What is aggression

The term aggression has Latin roots and comes from the word aggressio, which means “attack” . This is a certain form of emotionally charged destructive behavior that contradicts the norms of social existence and aims to cause moral or physical harm to another living being.

A person’s aggressiveness in most cases is characterized by the presence of motivation, although there is also unmotivated aggression, associated mainly with physical or mental problems of the body.

There are three types of aggression:

Assault or harm to another person or animal;
Protection;
Aggressive behavior against a living creature that is perceived as food.

What is aggressiveness? This is the name for unprovoked hostility towards the world and individuals, a potential willingness to show aggression to achieve a certain result . It is a stable personality trait.

Let's agree on terms

“In my book, the term “aggression” will always mean some type of behavior, physical or symbolic, that is motivated by the intent to harm someone else... I will use the term “violence” only to refer to the extreme form of aggression, the intentional attempt to cause serious physical harm to another face... “Aggression” does not mean injustice, resentment, mistreatment, and the like, unless all these forms of behavior were caused by a deliberate desire to cause harm to another person” (from the book “Aggression: Causes, Consequences and Control” by L. Berkowitz).

What happens in the body during moments of aggression?

The definition of aggression always implies the presence of a stress factor and an emotional reaction that was initially focused on the need for safety. Controlling aggressive reactions occurs hierarchically, launching certain processes along the chain.

CNS

The central nervous system and the brain, as its apex, primarily react to a stressful situation.

Reactions to stress - fear and aggression, they have their centers in the brain. The most important ones include the amygdala and posterior hypothalamus .
The amygdala collects all stress signals and conducts them to the frontal cortex of the cerebral hemispheres and the hypothalamus .
Endocrine, autonomic reactions develop through , leading to the appearance of certain emotions.

Areas of the brain such as the association frontal cortex and the cingulate cortex produce behavioral and motor responses.

Hormones

Hormones are produced under the influence of processes occurring in the hypothalamus. Signals from it contribute to the release of adrenaline into the blood from the adrenal medulla, and norepinephrine through the sympathetic nerves. The adrenal cortex produces corticosteroids, some of which (glucocorticosteroids) enhance adrenocorticotropic hormone.

All this leads to a jump in the blood levels of adrenaline and norepinephrine (in biochemistry, epinephrine and norepinephrine, respectively), which are responsible for fear and rage, thus increasing the level of aggressiveness . Moreover, if the “fight or flight” reaction appears when adrenaline is released, then norepinephrine provokes a reaction that can be characterized by the words “attack or defend.”

Body as a whole

A sharp jump in hormone levels affects the entire body. As the level of stress and aggressiveness increases in the body, the following happens:

The processes of inhibition of the nervous system change;
The flow of oxygen to tissues increases;
The concentration of glucose in the blood increases, metabolism accelerates;
Inflammatory processes and allergic reactions are temporarily blocked;
Muscle activity increases;
Spasms and swelling of the mucous membranes are eliminated;
The release of insulin in the blood decreases;
The level of white blood cells increases. As a result, blood clots faster in air and bleeding stops faster.

At the physical level, the manifestation of aggression in a stressful situation is accompanied by the following most common symptoms:

Vasoconstriction;
Increased sweating;
Increased heart rate;
Rapid breathing;
Increased pressure;
Accelerated intestinal motility;
Decreased vision clarity;
Tremor.

In the long term, frequent bouts of aggression can lead to an increased risk of potential diseases. An aggressive person can easily earn himself:

Hypertension (as a consequence - heart attack, stroke);
Arrhythmia;
Kidney failure;
Problems with the thyroid gland;
Thrombosis due to increased blood clotting.

Interesting fact
Negative emotions provoke aggression for a reason - their centers in the brain are located nearby, in the posterior hypothalamus. And in the center of pleasure there is a zone responsible for causeless outbursts of anger. It is there that the structure of neurons is contained, which is responsible for the degree of a person’s tendency to act aggressively.

How dangerous is an aggressive state?

In many cases, an aggressive person causes significant damage to the mental and physical health of others. In 5%, attacks of anger lead to criminal punishment (beatings and murders).

