BIOLOGICAL - KEY QUESTION

Question 1

what is the biological key question?

Answer 1

what are the implications for society if aggression is found to be caused by nature not nurture?

Question 2

AO1:

Answer 2

->aggression is antisocial behaviour, usually with intent to harm (eg. physical, verbal, psychological/emotional aggression)
->the nature argument suggests that aggressive behaviour has a biological cause, like genetics, whereas the nurture argument suggests it is caused in response to the individual’s environment instead

why is this an important key question?
->if aggression is biological (nature) then individuals should be treated for their behaviour rather than punished, as it can be argued that it is not their fault
->an example of a treatment for biological causes of aggression is drug therapy
->however, it is important to understand that nurture could also cause aggression as people have free will - they have the choice whether to commit a crime or not

how does this key question impact society?
->according to official police statistics, violent crime is on the rise: in 2020/21 there were 1.77 million violent crimes recorded, which has majorly increased from 1.1 million back in 2013
->if we understand the causes of aggression we can try to prevent it, which will make society much safer

Question 3

AO2:

Answer 3

BRAIN FUNCTIONING:
->nature
->the PFC is in charge of decision making
–>if underactive/overactive/damaged then it will not always inhibit the impulses from the amygdala so the individual will act on impulse
->the LEFT AMYGDALA is in charge of perceiving danger and threats, therefore if underactive/damaged it may incorrectly perceive situations to be hostile when they are not. The RIGHT AMYGDALA is responsible for facial/emotional recognition; if t is damaged it may not be able to detect when a person is showing fear, so the individual will struggle to tell that what they are doing is wrong
->HIPPOCAMPUS is responsible for making memories, a damaged hippocampus is often an explanation for high recidivism rates as the individual cannot remember the consequences of their actions

HORMONES:
->nature
->TESTOSTERONE is an androgen hormone that is significant in males, and it is known that increased levels of testosterone are linked to high crime rates, especially as 95% of the criminal population are men
->CORTISOL is the stress hormone. It has been found that low levels of cortisol can lead to high levels of crime as the individual will not get stressed out when committing crimes/violent behaviour, so they will continue to do so

Question 4

AO3:

Answer 4

RESEARCH TO SUPPORT:
->Raine et al provides evidence that aggression is caused by nature
–>he studied the brain activity of 41 murders NGRI compared to non-murderers and found that murderers have lower glucose metabolism levels than non murderers in both the amygdala (left hemisphere) (0.94 vs 0.97) and in the PFC (left hemisphere) (1.10 vs 1.15)
–>therefore suggesting that biological causes can explain violent behaviour

RESEARCH TO SUPPORT:
->case study of Charles Whitman
–>he went to many doctors emphasising that he felt something was wrong in his brain as he started having unwanted aggressive impulses, but was continually turned away. He ended up shooting his mother and wife, along with many students from the University of Texas, before he was shot dead. He requested an autopsy before he died, and it was found that he had a tumour pushing against his hypothalamus and amygdala, which provides a biological explanation for his violent behaviour

RESEARCH WEAKNESS:
->case studies
–>unique to the individual being studied
–>therefore, not generalisable

ALTERNATE THEORY/RESEARCH:
->Bandura provides research that aggression can be caused by nurture
–>in his study, children observed either an aggressive or non-aggressive role model. The children who had the aggressive role model displayed direct and indirect imitation of their violent actions, whereas the children who observed the non-aggressive role model continued to play gently
–>therefore proving that the environment we grow up in can influence our behaviour, suggesting that aggression has a nurture cause