The Aggression Curve: what it is and what it shows about our emotions

How many times have we gotten angry and it has given us the feeling that it was not going to happen to us? But, of course, we end up calming down. We cannot be angry all the time, because in addition to being exhausting, we can make the mistake of doing something that we regret.

Everything that goes up ends up going down, and anger does not escape this universal maxim. Human beings experience something through what has been called the curve of aggressiveness, a process of several phases in which we live the escalation and de-escalation of our emotions of anger, hostility and aggressiveness

Knowing how this process occurs is useful not only to understand human behavior, but also to avoid increasing anger the next time we find ourselves in a situation of high emotional tension. Let's see why.

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What is the Aggression Curve?

We have all gotten angry on more than one occasion. And whoever says no, at least they will have witnessed a fight between friends. When you get angry, you become more and more angry. The anger increases, but not infinitely.

There comes a point where hostility peaks and then subsides until it calms down.. This is known as the aggressiveness curve.

Nobody remains constantly angry, although it is true that there are people who get pissed off every two by three and that may be the feeling they give. Anger and associated emotions follow the logic of gravity, that is, everything that goes up must come down again. Or if you prefer another metaphor, that after the storm comes calm. It is a matter of time before the anger subsides and relaxation comes.

Aggression is said to be an emotional state motivated by hatred. It really is not quite like that, but of course this, along with displeasure and misunderstandings play an important role in the manifestation of this emotion. Being aggressive can serve to achieve something, to invest energy in achieving an ambitious goal and defend against anyone who wants to take it from us. But nevertheless, In a civilized and social world, aggressiveness is seldom fully effectiveWell, it ends up hurting someone, be it someone else or ourselves.

We are going to see how the aggressiveness curve occurs, analyzing its phases and what behaviors characterize them.

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What is aggressiveness?

Human aggressiveness is manifested in a set of behaviors that are characterized by the use of force with the intention of causing damage and harm to other people, animals or objects. In the case of aggressiveness towards people, the damage can be both physical and psychological. It is an emotional state that, as we have previously commented, is usually accompanied by feelings of hatred.

Aggression can manifest itself physically or verbally, both separately and in combination.. Physical aggressiveness refers to an attack by one individual to another using weapons or bodily elements, thus performing motor behaviors and physical actions to cause bodily harm. On the other hand, verbal aggressiveness is the emission of words that are offensive to the receiver, in the form of insults or threatening and rejection comments.

The AHI continuum

In popular language the words "aggressiveness", "hostility" and "anger" are used interchangeably. They really have their nuances, something that can be seen in the proposal of Charles D. Spielberger, Susan S. Krasner and Eldra P. Solomon who used these three terms in his continuous aggressiveness-hostility-anger or AHI (AHA, from anger-hostility.-aggression).

In this model emotions and affects converge (anger), cognitions and attitudes (hostility) and manifested behaviors and behaviors (aggressiveness). Anger and hostility are factors that can predispose to aggressiveness.

Anger can be understood as a reaction of irritation, anger or fury caused by feeling that our rights have been violated. This emotion can also arise due to the difficulty or impossibility of achieving a certain objective. It is considered a moral emotion, insofar as it can arise through the betrayal of trust, the lack of respect and consideration for others or an accumulation of experiences felt as unfair.

Hostility is the attitude of resentment towards someone. It usually results in the commission of implicit verbal or motor responses. It is a negative emotion, characterized by expressions of anger and irritability.

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The Curve of Aggression and its phases

The aggressiveness or hostility curve is a graphic representation of how the escalation and de-escalation of hostile behavior occurs.

As we have mentioned, it is a phenomenon in which first there is an increase in aggressiveness but, later, it ends up decreasing and causing the person who was feeling emotionally tense to end up in a state of relaxation. There are mainly six phases of this curve and, knowing them, they will help us to know when and how to intervene to prevent an aggressive situation, such as a fight between friends, from going to plus.

1. Rational phase

Most people are in the rational phase most of the time. It's about being reasonable most of the day, not necessarily being in a good mood but not being in a bad mood, and being able to have a calm and civilized conversation. It is the right emotional state to discuss or debate without escalation.

We are often able to stop when we notice that if we continue like this we are going to get angry. However, sometimes it happens that this is not the case, that the conversation continues and if things are said that either party does not like, there begins to be tension and they move on to the next phase.

