Agg-Limbic system & hormones (neural&hormonal mechanisms in agg) Flashcards
name the 6 types of aggression
- Physical Aggression- active (hitting), passive (refusing to shake their hand)
- Verbal Aggression- active (swearing at them), passive (sarcasm, or backhanded compliments)
- Reactive Aggression- impulsive, physiological arousal, anger,’hot-blooded’
- Proactive Aggression- in order to obtain an outcome wanted/prepared (reward of stealing is getting an object u wanted), ‘cold-blooded’
5.Sanctioned Aggression- actions in a justifiable situation, that is legal/permitted (boxing ring, war conflict, rugby)
6.Person-oriented Aggression- physical or hostile acts that are aimed at a particular person (confrontation)
Two sections that make up to biological explanations for Aggression
Name the first
The Neural and Hormonal mechanisms of Aggression
List the 3 roles in the neural and hormonal influences
- The Limbic System
- Neurotransmitters (serotonin)
- Hormones (testosterone)
Name the 5 sections of the Limbic System we need to know and how to spell
- Serotonin
-Amygdala - Hypothalamus
- Hippocampus
-Thalamus
Define The Limbic System
A complex network of structures in the brain, that is involved in emotion, memory and arousal (stimulation) as well as regulating Aggression
Define what the function of the Amygdala does, in the Limbic system
the Amygdala is an area of the brain that processes emotions
Define what the function of the hypothalamus does, in the Limbic system
The hypothalamus sends and receives hormones related to emotion
Define what the function of the Hippocampus does, in the Limbic system
The Hippocampus assesses threats and responds to them
Define what the function of the Thalamus does, in the Limbic system
The Thalamus is involved in the fight or flight response and controls emotions
Define Serotonin
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is linked to regulating mood
explain the functions of serotonin
Functions of serotonin
-inhibitory effect on the brain
(this means it calms the brain by reducing the neural firing in the brain, by regulating the PFC which is responsible for impulse and decision making)
- Inhibits stimulation of amygdala
what occurs when there are low levels of serotonin
low levels of serotonin removes the inhibitory effect in the stimulation of the Amygdala. This means that amygdala levels increase producing emotional and impulsive behaviour
Research support for the role of serotonin
Recall sample size and gender
What were they given
How their hostility scores were collected
FIndings
Man et al 1990
35 male ppts
Given a drug that depletes their serotonin levels
Questionnaire was answered to assess agg levles
Scores increased when serotonin levels depleted
explain the role of the amygdala and how it contributes to aggression
The reactivity of the amygdala is an important predictor of aggressive behaviour , because it helps assess and respond to environmental threats
define what the hormone testosterone is
Testosterone is the male sex hormone, it controls social behaviour in both genders and is an androgen that’s responsible for the development of masculine features
explain the role/functions of testosterone and how it contributes to aggression
Testosterone plays a role in regulating social behaviour
so increased levels leads to increased levels of aggression (this occurs in both genders)
what is the research support for testosterone having an impact on aggression
which gender were the ppts and how many
Dolan et al 2001
found a positive correlation between testosterone levels and aggression
- 60 all male ppts who were offenders in uk max security hospitals
explain a weakness of Dolan et al 2001 for role of testosterone
a weakness is that there’s reduced reliability because the correlational study only looked at 2 variables
this excluded the factor that some offenders suffer with personality disorders
- This isn’t a valid excuse for committing a crime and offers huge implications on the justice system
name and explain the main research for the neural basis of aggression
The female researcher Gospic et al 2011
The study investigated the aggressive responses to specific brain regions such as amygdala -whilst carrying out social decision making
what was the procedure of gospic et al
ppts played the Ultimatum game while undergoing fMRI scanning, in order to measure brain activity and any aggressive responses due to unfair offers in the game
what were the findings of gospic et al research
Found increased activity in the amygdala led to more agressive behaviour
An unfair offer would cause an emotional reaction due to the injustice
When Oxytocin was secreted, it reduced the activity of both aggression and the amygdala which enabled more cooperative social decision making
name and explain the strength of gospic et al 2011 research
a strength of her research is it has high validity due to the use of fMRI, which allowed a direct insight into the brain activity during aggression. This means there is a precise identification of neural mechanisms involved in decision-making which provides objective neurobiological data that is reliable
name and explain the weakness of gospic et al 2011 research
however, it’s methodology takes a reductionistic approach. This is because it only focusses on the brain structure including the prefrontal cortex and amygdala. Therefore it overlooks any socio-cultural and psychological factors which contribute to aggression
what is the first eval of neural influences
a strength
strength- support that amygdala plays a role in aggression
e.g. Pardini et al 2014
longitudinal male ppts
Had an MRI at 26 - showed reduced amygdala activity, exhibit higher levels of aggression
-decreased volume of amygdala leads to predicting persistent aggression
what is the 2nd neural influences
a strength
strength- support that serotonin does have a role
e.g. Duke et al
meta analysis 175 studies -6500 ppts
small inverse relationship between serotonin and aggression
supports serotonin deficiency hypothesis that explains this theory
therefore, suggesting it is more complex than it seems but has a pos impact the theory
AO3
A limitation of hormonal influences, due to inconsistency
limitations of hormonal explanations
- inconsistent evidence 2 researchers has diff outcomes
e.g. pos correlations testost and aggression from Albert et al in prison inmates - self report data
whereas, evidence against - no correlation in prison inmates
therefore- unclear understanding in the relationship between testos and aggression
