Aggression: Function, Tasks, Role & Diseases

The word aggression is often used in a judgmental way in everyday life. In contrast, psychological definitions provide a purely descriptive fact. Aggressive behavior is not primarily to be understood as a disease. Note: This article discusses “aggression” as a natural bodily process in humans, for example as a defense and defensive reaction in a dangerous situation. If, on the other hand, you are interested in aggression as a symptom, we recommend this article: Aggression as a symptom and complaint pattern of various diseases.

What is aggression?

The use of the word aggression is not uniform. Definitions in psychology establish this term at its core as a behavior directed toward harm. The focus is on external attitudes rather than emotions. Harm and intention are the common characteristics in the psychological understanding of the language. The everyday understanding, on the other hand, means internal hostile feelings and thus puts the emphasis on emotion. There is no fixed connection between the two meanings. Aggressive behavior occurs in various manifestations. The intention is decisive. An adversarial action occurs physically (hitting, etc.), verbally (yelling at someone, etc.), nonverbally (evil glances, etc.), or relationally (ostracizing someone, etc.). Aggressive emotions also manifest themselves in different ways. The impulse to harm or hurt gives the negative impact towards other people. A hostile impulse expresses itself as an emotional drive (anger, etc.), as gratification (gloating, etc.), or as an attitude (hatred, etc.). Both the behavioral level and the emotional level are scientifically measurable.

Function and task

The function of an attacking response is to fulfill individual or collective behaviors. It may be related to threatening, setting back, physical injury, or even killing. Mainly the causes lie either in the drive of personal self-assertion or in fear, rivalry and frustration. Thereby the nature of the human being establishes characteristics, which are not demonstrable in animals: Aggression from obedience, from imitation, or from arbitrariness. For a long time, the three classical approaches of drive theory, frustration theory and learning theory determined explanations for human aggressive behavior. According to the drive theory, there is an innate source in the organism that constantly generates aggressive impulses. According to the frustration theory, aggressive motivations do not arise spontaneously, but as a reaction to disturbing, undesirable events. According to the learning theory, aggressive behavior is determined by learning laws (learning from success, learning from the model). Today these theories are outdated. Today, science is predominantly moving towards multi-causal explanatory models. They focus on the interaction of several causes. To be distinguished from this are final actions such as hitting, pushing, biting, etc., for which aggression is characteristic to a certain degree. However, they are not linked to aggressive functions. Hostile behavior is thus multipurpose behavior. The benefit of aggressive multi-purpose behavior can be to fulfill one’s own desires or to exercise power. Thus, a success is achieved, which can solidify into a habit of acting. Another benefit is material enrichment. The case of the bank robber who robs a bank is well known. There can also be a benefit in gaining attention and recognition. In some cultures, violence is considered honorable and thus evokes admiration, while its omission is punished with contempt. A benefit of hostile action may also lie in defense and self-protection, by averting attack or disturbance. Here, the hostile behavior has the character of defense.

Diseases and ailments

Mental and emotional tension associated with aggression cause physical ailments. Muscles and joints tense up and reduce blood flow, which is important for blood and oxygen supply. As a result, the joints, back and jaw become tense, which triggers pain. Physical symptoms manifest themselves in sleep disturbances, skin problems, weight fluctuations, high blood pressure and stomach problems. Coping with a conflict situation through confrontation manifests in bad dreams and triggers panic attacks. In these stressful situations, the body reacts by increasing the production of fat in the skin, which can lead to acne.States of exhaustion as a result of emotional compulsion can also lead to eating disorders. In contrast, impulsive internal processes trigger an increased heart rate. The regulation of blood pressure can be permanently damaged and cause chronic damage. Heart diseases and heart attacks are conceivable as possible consequences. The permanent pressure on the heart damages the heart in the long term. The body is additionally responsible for emptying the stomach. Many people suffer from too much stomach acid during arguments. This can cause tears in the stomach lining and stomach bleeding. The body sends out emergency signals from the cardiovascular system as an automatic consequence. Prolonged outbursts of anger have different effects on different parts of the human body. A permanent mental stress caused by inner agitation overstrains the brain, which cannot recover. A permanent state of alarm deprives the person of the energy to exercise self-control. As a result, this in turn can be a trigger for fits of anger. A strong inner stress and the production of adrenaline during massive confrontations weakens the immune system. It fails to provide adequate defense against irritants. Allergic reactions, hives or shingles are possible as harmful consequences. The connection between aggression and disease often remains unrecognized by the affected person.