Types of Aggression

Hugh Wagner, a behavioral psychologist concerned with the biology of aggression,
has identified three types: offensive aggression, defensive aggression,
and predatory aggression. Offensive aggression occurs when the aggressor
initiates aggressive behavior against one or more nonaggressors.
The response to offensive aggression is likely to be defensive aggression that
generally takes the form of self-defense.
Predatory aggression differs from offensive or defensive aggression, although
it is basically a formof offensive aggression. It is characterized by, for
example, such phenomena as the lurking of predatory animals that make
themselves as inconspicuous as possible until their prey is within striking distance.
They then pounce on the prey with the intention of killing it as
quickly as they can so that they can eat it. Among humans, hunters are examples
of predatory aggressors, although not all modern hunters consume
their prey.