| Anger and Aggression Research Brief Introduction It is important to understand the difference between anger and aggression. Quite often the two terms are used interchangeably. This is an error. As you will learn, anger is a feeling state and aggression is a behavior. People often say they got angry and verbally or physically assaulted someone. While it may be true that anger provoked the attack, the attack itself was an act of aggression. One goal of anger management education is to help people become aware of their anger arousal and to learn how to control it before it progresses to aggression. Michigan Anger Management Institute, shows its participants how to gain and maintain control of their anger early in the anger process by using the Pump Your B.R.A.K.E.S. anger management model. Research shows that the most effective anger management interventions consist of cognitive retraining; (2) stress management; and (3) social interaction skills development (Deffenbacher, Oetting & DiGuiseppe, 2002; DiGiuseppe, 2003; DiGiuseppe & Tafrate, 2001; Novaco, 1976). The Pump Your B.R.A.K.E.S. anger management model has all three components. What is Anger? Anger is a basic human emotion (Calamari & Pini, 2003). It is a feeling state that may be characterized by physiological responses such as clenched fists, tight jaw muscles, facial changes, and the like (Berkowitz, 1993). Anger that is expressed may become aggression and may cause problems with interpersonal relations, occupational woes, poor self evaluations, and family problems (Calamari & Pini, 2003). What is Aggression? Aggression is defined as any type of behavior directed toward someone else that is intended to harm them psychologically or physically (Berkowitz, 1993; Knorth, Klomp, van den Berg & Noom, 2007). Some researchers posit that aggression is goal directed. For example, psychologists Patterson (1975, 1979) and Tedeschi (1983) argued that aggression is frequently a non-injurious attempt at trying to persuade, by coercion, another person’s behavior. Other theorists have found that some aggressors use power and dominance to achieve their goal of persuading their victims to submit to the aggressor’s will. This is often the case in family violence (Berkowitz, 1993). Forms of Aggression Two subtypes of generalized aggression are reactive - impulsive and proactive - instrumental, which can be further defined by their functions. Reactive - impulsive aggression is associated with anger, low frustration tolerance, hot-bloodedness, impulsivity, poorly regulated responses to emotional stimuli, and a tendency to misread ambiguous social cues as hostile provocation (Nelson & Trainor, 2007; Brendgen, Vitaro, Boivin, Dionne, & Perusse, 2006; Marsee & Frick, 2007). Proactive - instrumental aggression is goal directed, offensive, callous, and cold blooded (Nelson & Trainor, 2007; Brendgen, Vitaro, Boivin, Dionne, & Perusse, 2006; Marsee & Frick, 2007). Dodge (1991) theorized that reactive aggression originates from parenting that is unpredictable, harsh, and threatening and that proactive aggression is associated with a supportive environment that encourages the use of aggression to achieve goals. Significance of Aggression on Society Violence poses severe public health problems in the United States (Breakey, Wolf, & Nicholas, 2001). Homicide is the leading cause of death among youth between the ages of 10-24 (CDC, 2007a). Moreover, minority youth are victims of homicide at a rate that is disproportionately higher than the general population (CDC, 2007a). A nationally representative sample of 9th-12th graders taken in 2005 found that 3.6% of those sampled had been in one or more physical fights within the previous 12 months requiring treatment by a physician or nurse (CDC, 2007). The cost of youth violence is over $158 billion per year, and it consumes resources in the form of medical costs, a decrease in the quality of life, and reduction in productivity (Children’s Safety Network Economics & Data Analysis Resource Center, 2000). It is estimated that nearly 30% of youth in the United States has either been bullied or has bullied (Nansel et al, 2000). Aggression has been implicated in suicidal behavior (Gietl et al, 2007), antisocial personality disorder (Blair, 2001), and substance use (Fite, Colder, Lochman & Wells, 2007). Biology of Aggression Reactive - impulsive aggression occurs when the behavior of another person is perceived by the aggressor as intended to harm or threaten (Fite, Colder & Pelham, 2006). It is associated with a high rate of physiological arousal and activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (Cervantes & Delville, 2007; Nelson & Trainor, 2007; Brendgen, Vitaro, Boivin, Dionne, & Perusse, 2006; Marsee & Frick, 2007; Barratt, 1999; Stanford, et al, 2003). Proactive - instrumental aggression is goal directed, offensive, callous, calculated, having an expectation of a reward, intentional, predatory, cold-blooded, premeditated, and is associated with low autonomic arousal including low heart rate at rest, low cortisol levels at rest, low skin conduction and EEG patterns at rest (Nelson & Trainor, 2007; Brendgen, Vitaro, Boivin, Dionne, & Perusse, 2006; Marsee & Frick, 2007; Stanford, et al, 2003; Barker, Tremblay, Nagin, Vitaro, Lacourse, 2006; Knoblich and King, 1992). Causal Factors Associated With Aggression
What is Violence? Violence is an action taken against others that is intended to cause serious physical harm (Berkowitz, 1993, Huesmann, 2008). Some common forms of violence include shootings, stabbings, hitting, slapping, rape, physical abuse, and others. Research References Link |
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