Serious problems with aggression occur at a number of levels, from societal to personal, affecting situations not usually associated with extreme violence. For example, in some large urban schools, the high rate of assaults among youths results in mandatory weapons checks at school entrances and police patrols in the corridors. Young school children are taught how to duck under their desks when they hear gun shots. Counselors are once again summoned to help classmates of a child who has been killed on the streets.

In office buildings, aftermaths of attacks by co-workers armed with assault rifles include the provision of psychological services and self-protection instruction for survivors. Supervisors are taught to recognize the signs of extreme stress and how to handle dangerous situations.

In homes, family violence directed at children or spouses leads to public service classes in anger management and conflict resolution. Rapes and robberies by intruders are followed by purchases of alarm systems and the formation of neighborhood protection groups.

Even outside these extreme cases, individuals are involved with preventing and controlling aggression when they refuse to enter parks at night or certain other areas at any time, purchase various implements or learn techniques for self-defense, and avoid interacting with people from particular subgroups of the population.

While problems with aggression are relatively obvious, resolution of those problems is not. People can protest about aggression, the media can describe it, and politicians can legislate against it. However, effective resolution depends on understanding it. . .