1. Aggression: Definitions and Perspectives

2. Why study Aggression? A crime is committed
every
A violent crime is committed
Assault every
A robbery every
A rape every
A murder every
Regions of the US
South
West
Midwest
Northeast
Lets look at “today” - CNN.com

3. Past Court Records Long downward trend since mid-fourteenth century
Not all still exist
Most pertain to homicide
Long downward trend since mid-fourteenth century
From 20/100,000 in 1200
To 1.5/100,000 in 1800
Continued to drop until 1950s
.3/100,000 in 1951
Creep back up in last 50 years
1/100,000 in 1981

4. Serious violent crime levels declined since 1993

5. What is Aggression?
The scientific study of affect, behavior, cognition, and physiology/biology.
Cognition: Internal mental processes of the individual
Affect: Subjective feeling states
Behavior: Any action that can be observed and recorded
Physiology/Biology: How body/brain influence above
The scientific study of “people” in “situations”.
Aggression encompasses many different types of behaviors in many different kinds of situations

6. What is Aggression? Physical, emotional, psychological Minor, severe
Human, animal, natural forces
Accidental, intentional
Socially approved, disapproved
Legally approved, illegal
Justification, no justification
Each person perceiving it differently, why?

7. What is violence?
Violence
Aggression

8. What causes Aggression?
Biology/Physiology?
(including neurotransmitters, hormones, personality traits, evolution, genetics
Cognition?
(including thoughts, attributional bias, threatened egotism, cognitive priming
Affect?
(emotional reactions including frustration-aggression, excitation-transfer
Behavior
Situation?
(external factors such as culture, social learning, media, situational cues like heat, noise, crowding, etc)