AGGRESSION

Rahul was playing basket ball with his friend Abhishek in school break. One senior student Kartik
came and forcibly took the basket ball and started playing on his own. When Rahul protested, he
pushed him hard on the ground.

An article in a newspaper reported that some anti-social elements beat up a shopkeeper and
destroyed the things in his shop when he refused to give coke bottles for free.

When you look at the above situations, you can see that these are cases of aggression, and the
degree and form of aggression differs in each of these cases.

While it is verbal abuse in the first situation,

the second and third scenarios involve physical aggression.

The extent of aggression is more in the third situation and involves destruction of properties also.

In the present digital age, information can spread in the lightning speed and it is so easy to spread
humiliating and malicious things about someone and tarnish their image in the public.

This public humiliation is also another form of aggression.

Aggression, in simple terms, is thus causing harm or hurting others. It can be verbal as well as
physical and direct as well as indirect.

Violence is more extreme form of aggression, causing severe injury and even death. Thus
aggression and violence can be said to be on a continuum where the extreme end is violence, for
example, terrorist killings, murder, rape etc. All violence include aggression, but not all aggressive
acts are violent.

In psychology, aggression refers to a range of behaviors that can

result in both physical and psychological harm to

yourself, others, or objects in the environment.

Aggression centers on hurting another person either physically or

mentally.

While we all may feel aggressive on occasion, when aggression

becomes pervasive or extreme, it may be a sign of an
underlying mental health condition, a substance use disorder, or
another medical issue.1

Aggression can serve a number of different purposes, including:WHY

 Expressing anger or hostility

 Asserting dominance
 Intimidating or threatening
 Achieving a goal
 Expressing possession
 Responding to fear
 Reacting to pain
 Competing with others

Forms of Aggression
Because aggressive behavior is intended to harm someone who doesn't
want to be harmed, it must involve action—simply thinking about harming
someone or feeling angry isn't enough, and accidentally harming someone
doesn't qualify. Aggressive behaviors can be:2

 Physical, like beating, hitting, kicking, or stabbing another person.

Damaging property is also a form of physical aggression.
 Verbal, which may include mocking, name-calling, and yelling.
 Relational, which is intended to harm another person's
relationships. This can include spreading rumors and telling lies
about someone else.
 Passive-aggressive, like ignoring someone during a social event
or offering back-handed compliments. Passive-aggressive behavior
is usually intended to allow harm to come to someone, rather than
causing harm directly.

While we often think of aggression in its physical forms,

psychological aggression can also be very damaging. Intimidating
or verbally berating another person, for instance, are examples of
verbal, mental, and emotional aggression. Cyberbullying is
another form of non-physical aggression that can cause serious
harm to others.

Types of Aggression
Psychologists divide aggression into two main types. Both are damaging
to those who experience them, whether as the target or the aggressor.

Impulsive Aggression caused by triggers, heat of

the moment.

Also known as affective or reactive aggression, impulsive aggression is

characterized by strong emotions. Impulsive aggression, especially when
it's caused by anger, triggers the acute threat response system in
the brain, involving the amygdala, hypothalamus, and periaqueductal
gray.1

This form of aggression is not planned and often takes place in the
heat of the moment. If another car cuts you off in traffic and you
begin yelling and berating the other driver, you're experiencing
impulsive aggression.

Instrumental Aggression: planned. To achieve larger

goal

Also known as predatory aggression, instrumental aggression is marked

by behaviors that are intended to achieve a larger goal.1 Instrumental
aggression is often carefully planned and usually exists as a means to an
end.

Hurting another person in a robbery is an example of this type of

aggression. The aggressor's goal is to obtain money, and harming
another individual is the means to achieve that aim.

Causes
We don't know precisely what causes excessive or inappropriate
aggression. It's likely that several different factors are involved, including
someone's biology, environment, and psychological history.

Biological Factors
There may be genetic and hormonal factors that influence
aggression. Imbalances in certain hormones, like testosterone
and cortisol, and neurotransmitters, like serotonin and dopamine, may
be linked to aggression.3 These imbalances can occur for a number of
reasons, including genetics.
Brain structure can also influence aggression. People with
structural abnormalities in the amygdala tend to show more
aggression than their peers. Changes in other areas of the brain may also
contribute to aggressive behavior.3

Environmental Factors
How you were raised may play a role in whether or not you engage in
aggressive behavior. People who grow up witnessing aggression
may be more likely to believe that violence and hostility are
socially acceptable. Experiencing trauma during childhood can
also lead to aggressive behavior in adulthood.4

Psychologist Albert Bandura's famous Bobo doll experiment demonstrated

that observational learning can also play a role in how aggression
develops. In this experiment, children who watched a video clip where an
adult model behaved aggressively toward a Bobo doll were more likely to
imitate those actions when given the opportunity.

