Aggression
social interaction aiming at inflicting harm or unpleasantness
Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In humans, aggression can be caused by various triggers. For example, aggression may result from built-up frustration due to blocked goals or perceived disrespect. Human aggression can be classified into direct and indirect aggression; while the former is characterized by physical or verbal behavior intended to cause harm to someone, the latter is characterized by behavior intended to harm the social relations of an individual or group.
In definitions commonly used in the social sciences and behavioral sciences, aggression is an action or response by an individual that delivers something unpleasant to another person. Some definitions include that the individual must intend to harm another person.
In an interdisciplinary perspective, aggression is regarded as "an ensemble of mechanisms formed during the course of evolution in order to assert oneself, relatives, or friends against others, to gain or to defend resources (ultimate causes) by harmful damaging means. These mechanisms are often motivated by emotions such as fear, frustration, anger, stress, dominance or pleasure (proximate causes).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Aggression” is social interaction aiming at inflicting harm or unpleasantness. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Aggression, social and interaction, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “social interaction aiming at inflicting harm or unpleasantness” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q191797. The Library of Congress control number is sh85002193. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Aggression” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.