Aggressiveness
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
This article defines aggressiveness as a tendency toward attack, a trait often linked to psychotic states and anger. It notes its presence in various mental disorders and discusses its psychological roots and adaptive functions.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
AGGRESSIVENESS (from the Latin aggre-di - to attack), the tendency to attack, characterizes certain psychotic states, most often associated with the emotion of anger. Aggressiveness is characteristic of manic patients prone to anger, excited paralytics, and impulsive schizophrenics, but especially epileptics, who, in a state of clouding of consciousness, often even commit murders. Psychologically (Freud), aggressiveness represents the manifestation of destructive tendencies directed at the external world. In a mild form, it is also characteristic of normal psychology, as it is inherent in the basis of many sthenic experiences. According to Adler, aggressiveness can also be a secondary formation, developing as a result of hypercompensation of states of insufficiency.
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“Aggressiveness.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/aggressiveness/