Bio Psych Brain Function Explanation of Aggression Flashcards
What is aggression? Give 4 points and some examples.
- behaviour -> cause injury
- psych (e.g. domestic) vs physical injury (e.g. punching)
- establish dominance / acquire resources (e.g. siblings: age difference)
- without causing harm (e.g. child screaming)
Describe the aggression case study of Phineas Gage (the injury, effects of injury and what stayed the same) in 3 points
- brain injury: iron rod went through skull => damaged Prefrontal Cortex (PreFC) + Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)
- Effects of injury: personality change- more aggressive, impulsive, lack of self-control (drinking, swearing, rude jokes)
- Stayed same: mem intact, could still work
Describe the aggression case study of Charles Whitman (the injury, effects of injury and what stayed the same) in 3 points
- father beat mum + sons = hated father
- great shooting skills = pleased father
- telegram about aggressive thoughts, saw psychiatrist + doctors about irrational thoughts, headaches + impulsive urges, took amphetamines
- killed mum, wife + shot over 40ppl at uni, tumour near amygdala
What is the role of the limbic system, specifically the amygdala, in aggression? (Give 2 points) Then, give an example study to back up your point.
- assess + respond to threat e.g. detects aggressive facial expressions
- high amygdala activity => aggression
- e.g. Charles Whitman case
What is the role of the PreFC, specifically the OFC, in aggression? (Give 2 points) Then, give an example study to back up your point.
- self-control, impulse regulation, inhibits aggressiveness
- rational thinking + decision-making
- e.g. Phineas Gage / Raine et al study
What is the role of Serotonin in aggression? (Give 1 point) Then, give an example study to back up your point.
- low Serotonin in OFC => high impulsive behaviour
- e.g. Virkkunnen et al: lower serotonin in impulsive offenders (compared serotonin breakdown product in Cerebrospinal fluid of violent impulsive vs non-impulsive offenders)
Evaluate the use of case studies to support brain function as an explanation of aggression (8 marks). Give Supporting evidence 1 (2 points) with AO1 and 2 competing arguments (2 AO3 points).
-AO3 Support: human case studies e.g. Phineas Gage (damage to frontal lobe => aggression increase AO1) +
Charles Whitman (tumour AO1)
-AO3: naturally occurring, real injury, high validity
-AO3 Competing: lack generalisability + no before case info (sim personality?)
-AO3 Competing: cause + effect btw brain area + behaviour?
Evaluate the use of case studies to support brain function as an explanation of aggression (8 marks). Give Supporting evidence 2 (2 points) with AO1 and 1 competing argument (AO3).
-AO3 Support: Raine et al brain scans AO1, lower PreFC functioning in impulsive + planned violence offenders = can’t regulate behaviour (lower PreFC functioning)
-AO3: Reliability (compare PET scans, repeatable)
-AO3: no direct cause + effect btw PreFC
activity + aggression type (correlation, not cause)
Evaluate the use of case studies to support brain function as an explanation of aggression (8 marks). Give Supporting evidence 3 (2 points) with AO1 and 1 competing argument (AO3). (Potential point)
-AO3 Pardini et al support: longitudinal research, 56
males, 20yrs, found: consistently violent criminal behaviour linked w/ reduced amygdala volume
-AO3: good- longitudinal research = valid, more
data collected, long time (consistent aggression)
-AO3: low generalisability, all males (androcentric research)
Evaluate the use of case studies to support brain function as an explanation of aggression (8 marks). Give Supporting evidence 4. (Potential points to use in LAQs)
-AO3 Support: highly controlled env, scientific = objective concs + specific brain areas identified (e.g. PreFC role AO1/study) => more psych knowledge = aggression areas identified, can’t create in lab
Evaluate the use of case studies to support brain function as an explanation of aggression (8 marks). Give 2 potential Usefulness points (AO3s+1s).
- Support family/indivs, know causes of aggression / court evidence, removing ‘fault’ (e.g. Amygdala role AO1)
- Develop drugs to increase Serotonin (e.g. Serotonin role AO1)
Evaluate the use of case studies to support brain function as an explanation of aggression (8 marks). Give 3 potential weaknesses (AO3s+1s)
- Only a correlation btw damaged brain area + behaviour seen (other areas may be causes / effects of aggression) = hard to establish cause + effect btw brain area + behaviour (e.g. PreFC / Amygdala roles AO1- which?)
- Other factors ignored e.g. social (Whitman AO1) / genetic (family history / testosterone AO1)
- Lack generalisability (+ study sample AO1)
