Identifying Aggressive Behaviors

Instructions: For each example given below, identify whether or not it represents an example of aggression
by circling "Y" if the answer is "Yes" and by circling "N" if the answer is "No." Please answer honestly and
according to your own beliefs and not how you think you should respond or how you think other people
would respond.

Y N 1. A Boy Scout helping an older woman across the street accidentally trips her and she sprains her
ankle.
Y N 2. An assassin attempts to kill a presidential candidate but the shots miss.
Y N 3. A worker knocks a flowerpot off a fifth story window ledge and it hits a passerby.
Y N 4. A farmer kills a chicken for dinner.
Y N 5. In a debate, one person belittles another's qualifications.
Y N 6. A soldier presses a button that fires a nuclear missile and kills thousands of people he cannot
even see.
Y N 7. A police officer trying to break up a riot hits a rioter on the head with a club and knocks the
person unconscious.
Y N 8. A cat stalks, catches, tosses around, and eventually kills a mouse.
Y N 9. A wife accuses her husband of having an affair and he retorts that after living with her anyone
would have an affair.
Y N 10. A frightened boy, caught in the act of stealing and trying to escape, shoots his discoverer.
Y N 11. One child takes a toy away from another, making the other child cry.
Y N 12. A person unable to get into a locked car kicks in the side of the door.
Y N 13. A person pays 25¢ to beat an old car with an iron bar, and does so vigorously.
Y N 14. A football player blocks another player from behind (clipping) and breaks his leg.
Y N 15. An executive hires a professional killer to "take care of" a business rival.
Y N 16. A woman carefully plots how she will kill her husband, then does so.
Y N 17. Two students get into a drunken brawl and one hits the other with a beer bottle.
Y N 18. A manager works vigorously to improve business and drive out the competition.
Y N 19. A young boy talks a lot about how he is going to beat up others, but never does it.
Y N 20. A hired killer successfully completes the job.

Reprinted (in a slightly edited form) from Beck, R. C. (1990). Motivation: Theories and principles (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Education. Used by permission of Pearson Education.