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Related Concept Videos

Aggression01:47

Aggression

Humans engage in aggression when they seek to cause harm or pain to another person. Aggression takes two forms depending on one’s motives: hostile or instrumental. Hostile aggression is motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain; a fight in a bar with a stranger is an example of hostile aggression. In contrast, instrumental aggression is motivated by achieving a goal and does not necessarily involve intent to cause pain (Berkowitz, 1993); a contract killer who murders for hire...
Secondary Motives: Affiliation Motivation and Aggression Motivation01:21

Secondary Motives: Affiliation Motivation and Aggression Motivation

Affiliation motivation is the intrinsic desire to connect with others and belong to a social group, which plays a crucial role in forming and maintaining personal relationships. This type of motivation is essential for psychological well-being, as it provides individuals with a sense of community and support. An example of this is a student who joins a study group in order to feel a sense of connection. People with high affiliation motivation actively seek social approval, take satisfaction in...
Frustration and Conflict: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance01:20

Frustration and Conflict: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance

Frustration occurs when people are obstructed or prevented from achieving a desired goal or fulfilling a perceived need. For example, when someone's input is ignored in a discussion, it can lead to feelings of frustration. Conflict, however, arises from opposing interests, goals, or actions. Conflicts can take various forms based on the nature of these opposing desires or goals.
One common type of conflict is the Approach–Approach Conflict. In this case, a person faces two desirable options,...
Frustration and Conflict: Avoidance-Avoidance, Double-Approach Avoidance01:14

Frustration and Conflict: Avoidance-Avoidance, Double-Approach Avoidance

Avoidance-avoidance conflict refers to a psychological situation where a person must choose between two or more unpleasant alternatives. These conflicts are particularly stressful because neither option is desirable. This dilemma is often expressed in sayings like "caught between a rock and a hard place" or "between the devil and the deep blue sea." For instance, individuals who fear dental procedures may find themselves torn between enduring a painful toothache or facing the anxiety of...
Strategies of Self-Presentation I: Strategic Self-Presentation01:12

Strategies of Self-Presentation I: Strategic Self-Presentation

Strategic self-presentation refers to individuals' intentional efforts to influence how others perceive them. This process is employed in various social and professional settings, such as job interviews, dating, politics, and legal contexts, where individuals seek to shape impressions to gain social or material advantages. While people generally present themselves in ways that align with their authentic characteristics, external factors, such as cognitive load, can hinder their ability to...
Persuasion Strategies01:52

Persuasion Strategies

Researchers have tested many persuasion strategies, including the foot-in-the door and the door-in-the-face techniques, in a variety of contexts. Ultimately, the principles are effective in selling products and changing people’s attitude, ideas, and behaviors (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004).

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 23, 2026

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress
09:12

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress

Published on: July 4, 2013

Aggress to impress: hostility as an evolved context-dependent strategy.

Vladas Griskevicius1, Joshua M Tybur, Steven W Gangestad

  • 1Department of Marketing, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. vladasg@umn.edu

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|April 22, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Human aggression evolved due to its links with status and mating. Motives for status and mating influence sex-specific aggression, with men showing more direct aggression and women more indirect aggression.

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A New Approach that Eliminates Handling for Studying Aggression and the "Loser" Effect in Drosophila melanogaster
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A New Approach that Eliminates Handling for Studying Aggression and the "Loser" Effect in Drosophila melanogaster

Published on: December 30, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 23, 2026

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress
09:12

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress

Published on: July 4, 2013

Studying Aggression in Drosophila (fruit flies)
11:06

Studying Aggression in Drosophila (fruit flies)

Published on: February 25, 2007

A New Approach that Eliminates Handling for Studying Aggression and the "Loser" Effect in Drosophila melanogaster
07:19

A New Approach that Eliminates Handling for Studying Aggression and the "Loser" Effect in Drosophila melanogaster

Published on: December 30, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Behavioral Biology

Background:

  • Aggression incurs significant costs, yet its evolutionary persistence suggests adaptive functions.
  • Nonhuman animal studies consistently link aggression with status and mating opportunities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the influence of status, competition, and mating motives on human aggression.
  • To explore sex-specific differences in aggressive responses to these motives.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental manipulation of status, competition, and mating motives.
  • Measurement of direct (face-to-face) and indirect (social exclusion) aggression in men and women.

Main Results:

  • For men, status motives increased direct aggression; mating motives increased aggression with male observers.
  • For women, status and mating motives increased indirect aggression; competition increased direct aggression.

Conclusions:

  • Human aggression is context- and sex-specific, serving functional roles related to status and mating.
  • Findings contribute to understanding the adaptive nature of aggressive behaviors across sexes.