Editing Aggression (section)

===Gender===
{{See also|Sex and psychology}}
Gender is a factor that plays a role in both human and animal aggression. Males are historically believed to be generally more physically aggressive than females from an early age,<ref>Coie, J.D. & Dodge, K.A. (1997). Aggression and antisocial behavior. In W. Damon & N. Eisenberg (Eds). ''Handbook of Child Psychology, Vol. 3: Social, emotional and personality development''</ref><ref>Maccoby. E.E. & Jacklin. C.N. (1974). ''[https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Psychology_of_Sex_Differences_Annota.html?id=2g63eUFP7VkC The psychology of sex differences]'', Stanford: Stanford University Press.
</ref> and men commit the vast majority of murders (Buss 2005). This is one of the most robust and reliable behavioral sex differences, and it has been found across many different age groups and cultures. However, some [[empirical studies]] have found the discrepancy in male and female aggression to be more pronounced in childhood and the gender difference in adults to be modest when studied in an experimental context.<ref name=pmid3797558/> Still, there is evidence that males are quicker to aggression (Frey et al. 2003) and more likely than females to express their aggression physically.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1002/1098-2337(1994)20:1<27::aid-ab2480200105>3.0.co;2-q |title=Sex differences in covert aggression among adults |journal=Aggressive Behavior |volume=20 |pages=27–33 |year=1994 |last1=Björkqvist |first1=Kaj |last2=Österman |first2=Karin |last3=Lagerspetz |first3=Kirsti M. J. |url=http://www.vasa.abo.fi/svf/up/articles/sexdiff_in_covert.pdf |citeseerx=10.1.1.453.7106 |access-date=6 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203190129/http://www.vasa.abo.fi/svf/up/articles/sexdiff_in_covert.pdf |archive-date=3 December 2011 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> When considering indirect forms of non-violent aggression, such as [[relational aggression]] and [[social rejection]], some scientists argue that females can be quite aggressive, although female aggression is rarely expressed physically.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/1089-2680.8.4.291 |title=Sex Differences in Aggression in Real-World Settings: A Meta-Analytic Review |journal=Review of General Psychology |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=291–322 |year=2004 |last1=Archer |first1=John |s2cid=26394462 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01184.x |pmid=18826521 |title=Direct and Indirect Aggression During Childhood and Adolescence: A Meta-Analytic Review of Gender Differences, Intercorrelations, and Relations to Maladjustment |journal=Child Development |volume=79 |issue=5 |pages=1185–229 |year=2008 |last1=Card |first1=Noel A. |last2=Stucky |first2=Brian D. |last3=Sawalani |first3=Gita M. |last4=Little |first4=Todd D. |s2cid=7942628 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1891/vivi.2003.18.2.197 |pmid=12816404 |title=Gender Differences in Psychological, Physical, and Sexual Aggression Among College Students Using the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales |journal=Violence and Victims |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=197–217 |year=2003 |last1=Hines |first1=Denise A. |last2=Saudino |first2=Kimberly J. |s2cid=28687366 }}</ref> An exception is [[intimate partner violence]] that occurs among couples who are engaged, married, or in some other form of intimate relationship.

Although females are less likely than males to initiate physical violence, they can express aggression by using a variety of non-physical means. Exactly which method women use to express aggression is something that varies from culture to culture. On [[Bellona Island]], a culture based on male dominance and physical [[violence]], women tend to get into conflicts with other women more frequently than with men. When in conflict with males, instead of using physical means, they make up songs mocking the man, which spread across the island and humiliate him. If a woman wanted to kill a man, she would either convince her male relatives to kill him or hire an assassin. Although these two methods involve physical violence, both are forms of indirect aggression, since the aggressor herself avoids getting directly involved or putting herself in immediate physical danger.<ref name="bjorkqvist">{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF01420988 |title=Sex differences in physical, verbal, and indirect aggression: A review of recent research |journal=Sex Roles |volume=30 |issue=3–4 |pages=177–88 |year=1994 |last1=Björkqvist |first1=Kaj |s2cid=142759440 }}</ref>

See also the sections on [[#Testosterone|testosterone]] and [[#Evolutionary explanations|evolutionary explanations]] for gender differences above.