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AQA ALevel Psychology Aggression Topic Notes
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AQA ALevel Psychology Aggression Topic Notes
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Aggression Topic NotesBiological Explanations of Aggression, Neural and Hormonal Mechanisms in Aggression
- Biological explanation of aggression assumes that aggression is located within the biological
makeup of the individual rather than in the environment around them. Focus on the
structure and function of the brain and nervous system, neural mechanisms, as well as
activity in the endocrine system, hormonal mechanisms.
- Neural mechanisms:
The Role of the Limbic System- network of structures lying beneath the cortex and
includes the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus, involved in regulating
emotional behaviour such as aggression and fear.
o THE AMYGDALA: seen as integrative centre of emotion in the brain,
responsible for quickly evaluating the emotional importance of sensory
information and prompting an appropriate response. Plays key role in how
an animal responds to environmental challenges.
KLUVER & BUCY 1937, found that the destruction of the amygdala in a
monkey who was dominant in a social group caused it to lose its dominant
place, CORRELATION NOT CAUSATION
o HIPPOCAMPUS: involved in the forming of long-term memory, linked to
aggression. Memories processed here allow animals to compare the
conditions of a current threat with similar past experiences when
responding. Impairment of this structure prevents the nervous system from
putting threats into context and so may cause the amygdala to respond
inappropriately, resulting in aggressive behaviour.
BOCCARDI ET AL, found that habitually violent offenders showed
abnormalities in hippocampi functioning.
The Role of Serotonin- neurotransmitter has a widespread inhibitory, preventing,
effect throughout the brain.
Normal levels: typically inhibits the firing of the amygdala which helps to control fear,
anger and other emotional responses
Low levels: remove inhibitory effect, individuals are less able to control impulsive
and aggressive behaviour SERETONIN DEFICIINACY HYPOTHESIS, associated with an
increased susceptibility to impulsive aggression and violent suicide.
- Hormonal Mechanisms:
The Role of Testosterone- aggression are generally higher in males than females,
attention focused on ANDROGEN group of hormones, male sex hormones.
Implicated in aggression due to its action on brain areas involved in controlling
aggression.
BASAL MODEL OF TESTOSTORONE- suggests that testosterone causes a change in a
persons level of dominance. The more testosterone that a person produces, the
more competitive and dominant they will become. It follows that a man with a high
level of testosterone will take part in anti-social behaviour such as fighting as a way
of expressing this dominance.
Evaluations
- Role of Limbic System: support for the role of the amygdala GROVES & SCHLESINGER 1982,
found that amygdalectomy, surgical removal of amygdala, reduces aggression in previously
, violent individuals. HOWEVER side effect is loss of emotion, suggest that amygdala does not
directly cause aggression but is involved in processing associated emotions such as anger.
- Further support for the role of the amygdala: PARDINI ET AL 2014, found in longitudinal
study in depth study, qualitative data, cant be generalised, high drop out ratecarried out on
violent males socially sensitive, beta bias, from childhood to adulthood, that participants
with lower amygdala volume exhibited higher levels of aggression and violence. Shows that
the amygdala plays an important role in evaluating the emotional importance of sensory
information and that low amygdala volume Phineas and Gage case study can predict the
development of severe persistence aggression.
- Support for role of hippocampus: RAINE ET AL 2004 found that MRI scans of a group of
violent offenders that had been caught, called unsuccessful psychopaths, revealed their
hippocampus differed in size, asymmetry, in either hemisphere unlike group of violent
offenders who evaded the law, successful psychopaths. Concluded that this asymmetry might
have impact the ability of the hippocampus and amygdala to work together leading to
impulsive aggression in the successful psychopath group who acted on impulse rather than
cold and calculated actions. Supports the idea that memories processed in the hippocampus
influence aggressive behaviour in important ways.
- Role of Serotonin: animal studies, from RALEIGH ET AL 1991, found that vervet monkeys fed
on a diet high in tryptophan, which increases serotonin levels in the brain, showed a
decrease in aggression levels, whilst monkeys fed on diets low in tryptophan showed an
increased om aggression. Suggest the difference in aggression could be attributed to their
serotonin levels. Extrapolation, ungeneralisable, unethical, Anthro morphism
- Role of Serotonin: drugs, BOND 2006, found that antidepressant drugs that raise serotonin
levels tend to reduce impulsive aggressing. Suggests that serotonin may have a direct impact
on aggression.
