Personality, Emotion Regulation, and The Dynamics of Aggression in Social Behavior

Aggression remains a central focus in personality and social psychology due to its far-reaching implications for interpersonal relationships, mental health, and societal wellbeing. Despite decades of research, the field continues to grapple with understanding the intricate ways in which personality traits, affective dynamics, and situational influences converge to give rise to aggressive behavior. Foundational models have pinpointed trait impulsivity, antagonism, and callous unemotional characteristics as robust individual predictors of aggression, while recent investigations underscore the importance of self-regulatory capacities such as emotion regulation in moderating these effects. Large-scale empirical studies and integrative theoretical frameworks have increasingly moved beyond viewing aggression as a simple behavioral response, instead conceptualizing it as a product of continuous interaction among personality systems, emotional states, and social environments. Nonetheless, ongoing debates persist regarding the specific mechanisms that link individual predispositions with real-world aggressive actions, and how such mechanisms operate across varying social contexts.This Research Topic aims to deepen our scientific grasp of aggression by exploring the interplay between personality structure and emotional regulation in shaping aggressive responses within social settings. Central objectives include refining our understanding of the underlying processes through which personality traits, especially those linked to negative emotionality and poor self-control, impact emotional reactivity, anger management, and the emergence of aggressive or antisocial conduct. Key questions to be addressed concern how emotion regulation acts as a bridge between personality disposition and behavioral outcomes, what contextual or situational factors moderate these associations, and which aspects of emotional processing are most critical for explaining variance in aggression. Ultimately, this initiative seeks to bring together innovative empirical approaches and theoretical integrations that clarify the pathways connecting personality, emotion regulation, and aggressive behavior.To facilitate a comprehensive examination of aggression from multiple perspectives, this Research Topic will consider contributions focusing on individual, emotional, and contextual dimensions but will not address topics unrelated to psychological or social determinants of aggression. We welcome submissions related to, but not limited to, the following themes:• The influence of specific personality traits on aggressive tendencies• Mechanisms by which emotion regulation mediates or moderates aggression• The impact of social and interpersonal contexts on aggression expression• Developmental trajectories linking personality, affective processes, and aggressive behavior across the lifespan• Integrative models combining personality, self-regulation, and social cognition to predict aggression• Novel intervention strategies targeting personality and emotion regulation to reduce aggressionAppendix: We invite articles including but not limited to original research, theoretical reviews, meta-analyses, brief reports, case studies, and perspectives. Topic editors: Bruno Bonfá-Araujo, Ariela Raissa Lima-Costa Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80443/personality-emotion-regulation-and-the-dynamics-of-aggression-in-social-behavior