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Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Apr 2023Human aggression typologies largely correspond with those for other animals. While there may be no non-human equivalent of angry reactive aggression, we propose that... (Review)
Review
Non-angry aggressive arousal and angriffsberietschaft: A narrative review of the phenomenology and physiology of proactive/offensive aggression motivation and escalation in people and other animals.
Human aggression typologies largely correspond with those for other animals. While there may be no non-human equivalent of angry reactive aggression, we propose that human proactive aggression is similar to offense in other animals' dominance contests for territory or social status. Like predation/hunting, but unlike defense, offense and proactive aggression are positively reinforcing, involving dopamine release in accumbens. The drive these motivational states provide must suffice to overcome fear associated with initiating risky fights. We term the neural activity motivating proactive aggression "non-angry aggressive arousal", but use "angriffsberietschaft" for offense motivation in other animals to acknowledge possible differences. Temporal variation in angriffsberietschaft partitions fights into bouts; engendering reduced anti-predator vigilance, redirected aggression and motivational over-ride. Increased aggressive arousal drives threat-to-attack transitions, as in verbal-to-physical escalation and beyond that, into hyper-aggression. Proactive aggression and offense involve related neural activity states. Cingulate, insular and prefrontal cortices energize/modulate aggression through a subcortical core containing subnuclei for each aggression type. These proposals will deepen understanding of aggression across taxa, guiding prevention/intervention for human violence.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Motivation; Aggression; Anger; Social Behavior; Arousal
PubMed: 36822384
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105110 -
Journal of Interpersonal Violence May 2021Research has demonstrated, in Western nations, men and women are both perpetrators and victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). However, to the best of our knowledge,...
Research has demonstrated, in Western nations, men and women are both perpetrators and victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). However, to the best of our knowledge, IPV and the Dark Tetrad (Machiavellianism, subclinical narcissism, subclinical psychopathy, and subclinical sadism) have not been included in this research fully. We investigated how these dark personalities influenced the perpetration of IPV in a cross-cultural study between Sweden and the United Kingdom through surveys with university students. We furthermore compared IPV perpetration with same-sex aggression of a non-romantic partner to explore sex- and aggression-specific effects. In a sample of 342 participants, our main findings were the following: (a) the only significant difference in IPV perpetration was women were more verbally aggressive; (b) men reported more verbal and physical same-sex aggression of a non-romantic partner; (c) men scored higher on all the Dark Tetrad personalities regardless of culture, while the Swedish sample scored significantly higher on subclinical narcissism and sadism; (d) the Dark Tetrad and aggression perpetration were significantly correlated; (e) different Dark Tetrad personalities predicted different forms of aggression perpetration with some gender differences; and (f) being high on subclinical psychopathy predicted most types of aggression regardless of target. Our study highlights that dark personalities engage in particular types of aggression, which helps to determine how and when distinctive personalities aggress for potential interventions.
Topics: Aggression; Female; Humans; Intimate Partner Violence; Male; Personality; Sweden; United Kingdom
PubMed: 30141719
DOI: 10.1177/0886260518793992 -
Aggressive Behavior Mar 2021Youth are sometimes victimized by their friends, but we know little about the nature of these relationships. Taking a dyadic approach, we studied relationships...
Youth are sometimes victimized by their friends, but we know little about the nature of these relationships. Taking a dyadic approach, we studied relationships characterized by both friendship and aggression. Participants (952 middle schoolers; 50% female; 44% Latinx) nominated friends and aggressive perpetrators and victims. Using two analytic samples of friend dyads (N = 6971) and aggressive dyads (N = 4662), results indicated that aggression by a friend was somewhat common. Compared with friend dyads without aggression, aggressive friend dyads were stronger (i.e., reciprocal) and longer lasting, though victimized youth were less satisfied with the friendship. Aggressive dyads who were friends more often had reciprocal aggression than aggressive dyads who were not friends. Results provide insight into the dynamics of aggression in close peer relationships.
Topics: Adolescent; Aggression; Female; Friends; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Peer Group
PubMed: 33244790
DOI: 10.1002/ab.21938 -
International Journal of Law and... 2022Despite the presence of theoretical frameworks explaining aggression, they still require refinement in the form of a specification of mechanisms that facilitate such...
OBJECTIVE
Despite the presence of theoretical frameworks explaining aggression, they still require refinement in the form of a specification of mechanisms that facilitate such behaviour.
