Re‐emerging conceptual integration: commentary on Berkowitz's “On the Consideration of Automatic as well as Controlled Psychological Processes in Aggression”

Abstract

In recent decades, researchers in various areas of psychology have challenged the claims of a single mode of information processing, and developed dual-process models of social behaviors. Although these theories differ on a number of dimensions, they all share the basic assumption that two different modes of information processing operate in making decision and copying behavior. In essence, the common distinction in these perspectives is between controlled vs. automatic, conscious vs. unconscious, and affective vs. cognitive modes of processing. The purpose of Berkowitz's article is to go beyond the notion of automatic processes in order to use classic notions of conditioning and displacement to explain aggressive behavior. I assert that an explanatory framework for psychology of aggression must be anchored not only in the new but also classic theoretical paradigms. However, progress in psychology does not rest solely on the accumulation of theoretical insights. It demands a large body of empirical facts, with attention to incongruities, discordances, and conceptual clarifications.

What i meant to say: some thoughts in response to Pahlavan and Dodge

“…I welcome the comments offered by Pahlavan [2008] and Dodge [2008] on my paper. They have highlighted issues certainly needing greater theoretical clarification and much more research, and my thinking about the processes involved in the genesis of aggressive reactions to situational events undoubtedly would benefit from a close consideration of points they have raised.…”

The Implicit Aggression in Adolescents: The Priming Effect of Internet Violent Stimulus

“…Traditional treatments of Internet addiction focus on addicts' behaviors and consciousness, but only cure the symptoms, not the disease, with suppress in short term. Based on this point, researchers can try to explore an effective treatment from the scope of personality traits of aggressiveness [6] .…”