Aggression

Question 1

The Limbic System

Answer 1

Part of the brain that helps coordinate behaviours which satisfy motivational and emotional urges
Made up of the Amygdala and Hippocampus

Question 2

Amygdala

Answer 2

Quickly evaluate the emotional importance of sensory information and then respond appropriately

Question 3

Amygdala - Kluver and Bucy (1937)

Answer 3

Monkey that was dominant in a social group had it’s amygdala removed, and the money lost it’s place of dominance

Question 4

Hippocampus

Answer 4

Allows us to perform LTM, so we can compare current threat with past experiences and respond appropriately

Question 5

Impaired hippocampal functioning

Answer 5

Prevents the NS from putting things into relevant context, so amygdala responds inappropriately to sensory stimuli, resulting in aggression

Question 6

Hippocampus - Boccardi et al (2010)

Answer 6

Violent offenders exhibited abnormalities of hippocampal functioning

Question 7

Normal levels of serotonin

Answer 7

Help to inhibit activity of the amygdala, so reduces aggression

Question 8

Serotonin deficiency hypothesis

Answer 8

Low levels remove this inhibition, making it harder to control impulsive and aggressive behaviour

Question 9

Dexfenfluramine - Mann et al (1990)

Answer 9

Gave 35 pps dexfenfluramine, which is known to deplete serotonin
Questionnaire to assess hostility and aggression levels - higher scores associated with males (but not females)

Question 10

Testosterone

Answer 10

Affects part of the brain involved in controlling aggression

Question 11

Testosterone - Sapolsky (1988)

Answer 11

Removing source of testosterone leads to lower aggression levels, then injecting synthetic testosterone and aggressive behaviour returns

Question 12

Testosterone - Dabbs et al (1987)

Answer 12

Salivary testosterone measured in violent and non-violent criminals - highest levels had history of mostly violent crimes

Question 13

Media

Answer 13

Edgar (1977)
In every country that has TV, the media is blamed for any young people’s increased aggressive behaviour

Question 14

Lab and Field - Bjorkqvist (1985)

Answer 14

5-6 year old Finnish children
Exposed to violent films (experimental condition) or non-violent films (control condition)
Those who watched violent film were rated higher on physical aggression

Question 15

Longitudinal - Huesmann et al (2003)

Answer 15

Studied 557 children between 6 and 10 in Chicago 1977, and then 329 of these 15 years later in 1992
Early exposure to TV violence was predictive of adult aggression later, for boys and girls

Question 16

Meta-analysis - Bushman and Huesmann (2006)

Answer 16

431 studies, over 68,000 pps- 264 involved children and 167 involved adults
Significant effect sizes for exposure to media violence on aggression
Short term effects - adults
Long term effects - children

Question 17

Video games

Answer 17

Porter and Starevic (2007)
Violence in video games may exert more influence than TV - viewer more active, play the role and aggression is rewarded and appropriate

Question 18

Lab - Gentile and Stone (2005)

Answer 18

Short term increase in physiological arousal, hostile and aggressive behaviour

Question 19

Lab - Anderson and Dill (2000)

Answer 19

Unethical to study aggression, so alternative behaviour observed
Pps blasted white noise at opponents for longer and rated themselves more hostile after playing Wolfenstein 3D, compared to those who played Myst

Question 20

Longitudinal - Anderson et al (2007)

Answer 20

Surveyed 430 children aged 7-9 at
High exposure to violent games became more verbally and physically aggressive

Question 21

Longitudinal link - Adachi and Willoughby (2013)

Answer 21

Link may be due to the competitive nature of the games rather than violence, as violent games tend to be more competitive