Power and aggression: making sense of a fickle relationship

Weick, M.

Abstract

‘Power’ and ‘aggression’ are two constructs that seem like a natural fit. After all, why should people in power not deploy aggression to get their way? Yet, when looking at empirical studies, the relationship between power and aggression is fickle at best. In an effort to integrate the literature, the present narrative review draws on a neuro-biological model of aggression as a framework, which distinguishes between three motivational mechanisms: offence, defence, and marking/display. High (vs. low) power likely facilitates offensive aggression and agonistic marking/display. However, high (vs. low) power often coincides with elevated status, which counters some of the detrimental effects of power. Meanwhile, defensive aggression is relatively under-researched, but may be a more frequent occurrence amongst lower power individuals and groups.

Citation

Weick, M. (2020). Power and aggression: making sense of a fickle relationship. Current Opinion in Psychology, 33, 245-249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.10.003

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 14, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Nov 13, 2019
• Publication Date: Jun 30, 2020
• Deposit Date: Oct 17, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 13, 2020
• Journal: Current Opinion in Psychology
• Print ISSN: 2352-250X
• Electronic ISSN: 2352-2518
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 33
• Pages: 245-249
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.10.003
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1317764