Aggression Flashcards
What is proactive aggresion?
a planned method of getting what you want
What is reactive aggression?
angry, impulsive behaviour that is often accompanied with physiological arousal
What does the limbic system do?
controls a range of emotional behaviours including aggression
What structure of the limbic system is associated with aggression?
the amygdala
What is the role of the amygdala?
responsible for quickly evaluating the emotional importance of sensory info and prompting appropriate repsonses including aggression
What are the links with aggression and the amygdala?
tumour, damage or atypical development makes aggressive behaviour more likely
What did Pardini et al find supporting the amygdala in aggression?
smaller amygdala = higher levels of aggression and violence
What did Ervin et al find on the amygdala in aggression?
electrical stimulation of a patient’s amygdala lead to facial grimicing and anger
What is the issue with Ervin’s patient study on the amygdala?
it was an atypical patient with epilepsy = cannot generalise
What was kluver and Bucy’s study on the amygdala in aggression?
destroying the amygdala in aggressive monkeys = less aggressive behaviour
tells us little about human aggression
What other structure of the brain is responsible for aggression?
the orbitofrontal cortex - OFC
What is the role of the OFC?
regulates the emotional responses driven by the amygdala
What can damage to the OFC lead to?
impulsivity and loss of control
What was Coccaro et al’s study for the role of the OFC in aggression?
patients with psych disorders that feature aggression = activity in the OFC was reduced
What was Raine et al’s study for the role of the OFC in aggression?
brain activity in 41 murderers using PET scans = atypical functioning of the OFC and amygdala
What are the 2 neural explainations of aggression?
serotonin
limbic system
What is serotonin?
neurotransmitter involved in the communication of impulses between neurons
What effect does serotonin have on the amygdala?
inhibits the firing of the amydala
What levels of serotonin are associated with aggression, impulsivity and loss of control?
low levels
What was found on the waste product of serotonin in aggression?
levels of waste product from serotonin from violent impulsive offenders were significantly lower and they also suffered from sleep irregularities
What did Raleigh find on the influence of tryptophan diets in monkeys?
Tryptophan increases serotonin levels = monkeys with a diet with high tryptophan were less aggressive
What is the prac application to manipulating tryptophan in diets?
can raise serotonin levels in highly aggressive prisoners and unpredictable psych patients
however there are ethical issues with this
What is the issue with saying serotonin influences aggression?
complex = neural and hormonal also involved
high levels of serotonin also found to increase aggression = little significance has been found on the relationship with serotonin and aggression
What hormone influences aggression?
testosterone
What is testosterone?
an androgen (male sex hormone) secreted by the testes
little sectreted by the ovaries
What is the link between aggression and testosterone?
higher levels of aggression = higher levels of testosterone
Between what ages do males produce the most testosterone?
15-25 = the group most likely to commit violent crimes
What did Wagner do to mice to study testosterone’s affect on aggression?
castrated male mice = aggression reduced
injected testosterone = aggression increased
castration has been used for domestic animal and farm animals
What was Dabbs study on testosterone in male prisoners?
measured testosterone in the salia of 692 adult male prisoners
higher levels in more violent offenders = committed unprovoked acts of violence
What was Carre’s dual-hormone hypothesis?
high levels of testosterone lead to aggressive behaviour only when cortisol levels are low
What happens when cortisol levels are high?
testosterone’s influence on aggression is blocked
What type of behaviours does testosterone increase?
status-seeking behaviours = aggression is 1 of them
What is the genetic theory of aggression?
genes are the cause of aagressive behaviour and it can be passed on from 1 generation to the next
What gene is found to have an influence on aggression?
the MAOA gene
What is the role of the MAOA GENE?
responsible for regulating the enzyme MAOA
What is the role of the MAOA enzyme?
breaks down neurotransmitters serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine, removing excess amounts and allowing neurons to communicate more effectively
How does the MAOA gene cause aggression?
if there is a dsfynction in the MAOA gene, the enzyme doesn’t regulate the levels of serotonin properly = aggressive behaviour
What are the 2 forms of the MAOA gene?
L variant = low activity
H variant = high activity
Which form of the MAOA gene is likely to lead to aggression?
L varient
What did Brunner find on a Dutch family in terms of the MAOA gene?
the male family members had been particularly aggressive over many generations
there was a rare mutated version o the MAOA gene in the family
researchers discovered the 2 forms of the gene
What was McDermott’s study involving hot sauce and the MAOA gene?
the MAOA-L gene was more likely to force someone to eat hot chilli sauce despite having to pay than someone with the MAOA-H gene
What was Caspi’s study on anti-social behaviour in male kids and the MAOA gene?
