Essay
8 marker on hormonal mechanisms in aggression
- Module
- Aggression
- Institution
- AQA
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Discuss the role of hormonal mechanisms in aggression (8 marker)Hormonal mechanisms have been found to play a significant role in aggression. The main male sex
hormone, testosterone, which is produced in the testes, has been proven to be linked to aggressive
behaviour, especially in teenage years when testosterone levels are at their highest and gradually
decline with age. Research support from Book et found a positive correlation between high
testosterone levels and aggressive behaviour using a meta analysis. Observations of non-human and
human species have demonstrated that aggression is more evident in males than females. Low levels
of progesterone, the female hormone produced by the ovaries, may be linked to aggression in
women too.
One strength of the hormonal explanations is support from research with animals. Giammanco’s
(2005) experiment confirms the role of testosterone in aggression. He investigated the correlation
between number of biting attacks in male mice precastration, postcastration and through injecting
testosterone. The findings show that castration of male mice reduces testosterone levels and mouse
killing behaviour showing how aggression levels have dropped. These findings suggest that
testosterone has a role in aggression in animals, however these findings may not be able to be
generalised to humans therefore lack external validity.
One limitation is mixed evidence of the link between testosterone and aggression in humans. Carre
and Mehta (2011) developed a dual-hormone hypothesis which suggests that high levels of
testosterone lead to aggressive behaviour but only when levels of cortisol are low. When cortisol
levels are high, testosterone’s influence on aggression is inhibited. The hormone cortisol plays a
central role in the body’s response to chronic stress. This suggests that testosterone cannot fully
explain aggression but rather the combined activity of cortisol and testosterone is a better predictor
of aggression than either hormone alone.
One further limitation is mixed evidence of the link between testosterone and aggression in humans.
Carre and Metha proposed the dual hypothesis which suggests that high levels of testosterone lead
to aggressive behaviour but only providing levels of cortisol are low. When cortisol levels are high,
the influence of testosterone is inhibited. Cortisol plays a central role in controlling chronic stress.
This suggests that testosterone cannot fully explain aggression but rather the combined activity of
testosterone and cortisol is a better predictor of aggression.
One final strength of the hormonal explanation for aggression is the research support from
nonhuman studies. Giammanco et al (2015) investigated the correlation between number of biting
attacks from male mice precastration, post castration and injecting testosterone. They found that
castration of male mice reduces levels of testosterone and mouse killing behaviour showing
aggression levels have dropped.
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