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2. Trigger or output phase

The trigger or exit phase is the point at which Pandora's box opens. Irritation is present and the perfect factors begin to occur so that aggressiveness is triggered. If we add to this some other behavior on the part of the other person that can be interpreted as a provocation, that is when the shot itself occurs.

The result is that rationality is cornered along with the possibility that the fumes immediately, and there starts to be a burst of hostility that all it's going to do is go in increase.

3. Slowdown phase

We can't be irritated and angry forever. The situation will have to stabilize and calm down sooner or later, but it must be said that for this happens as soon as possible it is important that the person who is already angry does not perceive new provocations. In case he receives new provocations, there will be a new escalation of aggressiveness.

4. Coping phase

At this point, the behavior of the other person may determine whether or not a new shot is fired or whether the situation ends up stabilizing. If we are "the other party", his thing is to try to empathize with the person who has been prey to anger, although without agreeing with everything.

In addition to the fact that he may not be right, if we give it to him because he may interpret it as we are agreeing like fools, that we are making fun of him or her and basically they are going to anger more.

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5. Cooling phase

If the person feels validated, they may understand that they have lost their temper a bit. for something that does not deserve it so much, and it will calm down little by little.

6. Problem solving phase

Once everything has happened, the angry person is able to regain control of their thinking and behavior, discuss in a more rational and calm way and find a solution to what has started the conflict.

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When is the best time to intervene?

The best time to talk to the angry person is during the coping phase. It is at that moment the ideal moment to say something. Intervening earlier can be interpreted as a new provocation that, as we have commented, would generate ** a new escalation of aggressiveness ** and we would have to wait again for the fumes.

Therefore, you should avoid trying to calm or reason with the angry person before the coping phase. If we are the ones who have made him angry, whether or not we are right, it is best not to try to justify our behavior. And, for what you want more, do not interrupt him with your arguments in favor.

The best we can do before the coping phase is the following:

• Make sure you are properly protected against a possible physical attack from the other person.
• Watch out for the possibility of self-injurious behavior and notify professionals.
• Wait until you see that the emotional tension is diminishing.
• Listen without judging or feeling attacked.
• Avoid showing disbelief or inattention.
• Keep calm.

Added to this, there is three steps to follow to get the angry person to calm down a bit.

1. Control the context

As far as possible, we must try to control the context and the stimuli received by the person who is out of his mind. If we are the main source of stress, we should move away, and if it is the situation or other people that stress the person, we should try to move them away from there. We can invite you to sit down if you prefer, something that can help you calm down faster.

2. Try to calm down

It is better for only one person to be angry than two. We must try to calm down avoiding yelling or responding to "provocations" from the other party with more provocations.

3. Let him vent

The angry person may not be right in the least, but contradicting him right now is not going to do him any good. The ideal is to let him vent, let him vent by letting go of everything he needs to let go and express himself. When she does, we must avoid judging her or giving advice, it is not the best time and she will not listen to them.

Once you have calmed down, you can see and understand the many disadvantages of doing this, reflecting on how to act in a way that brings more benefits and fewer problems on a social level. When he is calm it will be the perfect moment to try to make him understand what the feelings of the other party are. and begin to propose consensual and positive alternatives to solve the problem that originated all this hostile situation.

The usefulness of knowing the aggressiveness curve

In an idyllic and wonderful world there were no conflicts. But we live in the real world and the fact of living in society implies that certain conflicts inevitably occur. We cannot avoid being involved in stressful situations, and sometimes it is almost impossible avoid reacting aggressively, although not necessarily engaging in physical behaviors violent

But we must also understand that Anger is a human emotion that has played a fundamental role throughout our evolutionary history.. In depending on which contexts, aggressiveness and anger are natural and adaptive responses, motivating us to carry out an attack behavior in the face of a threat that could endanger our life.

In social life, knowing how the aggressiveness curve occurs can serve us both to avoid getting more angry and do something that we later regret, such as avoiding adding fuel to the fire if we have an angry person in front of us. Knowing the five phases we go through when we are angry will help us avoid any new escalation.

It pays us to control aggressiveness, not only to avoid making bad decisions and hurting other people, but also because being angry for a long time is tiring.