Aggression

Question 1

What are the 8 main explanations for aggression in the biological approach?

Answer 1

1. Male retention strategies
2. Intimate Partner Violence
3. Sexual Jealousy
4. The Amygdala
5. The Orbitofrontal Cortex
6. Serotonin
7. Dopamine
8. The MAOA Gene

Question 2

What are Male Retention Strategies?

Answer 2

1. Ways of ensuring that your partner does not ‘stray’
2. Instrumental Aggression- it’s planned, there’s an end goal
3. Direct Guarding- monitoring your partners behaviours to prevent them from seeing anyone else, using things such as tracking or threats
4. Negative Inducements- threats (‘if you cheat on me, I will hit you’)

Question 3

Explain Shackleford’s 2005 theory of IPV?

Answer 3

1. Men who use male retention strategies are more likely to use IPV on their partners
2. This supports the idea of sexual jealousy

Question 4

What role does the Amygdala have in aggression?

Answer 4

1. Responsible for response to environmental threats
2. It is linked to emotional behaviour and actions, such as impulsivity and a lack of empathy
3. Brain scans show increased activity in the Amygdala when faced with a potential threat
4. Pardini et al (2014) ‘Those involved in violent crimes have a smaller amygdala.’

Question 5

What role does the Orbitofrontal Cortex play in aggression?

Answer 5

1. Higher levels of cognitive functions eg rational thinking
2. Reduced activity means less able to think before we act

Question 6

What role does serotonin play in aggression?

Answer 6

1. Levels in the orbitofrontal cortex are linked to levels of self control and ability to regulate
2. Decreased levels linked to impulsivity
3. Lower levels of serotonin activity in the OFC seen in violent offenders

Question 7

What role does Dopamine play in aggression?

Answer 7

1. It is a motivation
2. Encourages goal directed behaviours
3. Overactivity causes impulsivity and aggression

Question 8

What is the MAOA gene?

Answer 8

1. Monoamine Oxidase A
2. Responsible for MAOA Enzyme Activity
3. Breaks down neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline

Question 9

What are the 2 variants of the MAOA gene?

Answer 9

1. MAOA-H, normal gene which has high levels of enzyme
2. MAOA-L, low levels of enzyme, associated with aggression

Question 10

What is the research support for the MAOA gene?

Answer 10

1. IPV- men with the MAOA-L variant have been found to be the most violent and inflict worse injuries on victims
2. Also a study done on rats- when the MAOA gene was removed from the rats, they became hyper aggressive

Question 11

What are the consequences of this theory?

Answer 11

1. It’s reducrionist- it blames aggression on one singular gene. and ignores other factors such as how you was raised
2. It’s deterministic- it suggests that we don’t have control over our own actions, just because you have a predisposition to aggression doesn’t mean you’ll have the gene