War: some psychological causes and consequences

Abstract

Acts of individual aggression can not be ascribed simply to aggressive motivation: to understand their aetiology it is necessary to come to terms with ontogenetic factors acting early in life, predisposing factors, and eliciting factors, and the relations between them. Intergroup aggression involves also further principles of group dynamics. The term 'war' includes a broad spectrum from large scale intergroup conflict to international war. It is best seen as an institution, with a large number of constituent roles: the incumbents of each role are motivated primarily by the duties and rights associated with it. Thus war is not caused by individual aggressiveness, but may cause individuals to be aggressive. Group dynamics are important at several levels of complexity. In spite of its horrors, war is still sometimes seen as an acceptable means for resolving disputes. Factors that contribute to this include everyday issues (e.g. war literature, war toys), pervasive cultural factors (e.g. some uses of religion, nationalism), and the military–industrial–scientific complex. The consequences of war can not be fully indicated by figures for killed and wounded, for the psychological consequences may be severe and longlasting.