ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on theories that consider aggression as a form of social behavior, and a full understanding of aggression requires interdisciplinary efforts beyond the field of social psychology. It discusses that the majority of explanations of aggression focus on hostile, anger-based aggression, which is more challenging from a psychological point of view than is instrumental aggression, which can typically be attributed to specific motives related to the ultimate goal toward which the aggressive behavior is employed. The chapter introduces the main social psychological theories of aggression. These theories address the motivational, affective, and cognitive processes that promote aggressive behavior in individuals who differ in their dispositional tendency toward aggression and in situations that differ with respect to their potential for eliciting aggressive responses. The chapter looks at some of the person and situation variables that make a difference in the likelihood and intensity of aggressive behavior.
