for: Aggression (war crime)

In psychology and other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior that is intended to cause harm. Aggression can be physical, mental, or verbal. Aggression is not the same thing as assertiveness.

Different types of aggression

Aggression is a complex phenomenon that is composed of a number of more specific types of behavior.

Moyer Classification

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.

Current

The current consensus in the scientific community is that there are least two broad categories of aggression: hostile, affective, or retaliatory aggression versus instrumental, predatory, or goal-oriented aggression.Behar, D., J. Hunt, A. Ricciuti, D. Stoff, and B. Vitiello. "Subtyping Aggression in Children and Adolescents." The Journal of Neuropsychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences 2 (1990): 189-192. 7 Dec. 2006 <http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/2/2/189>.McElliskem, Joseph E. "Affective and Predatory Violence: a Bimodal Classification System of Human Aggression and Violence." Aggression & Violent Behavior 10 (2004): 1-30. 7 Dec. 2006 <http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=16141579>. Empirical research indicates that there is a critical difference between the two, both psychologically and physiologically. Some research indicates that people with tendencies toward affective aggression have lower IQs than those with tendencies toward predatory aggression.name="beharetal1990". If only considering physical aggression, males tend to be more aggressive than females. One explanation for this difference is that females are physically weaker than men, and so need to resort to other means Bjorkqvist,Kaj.“Sex differences in physical, verbal, and indirect aggression: a review of recent research.”Sex Roles: A Journal of Research.1994 Feb. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2294/is_n3-4_v30/ai_15383471 . Females of different cultures have a variety of non physical means to cause harm to their husbands. On Bellona Island, a culture based on male dominance and physical violence, women tend to get into conflicts with other women more frequently than with men. When in conflict with males, they rarely use physical means. They instead make up songs mocking the man, which spread across the island and humiliate him. If a woman wanted to kill a man, she would either convince her relatives to kill him or hire an assassin. These are both forms of indirect aggression since the aggressor (female) is trying to hurt someone without putting herself in direct danger Bjorkqvist,Kaj.“Sex differences in physical, verbal, and indirect aggression: a review of recent research.”Sex Roles: A Journal of Research.1994 Feb. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2294/is_n3-4_v30/ai_15383471 .