METHOD
Study 1 recruited participants (N = 31) from the general population (N = 20) and from a forensic hospital (N = 11). It was expected that aggression supportive cognitions and stress would be positively associated with aggressive behaviour. An experimental paradigm was used to induce stress and participants were subsequently given the opportunity to aggress. Study 2 was based on self-report questionnaires in community sample (N = 462). It was expected that aggressive behaviour and traits would be associated with experienced stress, hostile attributions, coping styles, and attitudes to violence. Specifically, that criminal attitudes to violence will mediate the effect of hostile attribution on aggression, while coping styles will mediate the effect of perceived stress.
RESULTS
An Implicit Theory "I am the law" was found to be associated with aggression. Furthermore, elevated skin conductance, but not changes in the heart rate, during the stress task was positively associated with aggression, and only among patients. Structural Equation Model confirmed the mediating role of criminal attitudes to violence and of maladaptive coping style for aggressive behaviour.
CONCLUSION
Aggression-supportive cognitions and maladaptive coping style are specific mechanisms through which external demands or subjective perception of a situation can result in aggressive behaviour.
Topics: Humans; Aggression; Hostility; Cognition; Violence; Adaptation, Psychological
PubMed: 36351356
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2022.101842 -
Aggressive Behavior Jan 2019Media violence exposure (MVE) is associated with aggressive outcomes in adolescents. However, based on the differential susceptibility hypothesis, this risk is expected...
Media violence exposure (MVE) is associated with aggressive outcomes in adolescents. However, based on the differential susceptibility hypothesis, this risk is expected to vary based on the individual's unique risk and protective factors. Using survey data from 1,990 adolescents (Mean age = 15.6 ± 1.10 years; 48% female) and content analysis of U.S. top-grossing films and popular TV shows, we evaluated the effect of MVE in relation to both risk (i.e., family conflict, impulsivity, sensation seeking) and protective factors (i.e., parental monitoring, parental involvement, parental mediation). Relative weights analyses revealed that MVE was one of the strongest predictors of aggression, after impulsivity and family conflict. The cumulative risk score showed a linear and quadratic relation with the likelihood of aggression, with MVE and family conflict having an interactive relation in predicting aggression. Parental monitoring remained a significant protective factor even when all risk factors were accounted for. Targeted preventive interventions that reduce family conflict, promote parental monitoring, and reduce exposure to violent media may be effective in reducing aggressive tendencies and related negative outcomes.
Topics: Adolescent; Aggression; Exposure to Violence; Female; Humans; Impulsive Behavior; Male; Mass Media; Protective Factors; Resilience, Psychological; Risk Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 30246419
DOI: 10.1002/ab.21798 -
Aggressive Behavior Mar 2019Human aggression can be differentiated into reactive aggression (RA), displayed in face of a real or perceived threat and associated with high levels of anxiety, and...
Human aggression can be differentiated into reactive aggression (RA), displayed in face of a real or perceived threat and associated with high levels of anxiety, and proactive aggression (PA), displayed to achieve a certain goal and linked to lower anxiety levels. To study the origins of these aggression subtypes and their relation to anxiety, we tested if both subtypes can be distinguished in a nonhuman primate species, characterized their occurrence within the study group, and examined the link between aggression subtype and anxiety. Data were collected on 29 individuals of a semi-free ranging group of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) at Affenberg Salem, Germany, via focal animal (303 hr) and event sampling (1,222 agonistic events). Using a priori definitions, each aggressive event was classified as either reactive or proactive. We found both aggression types in our study population as well as individual differences in the proportion at which they occurred. The predominant use of one subtype of aggression was linked to the individual's dominance rank, age and sex, but not related to standard behavioral and physiological measures of anxiety. Our results suggest that reactive and proactive subtypes of aggression also exist in Barbary macaques, indicating a deeper evolutionary history of these aggression types observed in humans.
Topics: Aggression; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Female; Macaca; Male
PubMed: 30318602
DOI: 10.1002/ab.21801 -
Aggressive Behavior Sep 2023One of the oldest scientific theories of human aggression is the frustration-aggression hypothesis, advanced in 1939. Although this theory has received considerable...
One of the oldest scientific theories of human aggression is the frustration-aggression hypothesis, advanced in 1939. Although this theory has received considerable empirical support and is alive and well today, its underlying mechanisms have not been adequately explored. In this article, we examine major findings and concepts from extant psychological research on hostile aggression and offer an integrative conception: aggression is a primordial means for establishing one's sense of significance and mattering, thus addressing a fundamental social-psychological need. Our functional portrayal of aggression as a means to significance yields four testable hypotheses: (1) frustration will elicit hostile aggression proportionately to the extent that the frustrated goal serves the individual's need for significance, (2) the impulse to aggress in response to significance loss will be enhanced in conditions that limit the individual's ability to reflect and engage in extensive information processing (that may bring up alternative, socially condoned means to significance), (3) significance-reducing frustration will elicit hostile aggression unless the impulse to aggress is substituted by a nonaggressive means of significance restoration, (4) apart from significance loss, an opportunity for significance gain can increase the impulse to aggress. These hypotheses are supported by extant data as well as novel research findings in real-world contexts. They have important implications for understanding human aggression and the conditions under which it is likely to be manifested and reduced.
