Agression Flashcards
define desensitisation
the more media violence we see or play the less we respond to it emotionally. we are desensitiised to it
define disinhibition
people may act in a disinhibited or uncharacteristic way when playing a game.
suler explained it in 3 ways :
- the gamer becomes annonymous, they take on a character in the virtual game ( sophistic introjection) and they play out the criminal behaviour as their is no law enforcement (minimisation of authority in the real world)
define cognitive priming
is the storing of aggressive scenes which many be activated later in a similar situation. aggressive cues can trigger aggressive feelings and thoughts
describe the work of Durham and Thomas (1974)
found that young kids shown a violent video clip were slower to respond when they saw other children fighting than those shown a neutral film. this suggests that the clip had made the children desensitised towards the violence
Describe the work of Suler (2004(
- responsibility of the computer gamer was removed through being anonymous then played in a way that was uncharasticically of them (aggressively). supports process of disinhibition
name three evaluation pints of the previous 2 studies
- resaecrh is experimental its well controlled and resaerch will be valid
- findings are mixed and sometimes correlational. means cause and effect of media cannot be established
- lot of research carried out in labatory conditions so lacks ecological validity
EXPLAIN HOW THE LIMBIC SYSTEM IS INVOLVED IN AGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR
- includes the hippocampus and amygdala
- one of the circuits in the brain that is involved with emotions
- amygdala processes emotions and plays role in aggression, removal of the amygdala reduces aggression in previously violent individuals
- damage or malfunctioning of the amygdala is associated with testosterone levels increasing, leading to a rise in agressive behaviour
EXPLAIN HOW SEROTONIN IS LINKED TO AGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR
- is a neurotransmitter involved in mood and impulse control.
- some studies show low levels of serotonin are associated with increased susceptibility to impulsive behaviour
- some show that high levels of serotonin are involved in aggressive behaviour
- serotonin regulates mood and facilitates emotional state so it makes sense that low levels of serotonin would hinder that response and may result in the individual being more agressive
EXPLAIN HOW TESTOSTERONE LINKS TO AGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR
- predominately male hormone
- known as androgen as generates male characteristics
- high levels of testosterone are shown to influence aggressive behaviour
- acts on areas of the brain that control aggression from puberty onwards
- reduced levels of the enzyme aromatase, which produces testosterone have been shown to result in a lack of emotional response making aggression more likely
EXPLAIN TWO STUDIES THAT SUPPORT THE NUERAL AND HORMONAL MECHANISMS
- Raine (1997)
- compared 41 murderers to 41 non murderers to see if their were brain differences
- murderers had abnormal activity in the amygdala and lower metabolism of glucose in the prefrontal cortex which is associated with the loss of control suggesting aggression is caused by biological processes
- Wagner (1979)
- found that castrated male mice showed lower levels of aggression but if given testosterone their aggression increased, suggests that testosterone plays a part in aggressive behaviour
GIVE ONE POSITIVE AND ONE NEGATIVE TO EVALUATE NUERAL AND HORMONAL MECHANISMS
+ finding a biological cause for aggression can help discover treatments
x research on animals (wagner) makes it difficult to extrapolate to human agression, some areas of the brain do differ in animals and humans
EXPLAIN HOW THE MAOA GENE COULD BE LINKED TO AGRESSION
- regulates the enzyme maoa which is linked to the breakdown of neurotransmitters, serotonin and dopamine in the synapses
- genetically a mutation on this gene can cause low or high maoa enzyme activity
- lower levels of the enzyme can result in higher levels than usual of the neurotransmitters because they are not broken down, in some individuals this is explained in aggressive behaviour
- however not all men with gene mutation show aggressive behaviour, environment also plays a role as males with low activity maoa are more likely of committing crime if they have suffered abuse as a child (caspi)
HOW DOES THE XXY GENOTYPE LINK TO AGRESSION
- whilst most have 46 chromosomes, possible for a male to have an extra y chromosome (XYY). research has shown a link between an extra y chromosome and aggression
- males with this extra chromosome are taller than average, have low iq and display behavioural problems
HOW DOES THE TWIN STUDIES LINK TO AGRESSIVE BEAHVIOUR
- mcguffin and gottesman examined concordance rates of agression in twins finding an 87% concordance rate in the monozygotic (identical) twins and a 72% concordance in the dizygotic (non identical) twins
- this indicates that agression could play a role in agression although it is not the only factor
HOW DOES PRICE’S RESEARCH SUPPORT THE LINK BETWEEN XYY GENOTYPES AND AGRESSION
- studied males in hospitals for the criminally insane
- discovered 28% of patients had the extra y chromosome compared with under 0.1% of the general population
- suggests correlation between extra chromosome and aggressive behaviour
