In psychology and other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior that is intended to cause harm or pain. Aggression can be either physical or verbal, and behavior is classified as aggression even if it does not actually succeed in causing harm or pain. Behavior that accidentally causes harm or pain is not aggression. Property damage and other destructive behavior may also fall under the definition of aggression. Aggression is not the same thing as assertiveness.
Aggression is a perplexing phenomenon. Why are people motivated to hurt each other? How does violence help organisms to survive and reproduce? After two centuries of theories and technological advances, psychologists and other scientists have been able to look deeply into aggression's biological and evolutionary roots, as well as its consequences in society.
Types of aggression
Aggression is a complex phenomenon that is composed of a number of more specific types of behavior. Moyer (1968) presented an early and influential classification of seven different forms of aggression, from a biological and evolutionary point of view.
1. Predatory aggression: attack on prey by a predator.
2. Inter-male aggression: competition between males of the same species over access to resources such as females, dominance, status, etc.
3. Fear-induced aggression: aggression associated with attempts to flee from a threat.
4. Irritable aggression: aggression induced by frustration and directed against an available target.
5. Territorial aggression: defence of a fixed area against intruders, typically conspecifics.
6. Maternal aggression: a female's aggression to protect her offspring from a threat. Paternal aggression also exists.
7. Instrumental aggression: aggression directed towards obtaining some goal, considered to be a learned response to a situation.
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Author's Bio
This definition is part of a series that covers the topic of Anger Management. The Official Guide to Anger Management is Hale Dwoskin. Dwoskin, New York Times Best-Selling author of The Sedona Method, and co-author of the best-selling Happiness Is Free (five-book series) is the CEO and Director of Training of Sedona Training Associates, an organization that teaches courses based on the emotional releasing techniques originated by his mentor, Lester Levenson. Dwoskin is an international speaker and featured faculty member at Esalen and the Omega Institute. He is also one of the 24 featured teachers of the book and movie phenomenon, “The Secret.” For thirty years, he has regularly been teaching The Sedona Method techniques to individuals and corporations throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
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