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Social Aggression

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

  • 81 Accesses

Synonyms

Indirect aggression; Peer-to-peer aggression; Relational aggression; Relational bullying

Definition

Social aggression is a broad term that generally includes relational (attempts to damage relationships or exclude others), indirect (behaviors, such as spreading rumors online, which do not occur in the presence of the victim), and nonverbal forms of aggression (e.g., dirty looks) along with verbal insults, the goal being to damage the victim’s self-esteem and social status (Ostrov et al. 2018).

Introduction: Theoretical Perspectives

Social aggression is used interchangeably with relational and indirect aggression throughout the literature; thus, it will be used as a broad term to represent all three forms of aggression. Several theories have been used to explain the development and maintenance of social, or relational, aggression; a few of these are briefly presented here.

Evolutionary theory provides the underlying context for understanding how the pressures placed on humans...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Kisha Radliff, Isabelle Shepp & Stephanie Flood

Authors
  1. Kisha Radliff
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  2. Isabelle Shepp
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  3. Stephanie Flood
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kisha Radliff .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Tara DeLecce

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Radliff, K., Shepp, I., Flood, S. (2019). Social Aggression. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_194-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_194-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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