A Violent Heart: Understanding Aggressive Individuals

by Gregory K. Moffatt

Why are some people violent and aggressive while others are not? Where do these negative emotions and actions come from? What can be done to prevent dangerous behavior? Drawing upon years of research and experience as a therapist, lecturer, and consultant to law enforcement and business, Moffatt presents a broad perspective on the psychological and sociological roots of aggression. Using both case studies and theoretical constructs from several different fields, this work provides an overview of the diverse mix of factors that create individuals with a propensity to resort to violence. Topics include domestic violence, the violent child, mass murder, terrorism, serial killing, murder for hire, and hate crimes. Moffatt also details the growing phenomena of road rage, air rage, and sports rage.

Avoiding complex psychological jargon, Moffatt helps the general reader to understand and easily apply these concepts. He also addresses intervention techniques and deterrents to criminal behavior, ranging from rehabilitation, to revised prison sentencing, to the death penalty. Stories of successful intervention and recovery round out the volume.

Genres: Psychology

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Nafisa]

I didn’t continue the book once it started giving racist vibes. He starts off a book about aggression with a story about a black person. He even inserts the N word with a hard R, though it is in quotes. I prayed he was black, but unfortunately, he’s fully white. If I could give it 0 stars I would.

[Tipsy Pixy]

This book is wonderfully written. I normal do not like nonfiction, however the way Moffatt writes is spectacular (that and I really like psychology). This book is not for the faint at heart, by any means. He gives real insight into the mind of someone who is more likely to commit a crime and what goes on in their head. He has real cases of each different aggressive act that he goes over in this book. Some of them are very graphic (even though he did try to tone it down because the point is knowing the "Why?" not the "How?"). A violent Heart is great if you want to learn more about people who do horrible acts on others and why they do them. It even discusses how to deal with them and warning signs. So, if you ever get the chance, this is something you shouldn't pass up.