Aggression and its Interpretation

by Lydia Jackson

Overview

Originally published in 1954, this was a new study of aggressive behaviour and phantasies in children of school age, combining the scientific-experimental with the clinical approach. It was, therefore, at the time, likely to be of interest both to experimental psychologists and to clinicians, as well as to all who worked in the fields of child guidance and mental health and were concerned with the welfare of children, including parents and teachers. The author’s group studies of normal, neurotic and delinquent children, made with the help a specially designed pictorial projection test, and the individual studies of her young patients demonstrated objectively the close connection between the forms taken by the aggressive impulse of the child and their relationships with the members of their family.

The writer re-defines the concept of aggression, taking a closely argued view that the aggressive urge is a manifestation of the vital impulse to self-realization through exploratory and constructive activities, and that destructive aggression arises only when the ways to constructive activities are blocked at an early age. This theory, with its wide social and educational implications, is put forward as a well-reasoned and hopeful alternative to the traditional view which represents aggressive behaviour as an outcome of an instinct by its very nature asocial and destructive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032779133
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/08/2024
Series:	Psychology Library Editions: Aggression
Pages:	246
Product dimensions:	5.06(w) x 7.81(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Foreword.  Preface.  Part I: Aggression and its Interpretation  1. The Origins of Aggression  2. The Need for Further Research  3. Aggression and Delinquency  Part II: Projection Studies of Aggression in Children  1. Aggression and Family Relationships  2. A Comparative Study of Three Groups  Part III: Clinical Studies of Aggression in Children  1. Negative Aggression in Neurotic Children  2. Negative Aggression in Delinquent Children  3. Negative Self-Assertion in Normal Children  Part IV: Interpretation and Theory  1. The Role of Mother–Child Relationship in Directing Aggression  2. Conclusions.  Appendix – Group Test of Family Attitudes: Data.  References.  Index.