.

In my opinion, punishment cannot fix damages, it only serves as a sedative. We must focus on prevention. Currently, we have twice as many prisoners in our prisons. It is clear that imprisonment, execution, etc. have not been effective because if these punishments were effective, we would not have any violence in our society. In my belief, legal, cultural, and social prevention should be prioritized.

• من در حال حاضر در کلاس درس هستم

  I am currently in class.

  In your opinionها

  NGOs

  What role can they play in reducing aggressive behaviors and increasing social tolerance?

I believe that the government cannot be successful in social issues. We must delegate the work to the people, and this can be achieved through government support and supervision. The government must provide various resources and let the people take action. Security should be neighborhood-based, and prevention should be people-centered. The government should only supervise. Until now, the government has not been successful in prevention and intervention, and the increase in social issues is a bitter reality. The larger government organizations become, the more ineffective they become. For example, consider the Welfare Organization, which has multiple responsibilities but has not been successful in fulfilling any of them.