Cognition-excitation interdependences in aggressive behavior

Abstract

This paper explores interdependences between cognitive and excitatory processes that concur during experiences of acute anger and the performance of aggressive actions, and it develops the implications of these interdependencies for anger and aggression. Specifically, the influence of cognitive processes on the time course of excitatory activity (mainly, sympathetic dominance in the autonomic nervous system), on anger, and on aggressive behavior is projected from theory and documented with pertinent research findings. The influence of different and changing levels of excitatory activity on cognitive functioning (mainly, the appraisal and reappraisal of endangerments), on anger, and on aggressive behavior is likewise derived from theory and documented with empirical research. Special attention is given to the anger- and aggression-diminishing capacity of the cognitive reassessment of endangering conditions, and to impulsive destructive behaviors that result from the transitory impairment of cognitive functioning at extreme levels of excitation.