Dr George Simon, PhD’s Articles at Psychology, Philosophy and Real Life, Page 20

An offense involves fighting hard enough to secure a goal and remove obstacles to that goal. A defense involves expending just enough energy to ward off an attack or prevent injury.

Often when someone says that another person is being “passive-aggressive,” they really mean something else. Let’s clarify just what passive-aggression is — and what it isn’t — with the help of a framework for understanding human aggression in general.

True “acting-out” is an outward manifestation of an emotional conflict that can’t be consciously recognized by an individual. Acting-up is NOT acting-out.

Anxiety plays a central role in what we have commonly called neurosis. Anxiety plays a minimal role, however, in the problems of the disordered character.

Neurotics have a big sense of right and wrong, set high standards for themselves, and carry the proverbial world on their shoulders. In contrast, disordered characters have a remarkably impaired, immature, or underdeveloped conscience. In some cases, conscience can be absent altogether.