Topics: Humans; Frustration; Aggression; Hostility; Motivation
PubMed: 37282763
DOI: 10.1002/ab.22092 -
Neuroscience Letters Sep 2018Ketamine is a non-competitive glutamatergic antagonist that induces analgesia and anesthesia. Although ketamine displays anxiolytic and antidepressant properties, it may...
Ketamine is a non-competitive glutamatergic antagonist that induces analgesia and anesthesia. Although ketamine displays anxiolytic and antidepressant properties, it may induce pro-psychosis and hallucinogen effects, as well as stereotypic behaviors following acute administration at sub-anesthetic doses. Since heightened aggression is maladaptive and may comorbid with various neuropsychiatric disorders, we aimed to investigate whether ketamine modulates aggressive behavior in adult zebrafish. Fish were acutely exposed to 2, 20, and 40 mg/L ketamine for 20 min and their locomotion, exploratory activity, and aggression towards mirror were further assessed. Ketamine (2 mg/L) increased aggression-related phenotypes, while 20 and 40 mg/L reduced aggression and elicited stereotypic behaviors by causing hyperlocomotion, altering motor patterns, and increasing circling behavior at the higher concentration tested. Collectively, our data expand the utility of zebrafish models to investigate the influence of sub-anesthetic concentrations of ketamine on aggression behavior domain in translational neuropsychiatric research field.
Topics: Age Factors; Aggression; Animals; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; Female; Ketamine; Locomotion; Male; Zebrafish
PubMed: 30102959
DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.08.009 -
Aggressive Behavior May 2023Studies informing ways to target aggression in youth, particularly through the identification of internal patterns predictive of concurrent and future levels of...
Studies informing ways to target aggression in youth, particularly through the identification of internal patterns predictive of concurrent and future levels of aggression, could be particularly beneficial. To this end, the current study surveyed 216 elementary-aged children on topics of perceived containment (i.e., perceived ability of authority figures to control, limit, and set consequences for one's behaviors), coping responses, and reactive (RA) and proactive aggression (PA). Using multilevel modeling, the individual and interactive effects of coping responses and perceived containment on aggression within time and across two school years were examined. Within time, lower levels of perceived containment were associated with greater RA and PA. Passive coping was also positively associated with RA. The relation between perceived containment and RA within time was dependent on humor, whereas the relation between perceived containment and PA depended on problem-solving. Across time, while T1 passive coping predicted the trajectory of both functions of aggression, a greater number of T1 coping responses predicted the slope of RA with problem-solving and friend support-seeking as well as T1 perceived containment also predicting the trajectory of RA. No coping responses moderated the relation between T1 perceived containment and the trajectory of RA. In contrast, humor moderated the influence of T1 perceived containment and the trajectory of PA. Findings give insight into the ways internal processes of perceived containment and coping are associated with patterns of aggression in elementary-aged youth. This work is valuable in identifying several potential areas for prevention and intervention research.
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Humans; Aged; Adaptation, Psychological; Aggression; Schools; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 36495538
DOI: 10.1002/ab.22065 -
Perspectives on Psychological Science :... Jul 2023In this commentary I provide a review of the microaggression construct within a linguistic-pragmatic framework. From this perspective, microaggressions can be viewed as... (Review)
Review
In this commentary I provide a review of the microaggression construct within a linguistic-pragmatic framework. From this perspective, microaggressions can be viewed as nonconventional indirect speech acts, that is, utterances that, because of their aggressive meaning, require some type of inferential processing on the part of the hearer. This inferential process requires a consideration of the remark in the context within which it occurs, including the prior discourse, as well as the roles and statuses of the interactants. Because microaggressions are indirect, the speaker always has the option, especially if they are higher in power, of denying any aggressive meaning. Focusing on their linguistic/pragmatic features allows for the development of a more principled framework for specifying what constitutes a microaggression, as well as helping to identify the relevant features of the context and the processes involved in the recognition of microaggressions.
Topics: Humans; Microaggression; Linguistics; Aggression; Speech; Recognition, Psychology
PubMed: 36395088
DOI: 10.1177/17456916221133824