Biological key question

Question 1

What is the biological key question?

Answer 1

What are the implications to UK society and schools if aggression turns out to be nature rather than nurture?

Question 2

Define aggression

Answer 2

It is a behaviour that is intended to cause injury, in humans this can be psychological and physical injury.

Aggression is often expressed in the ritualised form to prevent actual physical harm.

Question 3

How is aggression being a consequence of nature relevant in society today?

Answer 3

• In 2019 the BBC found a positive correlation between school exclusions and knife crime rising
• There has been a 47% increase in knife crime-related homicides since 2016
• The hospitalization of a knife crime victim costs the NHS £3.2 million annually.

Question 4

Describe how the brain structure theory links to aggression being a consequence of nature rather than nurture and how it affects schools and society

Answer 4

• The prefrontal cortex is directly related to regulating emotions such as aggression, aggressive behaviours will arise if there is low activity in the prefrontal cortex.
• Parts of the prefrontal cortex such as the lateral prefrontal cortex are involved in making choices in behaviours by letting us see the options and their consequences.
• Therefore, they help us regulate our behaviours, if there is low activity in the prefrontal cortex behavioural regulation is diminished so people are more predisposed to display aggressive behaviours.
• If a child has low activity in their prefrontal cortex they are more likely to act aggressively in their environment such as school.

Question 5

Describe how Raine’s study supports the theory of aggression being caused by brain structure, and how that can be applied to schools

Answer 5

• Raine carried out a study to see if the violence that came from emotion is different from violence that was planned by using PET scanning
• He found that the offenders who have had shown emotional impulsive aggression had not been able to regulate their behaviour due to low prefrontal cortex activity
• Schools can monitor the behaviour of their aggressive students and can use therapies such as behavioural therapies that teach the aggressive student how to deal with and express their anger in a safe and controlled manner
• This way students will be able to self-regulate their aggression which can reduce their likelihood of expulsion to due misbehaviour
• Fewer expulsions mean that fewer aggressive children will be left to seek out gangs and participate in knife crime.

Question 6

Describe how the hormone theory links to aggression being a consequence of nurture rather than nature

Answer 6

• Hormones are chemical messengers that regulate our body’s physiology and behaviour.
• A hormone that has been linked to aggression is testosterone.
• Dabs had measured levels of testosterone in the saliva of 89 male prisoners involved in violent and non-violent crimes.
• It was found that 10/11 prisoners who had committed violent crimes had high levels of testosterone.

Question 7

Conclude what methods can be used to reduce knife crime via the suggestion that aggression is caused by nature rather than nurture

Answer 7

• Behavioural therapies and hormone therapy are medical routes that can be taken to minimise the aggressive behaviour shown by an individual
• These can prevent exclusions from schools as aggressive students can be managed and understood better, even being provided with a better education.
• This in turn reduces knife crime as fewer teenagers will turn to gangs as a means for gaining friends, money (a good future that they cannot get to through the academic route) or just as an outlet for their aggression.
• Activities and events such as Youth Clubs can be used to prevent teenagers from only being able to make friends within gangs that are associated with their area