Psychological theories of aggression

Abstract

This paper aimed to provide a short exposition of the main theories of aggression. The choice of the theories reflected, in part, the historical progression and rising complexity of the theories over time. A brief overview of the following theoretical perspectives on aggression was presented: Freud’s psychoanalytic theory; Lorenz’s ethological theory; Behaviorist theory; Frustration-aggression hypothesis; Cognitive neo-association theory; and Social learning theory. These theories are representatives of the traditional perspective, which posits that by piecing together fragments of data gained through research, we arrive at the truth about aggression. A radically different perspective was offered through the constructivist perspective, which argues that any theory is just one way of organizing the data. Drawing from personal construct theory, a different psychological perspective on aggression was proposed.