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Power and aggression: making sense of a fickle relationship

Weick, M.

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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
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 33
Pages 245-249
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.10.003

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