On the other hand, the aggressor also suffers from an inability to cope with anger. As a rule, after attacks of anger a person feels:

loss of energy;
guilt;
decreased self-esteem;
depressive state.

Such phenomena are typical only for fully healthy people who are normally able to communicate in society. Chronic manifestations of aggression gradually destroy the body. Subsequently, the following health problems caused by psychosomatic reasons are possible:

cardiovascular diseases;
gallbladder dysfunction;
chronic stomach diseases;
migraine.

Types of aggression

In psychology, the systematization of the concept of aggression includes a large number of components. Types of aggression based on emotional coloring, goals and methods are divided into benign and malignant .

Or they separate defensive aggression, inherent in all living beings, and destructive aggression - meaningless and without goals, existing only in humans . But with the exception of some features of the presentation, there is a general species classification. Let us examine in more detail some of the types of aggression.

Passive

Passive aggression, or, as this type is also called, passive-aggressive behavior, is expressed in the fact that in any stressful situation, initially aggressive people, however, do not openly show their anger, but suppress the emerging aggression .

However, the emotions that triggered chemical and hormonal reactions in the body do not go away, and suppressed aggressiveness is manifested by refusal to act or speak, possibly sabotage and sabotage (often unconscious). Thus, aggression is expressed through a passive “no” .

Active

A type of aggressive behavior when the whole essence of the conflict is manifested through active actions: shouting, scandals, fights . In this case, the one who is the instigator of the situation is the first to attack and show aggression towards the other.

Straight

In psychology, aggression is called direct when its goals are obvious, transparent and clear, and it itself is directed at an object and has certain intentions. At the same time, aggressive behavior towards the object is clearly expressed and is not hidden.

In international law, direct aggression is understood as an open armed attack by the army of one state on another. That is, the main characteristic is also transparency of intentions.

Indirect

It is expressed in implicit harm, when violence against a person occurs indirectly, in a roundabout way. Vivid examples are damage to property or vandalism, causing damage to loved ones of the immediate victim, and slanderous statements.

A special type of indirect aggression stands out as environmental: in the process of realizing the selfish goals of individual people, irreparable harm is caused to nature, which will subsequently affect descendants.

Also, indirect aggression refers to undirected, disordered, chaotic actions, which are more often perceived as ordinary emotions. A typical way of its manifestation is when people, in a fit of rage, smash dishes or, for example, bang their fist on the table .

Verbal (speech)

What are verbal forms of aggression? This is symbolically expressed psychological harm that is inflicted vocally (the tone, timbre, and strength of the voice changes) or verbally (the opponent is insulted using derogatory or profanity) . This type is divided into open and hidden aggression.

The overt one aims to cause obvious harm (for example, through direct insults), while the hidden one does not show direct hostility, but systematically puts pressure on the victim through intermediaries (for example, spreading rumors and talking behind the back without direct slander).

Nonverbal aggression is specific signals emanating from the aggressor, but not put into words . These include body language, obscene or threatening gestures that express aggressive intentions.

Physical

Physical aggression involves the use of physical force by the aggressor against the victim with the aim of causing harm or damage to the body.

Auto aggression

In this type, the object is the aggressor himself, that is, his hostility is consciously or unconsciously directed at himself. Such aggressiveness in psychology is referred to as a psychological defense mechanism.

Characterized by self-hatred, self-blame and self-deprecation . A tendency to extreme sports, dangerous professions, self-harm and suicide are also manifestations of auto-aggression.

Heteroaggression

Heteroaggression is contrasted with autoaggression, since it is directed at other people and external objects . Also, the object of aggression may be a situation that a person perceives as potentially dangerous, although in reality (if objectively assessed) it is not.

There is also a mixed type related to hetero- and auto-aggression. With it, a person initially inclined towards heteroaggression, after its implementation, under the influence of a feeling of guilt, experiences auto-aggressive manifestations.

Reactive

Reactive aggression is always a consequence of the body’s response to an external threatening or stressful situation. It manifests itself quickly, is a momentary reaction and most often does not serve any purpose other than protection . Varieties of reactive aggression are also called spontaneous, expressive and affective aggression, although in some classifications these types stand separately, apart.

