When Aggression Is Out of Control: From One-Person to Two-Person Neuropsychology

Abstract

From a neuropsychological perspective, impulsive aggression and its treatment are usually conceptualized in most research as a closed executive functioning system, as though the behavior was the product of the person's cerebral functioning only. However, recent studies in social cognitive neuroscience have emphasized the influence of social factors on cognitive processes and cerebral functioning for the development and maintenance of impulsive aggression. This chapter will review studies that highlight the relevance of initiating a shift of paradigm from a one-person-cerebral functioning model to a social interactive-cerebral functioning model of impulsive aggression. First, the influences of an aversive environment on a child's cognitive processes and executive functioning will be discussed with the aim of explaining the development of impulsive aggressive behaviors in early childhood. Second, we will review studies that have shown how the link between social information processes and executive/inhibitory functioning serve to maintain behaviors. Finally, strengths and weaknesses of existing inhibitory control strategies will be discussed with the intention of proposing some novel ideas that incorporate a twoperson neuropsychological approach.

Cognitive Control Processes and Defense Mechanisms That Influence Aggressive Reactions: Toward an Integration of Socio-Cognitive and Psychodynamic Models of Aggression

“…Data obtained exclusively with psychiatric populations have left open the question as to whether the relationship between DMs and the decision to act aggressively in a social situation also exists in nonclinical populations. If so, decreasing the use of maladaptive DMs for adults without psychopathology may be a potential target for prevention programs of aggression and integrative models of intervention for impulsive aggression (e.g., Gagnon et al, 2019). In support of this proposal, a recent study showed that the relationship between homophobia and aggression in university students was mediated by neurotic defenses (Set and Ergin, 2020).…”

The Mediating Role of Hostile Attribution Bias in the Relationship between Cluster B Personality Traits and Reactive Aggression: An Event-Related Potentials Study

“…Nonetheless, this study indicates that electrophysiological measurements can be more sensitive than self-report questionnaires when investigating the nature of cognitive processes associated with reactive aggression. Considering the contribution of socio-cognitive treatments that are offered to aggressive individuals (e.g., [48]), we believe that this study can help to open the way to other empirical studies using ERP tasks to understand the cognitions associated with reactive aggression among cluster B personality disorders.…”

Is Splitting Related to Resistance to Proactive Interference? A Process-Oriented Study of Kernberg’s Conceptualization of Splitting

“…It is possible that the absence of a significant relationship between the resistance to PI and the positive words can be explained by the likelihood that for individuals who are nonclinical, splitting is characterized by good and bad evaluations that are less extreme, and thus, oscillations between representations are less rapid, which makes sense given that these representations are more nuanced in terms of valence [ 57 ]. Finally, given its exploratory nature, the results of this study must be interpreted with caution and need to be replicated before concluding that they have a heuristic value, both scientifically and with regard to theoretically integrated treatment (e.g., [ 58 ]) that may be offered to individuals with symptoms of polarization and fluctuations in perception of self and others.…”