Anger and Aggression in Biological Perspective

Abstract

From a constructivist point of view, anger can be defined as a socially constituted syndrome, or transitory social role. One advantage of a definition in terms of social roles is that it allows a consideration of biological factors without resorting to a crude reductionism. As Newcomb (1950) has observed: “Protoplasm meets society as human organisms learn to perceive themselves and one another in terms of shared norms and become motivated to interact with one another by means of role behavior.” (p. 331) Of course, it is one thing to say that protoplasm meets society in terms of shared norms and role behavior; it is quite another thing to say how that meeting takes place. That is the major prupose of the present chapter.