Spontaneous

The qualitative difference between spontaneous aggression is that its development does not require any compelling reasons - it arises, as they say, “out of the blue,” spontaneously . Such aggression manifests itself in waves under the influence of internal problems, and is characteristic primarily of impulsive people who have a history of identified or hidden mental problems.

Expressive

Emotional aggression, which is accompanied by threatening behavior without aggressive actions or words. mainly characterized not by causing direct harm, but by the desire to convey to the victim one’s manifestation of a potentially aggressive mood . A striking example of this type are ritual war dances in some African tribes, or military parades demonstrating the power of the country.

More than 9,000 people have gotten rid of their psychological problems using this technique.

Affective

From a scientific point of view, it is considered an emotional phenomenon that is almost completely devoid of any effectiveness. This is practically uncontrollable aggression, bringing chaos and destruction, since in such a state a person, not realizing his actions, demands immediate sacrifices at any cost .

Often this phenomenon occurs in a crowd, at a time of heightened passions, when the increased aggressiveness of a mass of people under the influence of general excitement provokes a sudden loss of control over themselves.

Motivational

This type is also called targeted, since its character is manifested in a completely conscious, pre-planned infliction of harm, pain or damage to the victim of aggression . In this case, the motive can be either true, when the desire for destruction or destruction is conscious, or false, when the aggressor motivates and justifies his actions.

Instrumental

In this case, aggression is a tool for a person to realize his interests, a means and a way to achieve any goals without a pronounced emotional state.

Instrumental aggression most often has a neutral orientation; sometimes it is explained as initially aggressive behavior aimed at positive results.

Virtual

Virtual aggression now stands apart in the modern world - a type of aggression that affects people through the Internet, computer games and television.

In 2010, a study was conducted at the University of Iowa, published in the journal Psychological Bulletin, in which 130 thousand people participated. Violent games have been found to increase aggressive behavior and decrease empathy .
Research on this topic is ongoing. In October 2021, a meta-analysis of the relationship between violent video games and physical aggression was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. More than 17 thousand people of various nationalities and ethnic groups participated in the research.

Factors of occurrence

Aggression begins with irritation that comes with an attack on the safety of physical or psychological personal space. However, it always has reasons and soil that contribute to aggressive reactions, or, in other words, factors of its occurrence, which also partially determine its features and character. Let's consider the classification of aggression factors.

Situational

These factors include environmental influences. They may be:

Temperature and climatic effects;
Unpleasant and painful sensations associated with noise, odors, crowding, crowding, violation of personal boundaries;
Cultural influence, the influence of mass media in terms of demonstrating models of aggressive behavior;
Exposure to alcohol, drugs and sex;
Excitement in the absence of discharge as its result.

Personal

Such factors are also called personal , since they include the internal qualities of a person, his emotions and characteristics of the unconscious sphere. The following personal factors are distinguished:

Increased anxiety, hostility, irritability, tendency to depression;
Inadequate assessment of yourself and your abilities;
Lack of will as a manifestation of stability in emotions and inclinations, their antisocial orientation;
The level of social development is below average;
Difficulties in communication, envy, desire for superiority, selfishness, tendency to blame others for your problems, various types of addictions;
Various mental and behavioral disorders.

Socio-psychological

Psychological factors of aggressive behavior include factors that are formed in social groups. These are factors such as:

The level of development of the country of residence, the prevailing relations in it;
Propaganda of violence and negativity in the media and society;
Low social status, dependence on social assistance;
Deviating behavior of figures of influence;
The system of upbringing in the family (microsocial factors), the consistent influence of the environment: school, work colleagues, circle of friends, etc.

Behavioral

Such factors are understood as behavior and actions that create difficulties and hindrances for other people. These include:

Aimlessness of spending time;
Lack of development and aspirations for it;
Vandalism;
Early onset of sexual life;
Early development of antisocial activity, resulting in a criminal record.

How to react to aggressive people?

The most optimal tactic is to minimize negative emotions.

Negativity in communication upsets, especially receptive, sensitive people. To maintain normal self-esteem, it is necessary to correctly perceive critical situations. Not being insulted even once in your life is within the realm of the impossible. To prevent negativity from causing harm, you need to not let it pass through yourself.