500 male children
looked at their anti-social behaviour when they grew up
L variant support in aggression BUT only if they had been maltreated as children = the right environment causes aggression, genetics simply predispose
an interactionist app should be taken
What was Lagerspetz selective breeding study and the MAOA gene?
lab based selective breeding
isolate a group of mice
interbred the aggressive mice so that after 19 generations, the rates of aggression were x10 higher
What other findings did Lagerspetz find on aggressive mice?
the aggressive mice had heavier testes and forebrains
altered levels of serotonin and noradrenaline
genes influence both structural and functional aspects of an animal’s biology
What was Coccaro’s study on twins and the MAOA gene?
used a questionaire to measure hostility in male ps
concordance rates:
MZ = 50%
DZ = 19%
genetic factors play a part but the environment is important too
What is the evolutionary explaination of aggression?
suggests that present day behaviours come from our remote human ancestors because they were adapting and these behaviours proposed an advantage for surviving, reproducing and passing on their genes
What are the 2 ways that aggression can be seen as evolutionary?
sexual competition
sexual jealousy
What is sexual competition?
competing with other males to win access to females - aggression was needed to eliminate competition
What is sexual jealousy?
males feared losing their mate to another male so they need to find and retain their mates is the root of majority of male aggressive behaviour
What has sexual jealousy led to in terms of adaptive responses?
mate-retention strategies to enhance reproductive fitness and to avoid fear of cuckoldry
What is cuckoldry?
raising offspring that isnt your own without knowing
Why does the evolutionary approach to aggression say females are less aggressive?
females are less aggressive = her survival is crucial for the survival of her offspring
What is Puts’ findings on physiological features supporting sexual competition?
mals have 75% more muscle mass than females = men have evolved as a result of fighting each other
men with the strongest bones and muscles would have been able to fight off competition easier = more likely to pass on genes
What was found on women who have been abused and sexual jealousy?
women who have been beaten by their male partners recall extreme jealousy on part of their husbands or boyfriends as the key cause of aggression
What did Daly and Wilson find on sexual jealousy and violence?
men have evolved different stategies to deter their partners from acts of infedility = guarding, spying, threats and violence
sexual jealousy was the underlying factor in 58 out of 214 murder cases
What is the practical application of research done on male tactics in sexual jealousy?
particular tactics can be early indicators of violence
can be used to alert friends and family to the danger signs that can lead o further violence
How is the evolutionary explanation of aggression gender bias?
cannot account for female violence towards a male partner
recent family conflict studies show that there are equal rates of assaults by men and women
How are gender differences in aggression accounted for by the evolutionary app?
women are more likely to engage in verbal violence than physical
verbal aggression is less risky in terms of being hurt = more likely to survive for children
How does the evolutionary app to aggression have a deterministic view?
sexual jealousy is determined by genetic factors ove which we have no control
How does the evolutionary app in aggression support nature AND nurture?
genes predispose males to sexual jealousy but other factors such as the culture, childhood experiences influences how this manifests itself
What is an issue with the evolutionary app not supporting free will?
there is a danger that lack of free will can be used to justify crimes against women
What is the role of ethologists?
they study animal behaviour in natural environments in the context of evolutionary theory
What does Lorenz suggest on aggression (ethological)?
aggression is an adaptive instinct which has evolved to aid survival for different reasons
What are 3 ways aggression aids survival of animals?
- ensures only strongest and fittest males pass on genes
- disperse members of species more widely so resources are exhasusted less quickly and disease has less impact
- maintain hierachy in socially organised animals
What are innate releasing mechanisms?
built-in structure in the brain that when triggered by environmental stimuli, causes a series of fixed action patterns
What are fixed action patterns?
sequence of pre-programmed, ritualistic behaviours carried out in a set order, triggered by an innate releasing mechanism
What is the role of fixed action patterns in animals?
deter another male away to prevent their genes from being passed on due to access to females and teritory
What did Lorenz state about fixed action patterns?
not designed to start physical fights = animals do not want to kill each other as it would cause the species to die
animals show appeasement displays
What is an appeasement display?
an action from an animal that signals to another animal that they surrender
What is Lorenz’s action specific energy?
ritualistic signals can only occur for a certain amount of time as fixed action paterns only have a certain amount of energy dedicated to them