Monthly Archives: December 2011

What is Aggression?

aggressive womanAggression may be defined as harmful behavior which violates social conventions and which may include deliberate intent to harm or injure another person or object (Bandura, 1973, cited in Suris et al., 2004; Berkowitz, 1993, cited in Suris et al., 2004). In many cases it escalates into violence.

Aggression has also been viewed as a heterogeneous concept encompassing a wide variety of behaviours (Conner, 2004). Researchers have attempted to create more homogenous categories in this behavioural domain by identifying subtypes of aggression based on statistical techniques such as factor analysis. Two common subtypes supported by extensive research are overt and covert aggression (Conner, 2004). As the name suggests, overt aggression involves outward or open confrontational acts of aggression, such as physical fighting, verbal threats and bullying. On the other hand, covert aggression is more hidden and surreptitious; examples include stealing, truancy and arson. Continue reading

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What is Evolutionary Psychology?

gears turning brain

Evolutionary Psychology is one of various biologically based approaches to the understanding of human thought and behavior. Proponents of this field posit that much of human behavior can be explained by internal psychological mechanisms, which are themselves adaptations – the results of natural selection which helped our ancestors to survive and reproduce in ancient times.

Just as Evolutionary Biologists believe that specialized organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, etc. all developed to expertly perform a specific function (but is virtually useless in others); Evolutionary Psychologists see the brain as having a modular structure and being composed primarily of modular adaptations which serve different functions. Continue reading

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What is Psychology?

psych books and apple

Light reading

What is psychology? That question is commonly asked by interested persons and/or students who are somewhat puzzled as to how to capture all that the discipline entails in a few short words. To perfectly define psychology is no easy task and the confusion is understandable considering the myriad of applications the science of psychology has across even the most diverse of fields. Visit a hospital, a coffee factory, a police station or even a weight loss and dietary club and sooner or later, if you’re very quiet, you just might see a psychologist skulking somewhere in the bushes. Continue reading

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