HOWEVER, some drugs can alter serotonin levels and increase aggression. MANN ET AL gave
35 healthy Ps drug that reduces serotonin levels, using questionnaire demand characteristics,
self report, to assess aggression levels they found that the drug treatment in males beta bias
was linked to high aggression scores and hostility. Unethical.
FURTHERMORE, meta analysis of 29 studies nu SCERBO & RAINE 1993 found that there was
consistently lower levels of serotonin in highly aggressive children and adults as well as in
individuals who has attempted suicide/ further suggest that low serotonin leads to a variety
of impulsive aggressive behaviours.
- Role of testosterone: evidence for the role of testosterone DABBS ET AL 1987, measured
testosterone in the saliva of criminals and found those with the highest levels had a history
of primarily violent crimes. Suggests that testosterone levels may have caused this difference
in aggression.
- Role of testosterone: gender bias, an issue with testosterone research is that it may suffer
from gender bias, most studies have focused on males and have largely ignored the possibly
different influence testosterone may have on females. EISENGGER ET AL 2001 found that
testosterone could make women act nicer rather than aggressively. Supports the idea that
rather than directly causing aggression, testosterone promotes status seeking behaviours
that increase dominance.
- Role of Testosterone: biological reductionism, aggression relies solely on biology and does
not consider environment. Neural and hormonal explanations ignore evidence that
aggression may be learned through the environment. BANDURA found that children were
more likely to be aggressive towards a bobo doll when they had observed an adult role
, model being aggressive towards the doll and learned to imitate them. Problem as it suggests
environment and social learning may at least play a part in aggression.
- Role of Testosterone: biological determinism, neural and hormonal explanations could be
said to be deterministic, because the research argues that we are somehow biologically pre-
programmed to be aggressive and therefore have no free will over our aggressive behaviour.
One implication of this is that it may be seen as wrong for the legal system to punish people
for their aggressive behaviour, as the biological explanation suggests that aggressive is not
something that is controlled consciously.
Biological Explanations of Aggression, Genetic Factors
- Genes and Aggressive Behaviour:
Basic difference between men and women lies in their genotype, XY or XX. Psychologists
investigating aggression believed the genetic cause of aggression could lie in the Y
chromosome.
Interested in examining individuals with a genotype of XYY, known as ‘super males’ as they
possessed two male Y chromosomes.
COURT-BROWN 1965, discovered 314 patients that has the XYY chromosome presentation
and he put forward the view that these patients should remain hospitalised given their
increased likelihood of aggressive behaviour.
More recently psychological research has focused on examining individuals with the normal
XY genotype. Psychologists have used selective breeding in animals and have found that
aggression is a trait that can be transmitted from parent to offspring, thus supporting the
genetic explanation.
THEILGAARD 1984, undertook research into men with the XYY genotype and found that it
can cause an increase in height in individuals but not an increase in aggression.
- The MAOA Gene and Aggressive Behaviour:
The Monoamine Oxidase A gene MAOA is responsible for producing the protein Monoamine
Oxidase A. Allows the metabolising of noradrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine. Dysfunction
in this gene can result in these neurotransmitters not being broken down in the body.
If adrenaline isn’t metabolised, end up with too much adrenaline which can cause
hypersensitivity in the fight or flight response and individuals may overreact to an external
stimulus and perceive a threat where one does not exist. MAOA regulates the metabolism of
serotonin in the brain. If defective leads to low levels of serotonin, as serotonin has
widespread inhibitory effect throughout the brain, its thought that low serotonin makes it
more difficult for the person to inhibit the emotional responses generated by the amygdala,
leading to increased risk of impulsive and aggressive behaviour.
If dopamine isn’t broken down, increased or excessive levels of dopamine are also linked to
aggressive behaviour.
Evaluation of MAOA Gene
- Support for the role of the MAOA gene: in aggression comes from BRUNNER 1993, found
that many males in a Dutch family with a history of male violence had a defective MAOA
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