Aggressors often cause inexplicable feelings of guilt in normal people. Psychologists advise not to take unfounded criticism personally. As a rule, when throwing out negativity, aggressors never think about the meaning of their phrases, so do not try to find a logical justification for curses.

Experts are confident that people in the victim position face aggression much more often. If such situations recur, you should think about how to prevent negativity and raise your own self-esteem.

Causes

The causes of aggression are multifaceted and varied, there are a huge number of them. The strength of aggressiveness, its direction and duration are different for each person, since the totality of the influence of various factors on him and his perception are individual.

However, regardless of the characteristics of each individual, conflict is always the cause . But the perception of it as a reason to be aggressive is already influenced by various problems. Let's look at the most common of them.

Personal problems

Primarily related to a person’s internal self-perception and how he builds relationships between himself and the world. Personal reasons for aggressive behavior include:

Dissatisfaction with life, status, personal and sexual relationships;
Fears and phobias;
A clearly felt lack of energy, knowledge, willpower;
Reluctance to develop, recurring development crises.

Developed neurosis against the background of dysfunctional relationships

The concept of neurotic relationships is relatively new in psychology. However, it most accurately reflects the essence of the manifestation of neurosis against a background of trouble. Aggressiveness is a logical consequence of this, since against the backdrop of constantly fueled negative emotions, the situation itself gives rise to aggression:

The person is in a state of control;
Relationships are accompanied by a constantly depressed state and a feeling of guilt;
One of the couple is often painfully dependent on the other, trying to earn approval and respect;
The relationship is not accompanied by mutual support; in the background there is always the expectation of a breakup.

Authoritarian and strict parenting

A family environment in which they do not talk, but give orders, contributes to the transformation of children into potential aggressors . Strict boundaries and punishments in childhood contribute to the fact that the child:

Or he withdraws into himself, accumulating internal aggression that has no outlet (the risk of developing mental disorders increases)
Or turns aggressive behavior on himself (autoaggression)
Or, after getting rid of parental dictates, he “goes into all kinds of bad things,” which manifests itself in uncontrollable attacks of aggression.

Also contribute to the development of aggressiveness:

Lack of emotional contact
Aggression in the family, parental violence towards each other
Lack of respect for the child
Not enough freedom
Prohibition of physical activity

Substance abuse (alcohol, drugs, etc.)

When intoxicated or under the influence of substances that cloud the mind, nerve cells die, and a person ceases to adequately assess the situation, returning to primitive instincts, which leads to bursts of unmotivated aggression . When smoking, nicotine entering the bloodstream stimulates an increase in adrenaline and norepinephrine, which also increases the level of aggression.

Inadequate rest, overwork

When the body works, as they say, “for wear,” its forces are aimed primarily at maintaining relatively normal functioning and the level of reflexes. At the same time, mental protection and the ability to maintain the necessary boundaries decrease.

If a person has hidden aggressiveness, it becomes difficult for him to cope with irritability and previously suppressed aggression breaks out.

Interesting fact
Until the age of six, the level of aggression of boys and girls is the same. At the same time, everyone has an innate aggressive potential; in childhood it is higher, in the process of growing up it decreases, unless the additional influence of any factors contributes to the opposite.

Mental disorders

Aggressive people often try to justify their behavior by existing disorders, but in reality aggression manifests itself as a deviation in the mental state of only twelve percent of aggressors. But for these twelve percent, aggression is really a symptom of a disease or pathological process, most often occurring in the brain. These include:

Neurasthenia;
Psychopathy, sociopathy;
Schizophrenia, personality disorders;
Stress disorders;
Encephalitis;
Meningitis.

Genetics: the meanest one wins

Everything is simple here. The one who is better at biting, hitting, trampling or stabbing survives. If one creature defeats another, it is its genes that are passed on. Nothing can be done, laws of nature. This applies both to interspecific competition and to the struggle for a partner for reproduction.

We inherited aggression from all the millions of years of evolution. It's innate. This point of view was held to one degree or another by both Freud and evolutionary psychologists. We just need to make a couple of reservations. Firstly, a person can direct aggression into a completely peaceful direction, for example, overfulfilling a plan, practicing fencing, or writing feuilletons. Secondly, it is very tempting to reduce the entire human psyche to genetics. But we must understand that you and I are too complex creatures. At least more difficult than a rat or a moose.