Psychological Factors
Several mental health conditions can be associated with aggressive
behavior, including:

 Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)5

 Bipolar disorder6
 Borderline personality disorder (BPD)7
 Narcissism8
 Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)9

Epilepsy, dementia, psychosis, substance use disorder, and brain injuries

or abnormalities can also influence aggression.10

Impact of Aggression
Aggression can affect your health and relationships. Research
suggests that there is a link between anger and chronic inflammation,
which can cause secondary health problems like cardiovascular
issues.11 Anger and aggression are also associated with mental
health conditions. However, it isn't clear if unregulated
anger causes those conditions, or if the conditions themselves make it
difficult to manage intense emotions like anger and aggression. 12

Experiencing aggression at the hands of a partner, friend, or family

member also has detrimental effects. People who have been victims of
physical or psychological aggression view those experiences as harmful,
even when their aggressor doesn't.13 These forms of aggression can
ultimately lead to the end of the relationship.14

Unchecked aggression can also make things more difficult at work and
strain friendships. That can lead to more stress and feelings of
alienation for the aggressor, which may worsen the problem.

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Help With Managing Aggression

If you're experiencing feelings of aggression, you can learn to manage
your anger and cope in a more constructive way. Developing an anger
management plan ahead of time can give you a roadmap to use when
your emotions feel out of control. That plan should include ways to reduce
your stress levels, like:

 Being mindful of your anger warning signs, like clenching your jaw,
a fast pulse, or sweating
 Practicing relaxation techniques like deep breathing, meditation,
or progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)
 Engaging with your senses by focusing on things you can see,
smell, hear, touch, or taste
 Walking away from the situation
 Exercising to burn off excess energy
 Reaching out to a trusted friend or family member for social support
 Distracting yourself with another activity
 Reframing negative thoughts
 Learning to explore and accept the emotions underlying the
aggression

If someone in your life is behaving aggressively toward you, it's important

to protect your own mental health and physical safety. Try to stay calm
and avoid escalating the conflict, and walk away if it's safe to do so. If
you're facing aggression at the hands of an intimate partner, look out
for warning signs that the relationship is becoming dangerous, and reach
out for help and support.

If you or a loved one are a victim of domestic violence, contact

the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for
confidential assistance from trained advocates.

For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which part of the brain controls aggression?
Aggression involves several different regions of the brain. The amygdala,
hypothalamus, and periaqueductal gray are involved in recognizing an
acute threat and generating an emotional response, while the prefrontal
cortex plays a role in whether or not we act based on those emotions. 1

What is passive aggression?

Passive aggression is a way to express aggression indirectly. This kind of
behavior is still intended to harm others, but it's often harder to identify
and address. Deliberately avoiding someone else or "forgetting" to
complete assigned tasks can be examples of passive-aggressive
behavior.

What is reactive aggression?

Reactive aggression, also known as impulsive aggression, happens in
response to a specific trigger. This form of aggression isn't planned and is
often associated with feelings of intense anger.2 Hitting someone in
response to an insult is an example of reactive aggression.

What is microaggression?
Microaggressions are subtle behaviors that discriminate against a
marginalized group of people. Microaggressions can be intentional or they
may reflect someone's implicit bias; either way, they can have a
cumulative, negative effect on the person being targeted.

What is the goal of aggression?

 The goal of aggression is to harm someone who doesn't want to
be harmed. The motivation behind this varies from person to
person.
 Someone may act aggressively as a response to pain or fear,
 someone else may use aggression to achieve another goal, like
taking another person's money or property.

A Word From Verywell

Aggression is often the byproduct of another underlying factor.
Exploring and addressing that root cause can often help reduce
aggressive behavior.

If you're troubled by aggression, seeking professional mental health care

may benefit you. Anger management classes can help you learn how to
avoid responding to intense emotions and how to manage aggression in a
healthy, safe way.

Theory of Aggression

Social Learning Theory

The last aggression theory comes out of one of the most famous
experiments of all time. The Social Learning Theory was
proposed by Albert Bandura in the 1960s.

Bandura is most known for his Bobo Doll experiment, which

attempted to explain how children learn aggression from an early
age. He proposed that aggression is a learned behavior. Children
exert aggression simply because they are imitating what they have
observed.

