INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES IN THE STUDY OF HUMAN-AGGRESSION

Excessive concern for simplicity has often led us to underestimate the complexity of aggression. Over the years, several scales related to a ggression have been identified and validated both on adults and on chi ldren. Ultimately, two main higher order dimensions, emotional respons ivity and proneness to aggression, repeatedly emerged in a series of s econd-order factor analysis. These dimensions are rather similar to tw o of the big five factors of personality: neuroticism/emotional stabil ity and hostility/agreeableness, respectively. Several studies corrobo rate the plausibility of a higher level bidimensional conceptualizatio n of aggression that, while preserving the heuristic validity of looki ng for more specific constructs of aggression, can link the field of a ggression to the field of personality. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc