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 behavior patterns 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.
- Related article: ” What is personality according to psychology?“
Aggressive people: typical characteristics
In psychological therapy, the signs that there is a problem of excessive aggressiveness are the following.
- They have difficulty convincing in debates and discussions
Almost every time that a person with a tendency to aggressiveness 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 so because, seeing that others disagree with what he says, difficulties arise in 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 win it only on the surface through intimidation than to genuinely convince others.
- In relationships, they are controlling
Another very common characteristic in aggressive people is the propensity to try to control their love partners, and also their way of expressing jealousy easily , in very varied situations and with the slightest trace of uncertainty and ambiguity about what is happening.
- 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 happens frequently by aggressive people, who become defensive in case they have to assert themselves against teasing that, in practice, has almost never existed .
- It is difficult for them to ask for forgiveness
Another thing that catches the attention of many 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 very frequently , 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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- They blame others for their mistakes.
If aggressive people usually get angry, it is, among other things, because inadvertently they invent many reasons to get angry. This happens because they attribute a good part of their mistakes to others, making it clear that if something has not gone well for them, it is the fault of others who, in reality, have had nothing to do with what has gone wrong.
In fact, this can lead to gaslighting situations : 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.
- They are impulsive in making decisions
The impulsiveness they show in anger (bad) management is present in other areas of their life as well. Thus, for example, it is easier for aggressive people to have a shopping style based on improvisation .
- You may be interested: ” Impulsive people: their 5 characteristic traits and habits“
- 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, which makes 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.
- They break friends easily
Due to 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.
- They show resentment for past conflicts.
Due to their tendency to focus their attention on the most cruel and hostile side of life, aggressive people are aware of who has gone against them at some point in the past , and this is reflected in the attitude they show towards them.
