Aggression- neural&hormonal influences

Question 1

name the 6 types of aggression

Answer 1

1. Physical Aggression- active (hitting), passive (refusing to shake their hand)
2. Verbal Aggression- active (swearing at them), passive (sarcasm, or backhanded compliments)
3. Reactive Aggression- impulsive, physiological arousal, anger,’hot-blooded’
4. 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)

Question 2

Name the first theory in the biological explanations for Aggression

Answer 2

The Neural and Hormonal mechanisms of Aggression

Question 3

List the 3 roles we look into detail about, within this theory

Answer 3

1. The Limbic System
2. Neurotransmitters (serotonin)
3. Hormones (testosterone)

Question 4

Name the 5 sections of the Limbic System we need to know and how to spell

Answer 4

• Serotonin
  -Amygdala
• Hypothalamus
• Hippocampus
  -Thalamus

Question 5

Define The Limbic System

Answer 5

a network of structures in the brain, thought to be involved in moderation Aggression

Question 6

Define what the function of the Amygdala does, in the Limbic system

Answer 6

the Amygdala is an area of the brain that processes emotions

Question 7

Define what the function of the hypothalamus does, in the Limbic system

Answer 7

The hypothalamus sends and receives hormones related to emotion

Question 8

Define what the function of the Hippocampus does, in the Limbic system

Answer 8

The Hippocampus assesses threats and responds to them

Question 9

Define what the function of the Thalamus does, in the Limbic system

Answer 9

The Thalamus is involved in the fight or flight response and controls emotions

Question 10

Define Serotonin

Answer 10

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is linked to regulating mood

Question 11

explain the functions of serotonin

Answer 11

Serotonin’s function is the ‘calming’ inhibitory effect (stopping) on
neuronal-firing in the brain
- also inhibits the stimulation of the amygdala

Question 12

what occurs when there are low levels of serotonin

Answer 12

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

Question 13

What is the name of the researcher who supports the role of serotonin
how many ppts & what gender and how were their aggression and hostility scores collected

Answer 13

Man et all 1990- gave 35 male ppts a drug that depletes their serotonin levels
and after assessed their aggression levels in a questionnaire
found that in males their was an association with serotonin levels depleting and an increase in aggression/hostility scores

Question 14

explain the role of the amygdala and how it contributes to aggression

Answer 14

The reactivity of the amygdala is an important predictor of aggressive behaviour , because it helps assess and respond to environmental threats

Question 15

define what the hormone testosterone is

Answer 15

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

Question 16

explain the role/functions of testosterone and how it contributes to aggression

Answer 16

Testosterone plays a role in regulating social behaviour
so increased levels leads to increased levels of aggression (this occurs in both genders)

Question 17

what is the research support for testosterone having an impact on aggression
which gender were the ppts and how many

Answer 17

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

Question 18

explain a weakness of Dolan et al 2001 for role of testosterone

Answer 18

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

Question 19

name and explain the main research for the neural basis of aggression

Answer 19

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

Question 20

what was the procedure of gospic et al

Answer 20

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

Question 21

what were the findings of gospic et al research

Answer 21

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

Question 22

name and explain the strength of gospic et al 2011 research

Answer 22

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

Question 23

name and explain the weakness of gospic et al 2011 research

Answer 23

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

Question 24

what is the first eval of neural influences
a strength

Answer 24

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

Question 25

what is the 2nd neural influences
a strength

Answer 25

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

Question 26

what is the 3rd neural influence
a weakness

Answer 26

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