All posts tagged: Aggression

How Bystanders Can De-Escalate Workplace Aggression

How Bystanders Can De-Escalate Workplace Aggression

Published by Jenni Sidey

Unfortunately, workplace violence has become a household term in recent years, as laws evolve to keep pace with publicized incidents of violence and mass shootings. Yet within individual workplace settings, when tempers run hot, there are effective methods of cooling things down, especially when initiated by respectful peers and colleagues. Research explains. The Buffer of Bystanders Many people admit that when they are upset, the best candidates to calm them down are trusted family and friends. But because someone who becomes irate in the workplace is unlikely to have immediate access to their intimate circle of influence, trusted colleagues and peers may be the next best option, depending on who they are. Ivana Vranjes et al. (2025) examined the impact of bystander intervention on interpersonal workplace aggression.[i]They recognized that the effectiveness of such intervention depends on the aggressor’s response, which will likely reflect his or her relationship with the bystander. Vranjes et al. proposed that organizations should train bystanders to consider several factors when intervening to address a hostile employee: (1) the extent of the …

Psychopathic women are more likely to use physical aggression

Psychopathic women are more likely to use physical aggression

Published by José Betancourt

New research provides evidence that women with high levels of psychopathy are more likely to engage in physical, verbal, and indirect aggression against other women. The study indicates that while women generally favor covert competitive tactics, those with specific dark personality traits may bypass these social norms to target rivals directly. These findings were published in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences. Evolutionary theory suggests that humans compete for access to romantic partners through a process known as intrasexual selection. This competition can manifest in various ways depending on the sex of the individual. For women, biological factors related to reproduction play a significant role in shaping these competitive strategies. The theory of obligatory parental investment notes that women face higher biological costs in reproduction than men. Because women carry the fetus during gestation and often care for infants, they must protect their physical well-being to ensure the survival of their offspring. This biological reality implies that direct physical confrontation is a high-risk strategy for women. Consequently, evolutionary psychologists have observed that women typically compete using low-risk, indirect …