Features of aggression in men

General ideas about outbursts of aggression in men include the postulate that uncontrollable anger and irritation are most characteristic of men. Aggression in men really has a certain specificity, which is based both on hormonal bases and on the characteristics of behavioral instincts .

Attacks of aggression in men, the reasons for this phenomenon:

The presence of a large amount of testosterone in the body . This hormone is responsible for guys not only for sexual activity, but also for attacks of rage;
Male psychology has historically been structured in such a way that representatives of the stronger sex live with a sense of constant combat readiness in order to fulfill their function as a protector, and to some extent, a conqueror. This causes constant nervous tension and, as a result, aggressiveness ;
Why does a person become aggressive, because he is a social creature? In this sociality lies the secret: a rigid hierarchy requires constant proof of its superiority . Men react to this with sudden and seemingly causeless attacks of aggression.

Preventing Aggressive Behavior

If you think that a conflict may break out with an aggressive person, follow these rules:

if possible, find a compromise solution;
calmly listen to your opponent, and then clearly and calmly express your opinion;
When discussing problems, do not get personal;
maintain your comfort zone and do not react to manipulation.

A study was conducted that found that just a spoonful of sugar can suppress aggression. For the experiment, a stranger was seated next to the person being tested, who began provocations. People who drank the sweet drink practically did not react to the “hooligan plant.” Subjects who did not consume sugar behaved more aggressively.

Features of aggression in women

It is generally accepted that female aggression is self-defense. However, severe irritability in women is not always associated with the need to protect themselves. Aggressiveness in women is rarely combined with physical violence; most often it is realized verbally, in the form of shouting, swearing, and arguing . Attacks of aggression in women and girls can be triggered by the following reasons:

Weak character and will, insensitivity and lack of ability to adapt
Too fast pace of life, a large number of responsibilities, troubles in personal life
Difficulties associated with pregnant women due to their potentially vulnerable condition, difficult childbirth, postpartum depression
Hormonal changes that accompany the onset of old age contribute to an increase in psycho-emotional stress, which in older women can easily transform into aggressiveness

Medicines for aggression

Treatment of aggression involves an integrated approach, including both medication correction and mandatory psychotherapeutic work with a specialist.

Pills

Only a doctor prescribes drug therapy . You should not self-medicate; at best, this will be of no use, and at worst, the situation will worsen. Mild sedatives will help with irritability and nervousness . Sedatives will not only cope with increased aggressiveness, but also normalize sleep. It is also possible to use plant-based sedatives : this is the well-known valerian, motherwort, and preparations based on St. John's wort.

Serious deviations in which aggression is an accompanying symptom, such as psychosis, neurasthenia, are treated with strong drugs, often prescribed only in a hospital setting . Tablets for psychosis include Phenazepam, as well as Haloperidol and Aminazine. The last two are used for severe psychoses and schizophrenic disorders only under the supervision of a doctor.

Homeopathy

Irritability and tendency to aggression can be treated with homeopathy. This is a symptomatic treatment that allows you to restrain outbursts of anger, eliminate mood swings, and shift attention. Homeopathic remedies that help with aggressiveness include potassium bromide and Staphysagria .

Traditional methods

Irritability and anger, as consequences of short-term problems, can be dealt with using folk remedies.

Arrange your bed linen with lavender or thyme - this will strengthen your sleep;
Brew and drink tea with mint, lemon balm, oregano;
Take baths with aromatic oils - lavender, cedar, orange, ylang-ylang are considered soothing. Choose a pleasant scent for yourself, add a few drops at a time.

Therapy using folk remedies should be accompanied by a healthy lifestyle and giving up bad habits . Do not drink alcohol, strong coffee, stop smoking. And remember that serious mental disorders must be treated by a doctor . Do not refuse help - it will give you the opportunity to adjust your behavior and improve the well-being of yourself and your loved ones.

If you don’t want to give up and are ready to really, and not in words, fight for your full and happy life, you may be interested in this article .