ABSTRACT
Theories of aggression frequently divide it into two forms (Fontaine, 2007; McEllistrem, 2004; Meloy, 2006; Weinshenker & Siegel, 2002): Reactive aggression is a defensive survival response against threat, typically associated with a bodily alarm response (fight-flight), and thus negative emotions like fear, anger, rage and hostility. When the threat is conquered, the negative arousal subsides and the reactive response will be rewarded as a relief from aversive conditions. Instrumental aggression, in contrast, is predatory, proactive and controlled. Its goal is to achieve a gain, which could be either materialistic, like seizing prey, or social, like dominance or increased opportunity to reproduce. Instrumental aggression is deliberate and requires planning. The usefulness of this dichotomy has been questioned, as in the real world, aggressive acts are always a mixture of both a defensive response and the goal-directed action (Bushman & Anderson, 2001). Where aggression is perpetrated just for the enjoyment of an act in its own right (“his soul wanted blood,
not robbery”), it has mostly been viewed as psychopathological and thought to be restricted to individuals with antisocial personality disorder or psychopaths (Blair, 2013; Meloy, 2006; Yang & Raine, 2009; see Chapter 7 in this volume). Violence is defined as an extreme act of aggression, intended to cause physical injury or death (e.g., Bushman & Anderson, 2001).
