biological factors

Question 1

what could the root cause be of this

Answer 1

substance misuse, genetics or poor diet

Question 1

how is serotonin linked to aggression

Answer 1

Acts as an inhibiting neurotransmitter
reduced serotonin stops this from working as effectively meaning impulsive behaviors are not being stopped

Question 2

how is dopamine linked to aggression

Answer 2

an excitatory neurotransmitter, associated with reward pathways and communication.
when are aggressive we release dopamine – which encourages us to repeat the action which explains why people find pleasure in being aggressive

Question 3

what is the role of the amygdala

Answer 3

processes emotions and links them to memories and behaviors
governs emotional responses of events

Question 4

how is the amygdala linked to aggression

Answer 4

doesn’t directly cause aggression, but is involved in processing or inhibiting emotional responses, such as anger making it important for aggression

Question 5

what is a hormones that can be linked to aggression (2)

Answer 5

testosterone
cortisol

Question 6

should levels of testosterone be raised for it to be linked

Answer 6

yes

Question 7

how do we know this

Answer 7

Males typically secrete more testosterone than females and males also tend to display more aggression than females (90% of violent crimes and 95% of domestic violence acts are committed by men according to U.S. Department of Justice statistics)

Question 8

what does the basal model of testosterone say

Answer 8

an increase in testosterone triggers arousal and the male becomes more dominant- this is used for threat responses
higher levels mean that men can survive and reproduce as they can protect (relationships link?)
Dominant behaviour is expressed is through aggressive or violent actions

Question 9

what is the role of cortisol

Answer 9

regulates bodys stress response

Question 10

how does cortisol link to aggression

Answer 10

mediates the effect of testosterone on aggression.
The more stressed we are, over a longer period uses up our cortisol – so testosterone is left unchecked
Low levels of cortisol mean that we are unable to mediate the aggressive effects of testosterone effectively, leading to more aggressive behavior

Question 11

what evolutionary explanation does genetic transmission offer
(think also about studies- not a specific one tho)

Answer 11

aggression as an adaptive behavior, where more aggressive humans are more likely to survive and reproduce (can link to partner preference in relationships)
Genetic studies, like selective breeding have been able to select aggressive traits in animals and breed generations which have more aggression than the previous generations- such as in dog

Question 12

what is an example of a genetic mutation
(may not be fully relevant idk)

Answer 12

47 XYY Karyotype
how to remember: most individuals have 46 chromosomes so these males have an extra Y chromosome meaning they have XYY instead of XY

Question 13

who studied this

Answer 13

Sandberg (1971)

Question 14

what was found

Answer 14

In the 1970s there were studies which found a significant increase in XYY people in secure hospitals because of violence and aggression

Question 15

whats a drawback of this

Answer 15

but outdated
modern psychology has tended to exclude this as a suggestion, as we now have a better understanding of these ideas and have studied non-aggressive XYY people.

Question 16

what gene is associated with aggression

Answer 16

MAOA

Question 17

what does this gene do

Answer 17

gene controls an enzyme (monoamine oxidase A) that breaks down neurotransmitters such as dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin

Question 18

what does a faulty MAOA lead to

Answer 18

higher than usual levels of serotonin

Question 19

how does it lead to these higher levels of serotonin

Answer 19

the variant of the gene is overactive in neutralizing serotonin, so it cant be resynthesized back into the presynaptic transmission sight
messes with serotonin regulation causing us to be aggressive
higher serotonin can contribute to goal-directed, dominance-related aggression in certain contexts

Question 20

what are the two types of MAOA

Answer 20

MAOA-L
MAOA-H

Question 21

what happens with MAOA-L (very good evidence)

Answer 21

produces low levels of the enzyme (monoamine oxidase A- breaks down neurotransmitterswh)
serotonin becomes too active generating a lower sensitivity to the effects of inhibition as there is so much serotonin it just gets ignored
carriers of this are very aggressive

Question 22

what is some evidence to support this

Answer 22

Reif et al. (2007) - 45% of aggressive participants had a faulty MAOA gene (low-activity)