Social Psychology of Aggression

Barbara Krahé is Professor Emerita and former Chair of Social Psychology at the University of Potsdam, Germany. She was awarded the German Psychology Prize for her work on aggression in 2015 and served as president of the International Society for Research on Aggression.

"Professor Barbara Krahé’s fourth edition of The Social Psychology of Aggression hits the mark again! The book captures recent advances in human aggression research. It integrates these findings with past and current overarching theories of aggressive and violent behavior. It does so in an engaging and easy-to-comprehend way. As always, this edition goes well beyond social psychology, integrating biological (e.g., hormones, genetics, neuro), cognitive (e.g., executive functions, decision making, learning), developmental, personality and individual differences, sociological, political science and even climate change effects into a broad framework. Students of human aggression and violence—from undergraduates to Ph.D. research professionals to those interested in public policy—will find this a joy to ready and an excellent resource."Prof. Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Iowa State University, USA, Associate Editor and former Editor-in-Chief of Aggressive Behavior, former President of the International Society for Research on Aggression. "I have been using Barbara Krahé’s textbook — “The social psychology of aggression” — in my upper-level undergraduate aggression and violence course since the first edition, which was published in 2001. I am currently using the third edition, which was published in 2020. My students love this book and so do I. It is comprehensive in scope and based on a firm foundation of scientific research. I was delighted to learn that there is now a fourth edition. A lot has happened in the world and in the field of aggression since 2020. This is a very timely edition, and it is even better than the previous editions. I love being able to tell my students that this textbook was written by a first-rate aggression researcher who has been president of the International Society for Research on Aggression (ISRA) and was elected to be a Life Fellow of ISRA in 2024 — an honor reserved for scholars who “have made distinguished lifetime contributions to research on aggression.” I can’t wait to share the fourth edition with my students!"Prof. Brad J. Bushman, PhD, Professor of Communication, The Ohio State University, USA, Executive Secretary, International Society for Research on Aggression, Editor of Psychology of Violence"This is an expertly crafted book on what is a diverse topic. Classic theory and empirical research has been fully integrated with topics that align themselves to contemporary understandings. This text will prove an excellent resource for those planning and delivering academic programmes, and for practitioners who are wanting a thorough overview of the topic areas included. Consequently, I warmly recommend this text as the go-to source for students, academics, practitioners and pracademics."Prof. Jane L. Ireland, University of Central Lancashire and Mersey Care NHS Trust, U.K, Editor-in-Chief of Aggressive Behavior.

• Preface and acknowledgementsIntroduction1 Aggression as social behaviour2 Theories of aggression3 Aggression in childhood and adolescence4 Personality and gender differences5 Situational factors promoting aggression6 Media violence and aggression7 Aggression in everyday life 8 Aggression in the family9 Sexual aggression 10 Aggression between social groups11 Terrorism 12 Preventing aggressive behaviour 13 Outlook and conclusionReferencesGlossarySubject index