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Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior pp 1–6Cite as

Aggression

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Synonyms

Agonistic behavior; Animal combat; Animal conflict; Competitive behavior; Dominant/subordinate relationship; Hostile behavior; Offensive behavior

Definition

Conspecific aggression is an offensive behavioral strategy directed towards a competing member of the same species that is adapted to secure some resource at minimal cost.

Introduction

Aggression, from the Latin aggressiofor attack, is frequently used synonymously for agonistic behavior which include threats, displays, retreats, placation, and conciliation. Psychologists define aggression as a behavior intended to harm another individual, which is less fitting for animals as they need not act with intent. Furthermore, while aggression is symptomatic for numerous psychiatric disorders, it is not necessarily an aberrant behavior, and it is considered to be adaptive for evolution and survival of animals and humans alike. Even so, there are still differing schools of thought on the origin and cause of human aggression...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty for Life Sciences, Institute for Biology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    Paul A. Stevenson

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  1. Paul A. Stevenson
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Correspondence to Paul A. Stevenson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Federal Institute Farroupilha, Panambi, RS, Brasil

    Caroline Leuchtenberger

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Stevenson, P.A. (2018). Aggression. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_726-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_726-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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