In order to sit next to Grandma Ellie at Thanksgiving, Jason pushed his sister Abby out of the chair. This is an example of ________aggression.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Instrumental aggression is when someone has a goal or purpose in mind and uses aggression to accomplish that goal. In this case, Jason's goal was to sit next to Grandma Ellie and he used aggression (pushing his sister out of the chair) to achieve that goal. The other options don't seem to fit as well - Abby wasn't in the way of Jason's goal so it's not really hostile aggression, there's no indication that Jason's relationship with Abby was the issue (so it's not relational), and there's no indication that Jason was passive.

In Order to Sit Next to Grandma Ellie at Thanksgiving