Bimodal classification of aggression: affective defense and predatory attack

The development of a refined classification scheme for the categorization of human aggression is a key to improved diagnosis and treatment. The principal thesis of this review is that much of animal and human aggression contains affective or predatory characteristics. Affective defense, as defined in both the human and animal literatures, is an aggressive response based on the presence of elements of either fear and/or threat, which may be real or perceived. Predatory attack has been understudied relative to affective defense, and consists of a purposeful and goal-directed attack with absence of sympathetic arousal. In this review, we argue that a variety of classification schemes reported in both the animal and human literature could be relabeled as affective defense and predatory attack. The significance of this approach is that it: (1) links animal and human research; (2) can lead to new lines of investigation in humans; and (3) may provide the impetus for new treatment studies. D 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.