| Abstract: | The concept of aggression is examined and found to be an inadequate way to describe or classify human behaviors. An alternative way of classifying harm-doing behaviors is presented in terms of coercive power. A reinterpretation of the distinctions made by various theories of aggression is offered and applied to research findings. The social-psychological perspective offered suggests specific research questions and generates a series of new hypotheses for investigation. The conditions that lead observers to label actors as aggressive are proposed, and the implications of this label on the subsequent behaviors of observers and actors are explored. (98 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
