Chapter 17-3

Question 1

Fear definition:

Answer 1

Emotional reaction to a threat

Question 2

Aggressive behaviours are:

Answer 2

Designed to threaten or harm

Question 3

Defensive behaviours are:

Answer 3

Designed to protect from threat or harm, motivated by fear

Question 4

Factors influencing aggression:

Answer 4

1. Neurobiological (hormonal, neurochemical)
2. Genetic & epigenetic factors
3. Evolutionary
4. Developmental (family, socialization)
5. Cognitive characteristics (individual experience)
6. Situational (cultural, socioeconomic)
7. Environmental

Question 5

Interspecific characteristics of aggression:

Answer 5

Offensive (predatory), defensive (antipredatory)

Question 6

Intraspecific characteristics of aggression:

Answer 6

Offensive (competitive, territorial, dominance), defensive (maternal, subordination)

Question 7

Examples of overt aggression:

Answer 7

Bites, attacks, fights

Question 8

Overt aggression definition:

Answer 8

Often impulsive, motivated by anger, rage, or frustration

Question 9

Indirect aggression in humans:

Answer 9

• Criticizing someone’s appearance
• Spreading rumours
• Social exclusion

Question 10

Konrad Lorenz’s Psychohydraulic Model of Aggression:

Answer 10

1. Motivation for aggression accumulates
2. Motivational energy is released by an appropriate sign stimulus
3. Simulus - behaviour

Question 11

Isolation-induced aggression in cichlid fish:

Answer 11

Aggression increases in isolated pairs of cichlid fish

Question 12

Lorenz’s theory predicts that:

Answer 12

1. Aggression is inevitable, the accumulating energy must find an outlet
2. Humans and animals will actively ‘look for fights’

Question 13

Weakness of Lorenz’s model:

Answer 13

Fails to acknowledge that the consequences of behaviour on the animal’s external environment can feed back to affect subsequent behaviours

Question 14

General aggression model:

Answer 14

Aggression is influenced by a variety of internal and external factors that can both excite and inhibit future aggression

Question 15

Neurohormonal systems which are pro-aggression:

Answer 15

• Testosterone
• Serotonin
• Vasopressin
• GABA
• Catecholamines/stress hormones

Question 16

Neurohormonal systems that are anti-aggression:

Answer 16

• GABA
• Dopamine - opioids
• Oxytocin
• Progesterone

Question 17

Amygdala’s role in aggression:

Answer 17

Arousal, rapid responses

Question 18

Hypothalamus’s role in aggression:

Answer 18

Specific nuclei (+ and-)

Question 19

Periaqueductal grey’s role in aggression:

Answer 19

Pain

Question 20

Striatum’s role in aggression:

Answer 20

Pain, cognition

Question 21

PFC’s role in aggression:

Answer 21

Cognition

Question 22

No aggression/rage in cats if what brain structure has been removed?

Answer 22

Hypothalamus

Question 23

Abnormal response of cats during Sham Rage trials (1929):

Answer 23

1. Inappropriately severe
2. Not directed towards a target

Question 24

Neuroanatomical pathways of aggression - integration between:

Answer 24

• Limbic system
• PFC
• Cingulate cortex
• Orbitofrontal cortex

Question 25

What area of the brain is enlarged in preteen boys, leading to aggression?

Answer 25

Amygdala

Question 26

Why is there a higher incidence of aggression among adolescents?

Answer 26

Shift in limbic to prefrontal activity

Question 27

VMH stimulation in men leads to:

Answer 27

Male-male aggression, or aggression towards females

Question 28

Neurons mediating aggression are ____ during sexual behaviour in mice:

Answer 28

Suppressed

Question 29

Effect of intrauterine position on aggression in prenatal rats:

Answer 29

2M males and females show greater aggression than 1M or 0M littermates

Question 30

Following castration, what occurs to biting attacks in mice?

Answer 30

Amount of biting attacks drops

Question 31

Dominant mammals have ___ brain serotonin:

Answer 31

Lower

Question 32

Humans responsible for violent crimes have ____ brain serotonin:

Answer 32

Lower

Question 33

Serotonin agonists _____ aggression:

Answer 33

Reduce

Question 34

Serotonin antagonists ____ aggresesion:

Answer 34

Increase

Question 35

What is a dopamine transporter (DAT):

Answer 35

Responsible for dopamine reuptake. Removes dopamine from the synapse

Question 36

What is Monoamine Oxidase A (MAOA):

Answer 36

Enzyme that degrades norepinephrine, serotonin, or DA after reuptake

Question 37

Two types of MAOA genes:

Answer 37

Low and high activity

Question 38

____ MAOA activity increases violent behaviour in males:

Answer 38

Low

Question 39

Early exposure to aversive situations can ____ aggression in adulthood:

Answer 39

Increase

Question 40

How do the amygdalas of psychopaths respond when viewing threatening or fearful faces:

Answer 40

Decreased

Question 41

How do psychopaths process threats?

Answer 41

Impaired threat processing