Here’s how the experiment went down. Children were put in a room
with an adult, some toys, and a large Bobo Doll. (A Bobo Doll is
one of those inflatable clowns that bounces back up when you hit
it.)

Half of the children sat in the room with the adult as they gently
played with the toys, displaying little aggression.

The other half sat in the room with the adult as the adult
aggressively hit or kicked the Bobo Doll. Some of these adults used
explicit language or even hit the Bobo Doll over the head with a
mallet.

The children were then separated from the adult and placed in
a room alone with more exciting toys. After a few minutes, the
toys were taken away in order to upset the children. All of the
children were then taken into a third room, where another
Bobo Doll stood.
The children who had observed the aggressive adults were more
likely to exhibit aggressive behavior themselves. Children were
simply imitating and modeling when they also kicked, hit, or were
otherwise aggressive toward the Bobo doll.

It’s from this experiment that Bandura proposed that aggression is

learned not only through positive or negative reinforcement but also
through indirect observational learning.

Example of Social Learning Theory in Media

Have you ever seen Big Little Lies? If you haven't, you might want
to skip over this example - it's a spoiler! If you are okay with
spoilers, read on. In the TV show, the sons of Nicole Kidman's
character start displaying various signs of aggression at school.
Why did they start doing that? It's later revealed they learned those
behaviors from their father. After watching their father's aggression,
they began to mimic his behavior.

The social learning theory isn't just a plot point on TV - it's an

effect of watching TV. A child who is watching violence on TV may
also imitate violent acts. Hundreds of studies show that children
who observe aggressive behaviors in the media may start to repeat
those aggressive behaviors. This is why movies with violence
typically have a more mature rating.

DEALING WITH AGGRESSION:

Aggression and violence among youth has a huge cost to the individual as well as the society and
nation. It has negative impact on the development of the person and his/her family.

The first great impact is on the health of the individual, both physical as well as mental health.

It can also affect the relationship with family and peer group.

Further, it affects negatively the learning and academic performance as well as career prospects.

Society also bears the negative impact of the youth violence which creates a culture of mistrust,
intolerance and lack of patience and peace; added to this is the economic cost by destruction of
properties, infrastructure and facilities.
Violence inflicted on vulnerable population (for example., women, people with disabilities,
minorities such as scheduled caste, scheduled tribes, transgender etc.) and its impact on them also
needs to be considered and appropriate steps be taken to address this significant concern.

1. Punishment: Punishment has always been used as a deterrent for violence and aggressive
behaviours in the family, school as well as at societal level by the law and order system of
the country.
For cases of violence and aggression, people are locked up in jails and even given life
sentence or capital punishment.
Though it has always been debatable whether these punishments are justified on ethical
grounds, the main purpose behind it is that the perpetrators or the criminals deserved this.
Thus, punishments are used for main reasons – to act as a deterrent for further violence and
crime, and the reasoning that the aggressors/ criminals deserved it.
A few considerations while giving punishment are: it should be seen as a punishment by the
aggressor; it should be clear-cut that punishment will follow certain acts of aggression;
delivery of punishment should be consistent; punishment should be immediate; and the
magnitude of punishment should be in accordance to the severity of aggression and
violence.

2. Catharsis: Catharsis involves release of the negative emotions that build up inside the
body. Expressing these pent-up feelings and emotions will help reduce angry feelings and
aggressive behaviours.
However, these need to be expressed in a harmless and constructive way rather than
ruminating over it. Rumination involves thinking about the negative emotions and the
source of the pain and distress. Focusing on one’s negative mood only acts to strengthen it
more and may cause aggression. On the contrary, engaging in some constructive things such
as gardening or physical exercise may help reduce the sense of anger. Thus catharsis may
also be used in dealing with aggressive behaviour. Though, as Baron and Byrne (1995) point
out, studies have provided mixed findings on catharsis hypothesis.

3. Cognitive Strategies: Aggression occurs both on impulse and as a well thought out plan.
Hence there is a need to focus on the thinking and cognition of the individual to change
hostile thought patterns. One needs to be aware of the automatic thoughts that come to
our mind that later on forms the basis of aggression. Analyzing the situation/incident,
giving justification and providing reasonable explanations help to reduce the anger,
thereby preventing aggression.

4. Social Skills Training: People engaged in aggressive behavior often lack in relevant social
skills. They may lack in proper and relevant skills required in social interactions with other
people.