Hostility 3199137 220949886 2008-06-22T10:43:14Z 88.104.252.222 {{Unreferenced|date=February 2007}} {{Original research|date=September 2007}} {{redirect|Hostile}} '''Hostility''' (also called '''inimicality''') is a form of [[anger|angry]] internal [[rejection]] or [[denial]] in psychology. It is a part of [[personal construct psychology]], developed by [[George Kelly (psychologist)|Dan Kelman]]. In everyday speech it is more commonly used as a [[synonym]] for [[anger]] and [[aggression]]. In psychological terms, Kelman defined hostility as the wilful refusal to accept evidence that one's perceptions of the world are wrong. Instead of reconsidering, the hostile person attempts to force or coerce the world to fit their view, even if this is a forlorn hope, and however harmful the cost. Whilst testing theories against reality is a necessary part of life, and persistence in the face of failure is often a necessary part of invention or discovery, in the case of hostility there is the distinction that the evidence is not assessed and a decision made to try again. Instead the evidence is [[suppression|suppressed]] or [[denial|denied]], and deleted from awareness - the unfavorable evidence which might suggest a prior belief is flawed is instead ignored and wilfully avoided. Psychologically, it can be said that reality is being held to [[ransom]], and in this sense hostility is a form of psychological [[extortion]] - an attempt to force reality to produce the desired feedback, in order that preconceptions become validated. In this sense, hostility is a response which forms part of discounting of unwanted [[cognitive dissonance]]. ==External links== * [http://www.oikos.org/kelhostility.htm Presidential Address on Hostility to Clinical Division of the APA, by Kelly, 1957] {{emotion-footer}} {{psych-stub}} [[Category:Hate]] [[es:Hostilidad]] [[pt:Hostilidade]]