Theories of Aggression

Why This Matters

Understanding why people become aggressive is fundamental to everything you'll study about violence prevention. These theories aren't just abstract ideas—they're the frameworks psychologists and policymakers use to design interventions, predict violent behavior, and understand everything from schoolyard bullying to international conflict. You're being tested on your ability to connect biological predispositions, cognitive processes, learned behaviors, and environmental triggers to real-world aggressive outcomes.

Don't just memorize theory names and their creators. Know what each theory emphasizes as the primary mechanism driving aggression, how theories complement or contradict each other, and which prevention strategies logically follow from each framework. When an FRQ asks you to explain an aggressive incident, you'll need to apply multiple theories—so understanding their core differences is essential.

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Learned and Modeled Aggression

These theories emphasize that aggression isn't innate—it's acquired through experience, observation, and cultural transmission. The key mechanism is learning: we watch, we internalize, and we reproduce.

Social Learning Theory

• Observation and imitation drive aggressive behavior—individuals learn aggression by watching role models (parents, peers, media figures) and copying their actions
• Reinforcement patterns determine whether aggression repeats; behaviors that are rewarded (or go unpunished) become more likely
• Media and cultural norms serve as powerful teachers of aggression, explaining why exposure to violent content correlates with aggressive attitudes

Script Theory

• Mental scripts are cognitive blueprints that guide behavior in social situations—including when and how to be aggressive
• Experience and culture shape these scripts over time, meaning individuals from violent environments develop aggression-ready scripts
• Learned expectations about threat and appropriate responses determine whether someone defaults to aggression or seeks alternatives

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Cognitive Processing Theories

These theories focus on how the brain interprets, processes, and responds to social information. Aggression emerges from how we think about situations, not just what happens to us.

Cognitive Neoassociation Theory

• Negative affect (anger, frustration, discomfort) activates associative networks in the brain that prime aggressive thoughts and memories
• Aggressive stimuli exposure—like seeing weapons or violent imagery—can trigger these networks even without direct provocation
• Individual interpretation and context determine whether activated aggressive thoughts translate into actual behavior

Social Information Processing Model

• Sequential cognitive steps determine aggressive responses: encoding cues, interpreting them, searching for responses, evaluating options, and acting
• Processing biases at any step can lead to aggression—hostile attribution bias (assuming others have harmful intent) is especially important
• Misreading social cues explains why some individuals respond aggressively to ambiguous situations that others would ignore

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Arousal and Emotional Activation

These theories highlight how physiological states and emotional buildup contribute to aggressive responses. The body's activation level matters as much as the mind's interpretation.

Frustration-Aggression Theory

• Goal-blocking is the primary trigger—when individuals are prevented from achieving desired outcomes, frustration builds and aggression follows
• Proportional intensity means stronger frustration produces stronger aggressive impulses
• Displaced aggression occurs when the original source of frustration is unavailable or too powerful, redirecting hostility toward safer targets

Excitation Transfer Theory

• Physiological arousal from one source (exercise, fear, excitement) can be misattributed to another situation, amplifying emotional responses
• Residual arousal combined with provocation creates intensified aggression—you're already "revved up" and don't realize why
• Context determines outcome—the same arousal might produce aggression, passion, or anxiety depending on situational cues

Catharsis Theory

• Emotional release through aggressive expression supposedly reduces aggressive impulses—"letting off steam" to feel better
• Substitute activities like competitive sports or violent media were theorized to provide safe outlets for aggression
• Research largely contradicts this theory; expressing aggression often reinforces rather than reduces aggressive tendencies

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Integrative and Comprehensive Models

This model attempts to synthesize multiple factors into a unified framework. Rather than competing, different influences interact to produce aggression.

General Aggression Model (GAM)

• Integration of inputs combines personal factors (traits, attitudes, scripts) with situational factors (provocation, cues, substances) to explain aggression
• Internal states mediate the relationship—cognition, affect, and arousal interact to shape how inputs become aggressive outputs
• Cyclical reinforcement means aggressive episodes feed back into the system, strengthening aggressive tendencies over time

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Biological and Evolutionary Foundations

These theories ground aggression in our biology and evolutionary history. Aggression isn't just learned or triggered—it's built into our physical makeup.

Evolutionary Theory of Aggression

• Survival mechanism perspective views aggression as adaptive—it helped ancestors compete for resources, territory, and mates
• Reproductive advantage explains why aggression persists; aggressive individuals may have been more successful at passing on genes
• Context-dependent adaptation means aggression evolved as a strategy deployed in specific situations, not a constant trait

Biological Theories of Aggression

• Hormonal influences—particularly testosterone—correlate with aggressive tendencies, though the relationship is bidirectional and complex
• Brain structures like the amygdala (threat detection) and prefrontal cortex (impulse control) regulate aggressive responses
• Gene-environment interaction is critical—biological predispositions create vulnerability, but environmental factors determine expression

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two theories both emphasize learned aggression but differ in whether they focus on observation/reinforcement versus internalized behavioral templates?

2. A person exercises intensely, then gets into an argument and responds with unusual hostility. Which theory best explains this, and how does it differ from Frustration-Aggression Theory?

3. Compare and contrast the Social Information Processing Model and Cognitive Neoassociation Theory—what does each emphasize as the primary cognitive mechanism leading to aggression?

4. Why has Catharsis Theory been largely discredited, and what does research suggest actually happens when people "vent" their aggression?

5. An FRQ presents a case study of a child who grew up witnessing domestic violence and now responds aggressively to minor conflicts. Which theories would you apply, and how would you explain the interaction between biological predisposition and environmental learning?