Perspectives on Aggression

Book excerpt: Perspectives on Aggression is a compendium of papers that discusses experimental research on human and group aggression. This compendium deals with the psychology of aggression including interracial aggression, environmental factors that contribute to aggression, and the role of mass media in "perpetuating" violence. A couple of papers review aggression in terms of variable aggression research and of the Darwinian Theory. One author notes that results of psychological studies of animals can suggest further hypotheses for human research. Another paper examines moral judgment in aggressive behavior such as shown in society's different attitudes toward an aggressive act. Another paper studies the effects of personality variables on aggressive behaviors, which indicate that some aggressive responses can be dependent on the control exerted toward such personality variables. Another paper reviews the works of Buss and Berkowitz, particularly the nature of arousal in aggression both from a physiological and a cognitive point of view. This book can be appreciated by psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, and officials related to issues of peace and security.