9 characteristics of aggressive people

Aggression is one of the aspects that most affect social relationships. Much of the individual therapy or couples therapy sessions have to do with patients who experience problems in managing anger.

In this article we will see what are the typical characteristics of aggressive people; different patterns of behavior associated with hostility, the search for confrontation with others or the simple taste for intimidation and physical or verbal violence. Of course, it must be remembered that not all aggressive individuals have to present all of them, and that each person is an individual case; These are ideas to guide you when detecting these kinds of behavior problems.

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Aggressive people: typical characteristics

In psychological therapy, the signs that there is a problem of excessive aggressiveness are the following.

1. They have difficulty convincing in debates and discussions

Almost every time a person with a tendency to aggression participates in a discussion in which it is necessary to try to convince others, he has trouble getting his ideas to be accepted.

This is because, seeing that others disagree with what he says, difficulties arise when it comes to repressing his anger and frustration. This irritability not only prevents you from thinking in the calm and rational way necessary to argue well; Furthermore, it makes him more unpleasant in the eyes of others, to whom he offers a negative and hostile image.

All of this makes aggressive people more likely to "lose" an argument or to win it only on the surface through intimidation, than to genuinely convince others.

2. In relationships, they are controlling

Another very common characteristic in aggressive people is the propensity to try to control their love partners, and also the way they express jealousy easily, in very varied situations and with the slightest trace of uncertainty and ambiguity about what is happening.

3. They have a propensity to see jokes as a threat

Many times, the jokes that other people make can be interpreted as an offense by someone predisposed to see hints in phrases that do not have a clear meaning. This is something that occurs frequently by aggressive people, who they are put on the defensive just in case it is necessary to assert themselves against ridicules that, in practice, have almost never existed.

4. It is difficult for them to ask for forgiveness

Another thing that strikes a lot of aggressive people is that they have a hard time asking for forgiveness in a convincing way. Many times they apologize "technically", but with a tone of voice and non-verbal language that make it clear that, for them, this is just a pantomime.

This resistance to apology may be due to the fact that the tendency to aggressive reactions would imply having to apologize too often, something that a priori is difficult to accept unless there is a true implication in the process of personal improvement and overcoming that hostile attitude.

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5. They blame others for their mistakes

If aggressive people usually get angry, it is, among other things, because they inadvertently invent many reasons to get angry. This occurs because they attribute a good part of their mistakes to others, making it clear that if something has not turned out well is the fault of others who, in reality, have had nothing to do with what has gone wrong.

In fact, this can lead to situations of gaslighting: trying to make others believe that they have done things that are wrong so that they do not have to take responsibility for what happened.

6. They are impulsive in making decisions

The impulsiveness they show in anger (mis) management is present in other areas of their life as well. For example, it is easier for aggressive people to have a shopping style based on improvisation.

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7. They are more likely to abuse addictive substances

Addictive people are more vulnerable to addictions, to which they give in easily. In fact, addictions often exacerbate mismanagement of anger, making them more aggressive. For example, it is known that among people who abuse their partner, the percentage of individuals addicted to alcohol or some other drug is much higher than in the rest of the population.

8. They break friends easily

Because of their rapid mood swings and their tendency to create discussioners out of thin air, aggressive people have trouble keeping friends. For this reason, among other things, they do not invest much effort in the ones they have.

9. They show resentment for past conflicts

Due to their tendency to focus their attention on the cruellest and most hostile side of life, aggressive people they are aware of who has gone against them at some point in the past, and that is reflected in the attitude they show to them.

Bibliographic references:

• Dickman, S.J. (1990). Functional and dysfunctional impulsivity: Personality and cognitive correlates. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 58 (1): 95 - 102.
• Mehta, P.H.; Beer, J. (2010). Neural Mechanisms of the Testosterone – Aggression Relation: The Role of Orbitofrontal Cortex. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 22 (10): 2357–68.
• Patton, Jim H.; Stanford, Matthew S.; Barratt, Ernest S. (1995). Factor structure of the barratt impulsiveness scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 51 (6): 768 - 774.