Biological Explanations of Aggression Evolutionary Explanations of Aggression Ethological Explanations of Aggression

Question 1

Which of the following best describes aggression? definition of aggression

Answer 1

Any physical or non-physical behaviour that is threatening or intends to harm humans or objects.

Question 2

The hypothalamus is involved in…

Answer 2

Econtrolling the fight or flight response.

Aactivating the sympathetic nervous system.

Dproducing aggressive behaviour.

Question 3

We’ve now seen that the amygdala…

Answer 3

Fdecides whether an event is ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Adetermines the emotional meaning of events in the environment.

Question 4

If the events are bad or dangerous, then the amygdala sends

Answer 4

If the events are bad or dangerous, then the amygdala sends nerve impulses to the hypothalamus , causing it to produce aggressive behaviour.

Question 5

The main part of the brain involved in storing long-term memories is the…

Answer 5

Dhippocampus.

Question 6

What role does the hippocampus play in aggression?

Answer 6

It sends information stored in our memory to the amygdala.

Question 7

Together, the hippocampus, amygdala and hypothalamus are called…

Answer 7

the limbic system

Question 8

The frontal cortex sends electrical signals that inhibit neurons in the amygdala.
This causes neurons in the amygdala to…

Answer 8

generate fewer nerve impulses.

Question 9

If a person’s frontal cortex can’t generate electrical signals then…

Answer 9

Ethey are more likely to be aggressive.

Btheir amygdala will not be inhibited.

Csignals will continue to be sent to the hypothalamus.

Question 10

What role does the frontal cortex play in aggression?

Answer 10

it inhibits neurons in the amygdala.

Question 11

If the frontal cortex is damaged, then…

Answer 11

Bthe amygdala keeps sending impulses to the hypothalamus.

Cthe brain continues to produce aggressive behaviour.

Question 12

When neurons send electrical signals to other neurons at the synapse, they release

Answer 12

When neurons send electrical signals to other neurons at the synapse, they release neurotransmitters that bind to receptors on the post-synaptic membrane.

Question 13

Name a neurotransmitter that we have already come across.

Answer 13

GABA, dopamine, acetylcholine, serotonin.

Question 14

Serotonin plays a role in…

Answer 14

Adetermining how we feel about things.

Ccontrolling our mood.

Question 15

Since serotonin inhibits neurons in the amygdala, this means that the amygdala sends fewer nerve impulses to the…

Answer 15

Dhypothalamus.

Question 16

Which of the following statements are true about the role of serotonin in aggression?

Answer 16

GSerotonin reduces nerve impulses sent to the hypothalamus.

ESerotonin reduces aggressive behaviour.

CSerotonin inhibits neurons in the amygdala.

Question 17

If neurons in the amygdala are damaged, so that there is less neural activity in the amygdala, then there should be

Answer 17

If neurons in the amygdala are damaged, so that there is less neural activity in the amygdala, then there should be less nerve impulses sent to the hypothalamus, meaning that aggression should decrease.

Question 18

One limitation of the study support for the role of the amygdala in aggression is that…

Answer 18

the results of the studies haven’t all been consistent.

Question 19

While some studies have found that a damaged amygdala is associated with a decrease in aggression, others have reported an increase in aggression.

This suggests that…

Answer 19

Ethe role of the amygdala may be more complicated than first thought.

Athe role of the amygdala might differ depending on the sub-region of the amygdala.

Question 20

Serotonin is released at synapses in the limbic system
where it

Answer 20

Serotonin is released at synapses in the limbic system
where it inhibits neural activity, leading to a decrease or drop or fall in aggression.

Question 21

What do we call different versions of a particular gene?

Answer 21

alleles

Question 22

Genes influence our aggressive behaviour by influencing processes in our…

Answer 22

brain

Question 23

Since aggression is a complex behaviour…

Answer 23

there are many genes that control it.

Question 24

Which of the following are true for the genetic explanation of aggression?

Answer 24

CThere are many different genes involved in aggression.

DGenes influence our level of aggression.

ADifferent gene alleles make people behave more or less aggressively.

Question 25

We’ve seen that higher levels of serotonin usually lead to…

Answer 25

lower levels of aggression

Question 26

Which of the following statements are true about the role of genes in controlling aggression?

Answer 26

FThere are two alleles of the MAOA gene, a long one, and a short one.

DThe MAOA gene produces a chemical that controls the levels of neurotransmitters available at the synapse.

Question 27

The short MAOA gene allele…

Answer 27

Ais worse at breaking down neurotransmitters like serotonin.
Ctends to make people more aggressive.

Question 28

Which of these best describes concordance rate?

Answer 28

The percentage of twins in each group that both display a particular behaviour or trait, given that one twin displays that trait.

Question 29

Small changes can happen to alleles during reproduction, called…

Answer 29

mutation

Question 30

Being aggressive was an adaptive behaviour, meaning that it helped us to

Answer 30

Being aggressive was an adaptive behaviour, meaning that it helped us to survive or reproduce and reproduce or survive .