Summary: A new study contests the belief that aggression stems from poor self-control. Instead, it suggests that aggression is often a deliberate, controlled act, inflicted to maximize retribution.
This finding, based on meta-analysis of multiple psychology and neurology studies, contradicts the traditional approach of treating violent tendencies by boosting self-control. It implies that such interventions may even enable some people to better execute their aggressive instincts.
Key Facts:
- Aggression does not necessarily arise from poor self-control. Instead, it can be a calculated act of retribution, requiring self-discipline to carry out effectively.
- Evidence suggests that self-control training programs do not necessarily reduce violent tendencies.
- Research indicates that the brain’s prefrontal cortex, a center of self-control, shows increased activity during aggression, further debunking the association between poor self-control and aggression.
Personally, I find the above statements to be very interesting, before I became aware of how ASPD affects my life in a negative way, I would often intend to appear more angered than I actually was in order to achieve some end goal.
Presently, I see my anger as stemming from a lack of control over my emotions and thoughts.
That being said, I cannot say that I am always the master of my domain so I still find this article worth a little bit of light reading.
It’s unfortunate that the headline and much of the article is needlessly sensationalized. The article makes it seems as if our previous understanding had been completely wrong and was now completely overturned, and that’s simply not the case. The new finding is that aggression can be the result of self-control, but it’s pretty clear from the words of the researcher and the abstract of the paper that aggression resulting from a lack of self-control also exists (“We often fail to inhibit our worst, most aggressive impulses. But that is only one side of the story.” and “balanced perspective, which allows aggression to arise from successful and unsuccessful self-control”).
That doesn’t debunk shit. It’s obvious why the prefrontal cortex would be active in the case of premeditated aggression, but this finding makes perfect sense even in cases of spontaneous, uncontrolled aggression. In that case, the prefrontal cortex is trying to exert self-control, it’s just failing at it. But that activity would still show up.
Very interesting findings, but the reporting is pretty poor.
Yeah, I agree with you on that. I think the article, and even the researchers, are utilizing a lot of word play between violence, aggression, vengeance, retribution, and anger. I think the study can be useful for showing that more research needs to be done in treating aggressive tendencies in people to make sure the proper methods are being used. However, I do not think it’s anywhere near debunking conventional wisdom.