Aggression - hormonal mechanisms! AO1 & AO3

Question 1

What is the link between Testosterone & Aggression in men?
-hormonal mechanisms in aggression

Answer 1

• testosterone is a hormone responsible for the development of masculine features
• it helps regulate social behaviour via influence on areas of the brain involved w/ aggression
• testosterone is higher in men & linked w/ aggression

Question 2

How are Prison Studies & the role of Testosterone in Aggression linked?
-hormonal mechanisms in aggression

Answer 2

• prison studies show the role of testosterone in aggression
• Dolan et al (2011) found a positive correlation between testosterone levels & aggressive behaviour in male offenders in UK maximum security hospitals
• most suffered from personality disorders (e.g. psychopathy) & had histories of impulsively violent behaviour

Question 3

How are Animal Studies & the role of Testosterone in Aggression linked?
-hormonal mechanisms in aggression

Answer 3

• animal studies (Giammanco et al 2005) show experimental increases in testosterone are related to aggressive behaviour
• the converse is also true; testosterone decrease leads to reduction in aggression in castration studies

Question 4

Why is the fact that evidence in humans is mixed, a limitation for the role of testosterone in aggression?
-EVALUATION of hormonal mechanisms in aggression

Answer 4

• because some research shows hormones other than testosterone are also significantly involved in aggression
• Carre & Mehta’s (2011) dual-hormone hypothesis claims high testosterone leads to aggression once when cortisol is low; high cortisol blocks its influence on aggressive behaviour
• the combined activity of testosterone & cortisol may be a better predictor of human aggression than testosterone alone

Question 5

Why is a limitation of the hormonal explanation for aggression the fact that research is correlational?
-EVALUATION of hormonal mechanisms in aggression

Answer 5

• because the alternatives are limited - studies w/ humans are impossible for ethical reasons & animal studies raise issues of generalisability to human aggression
• research showing a correlation between serotonin & aggression risks oversimplifying the true mechanisms involved as other factors which influence or even cause aggression are overlooked
• this means that the neural regulation of aggression is almost certainly more complex than our current understanding suggests

Question 6

Why is a plausible mechanism a strength to explain testosterone’s effects?
-EVALUATION of hormonal mechanisms in aggression

Answer 6

• Mazur’s (1985) biosocial model of status (BMos) suggests changes in testosterone levels following a loss of status in a competition should affect aggressive behaviour afterwards
• in lab-based competition, Mehta & Josephs (2006) found that 73% of the losers (whose testosterone levels rose afterwards) decided to rechallenge their opponent; but only 22% of the losers (whose testosterone levels fell) decided to do so
• these findings confirm the predictions from Mazur’s BMos & support the validity of testosterone as a plausible explanation of how aggressive behaviour is caused