Evaluative Points Flashcards
Strength and weakness of recreational drugs
Olds and miners
Old and miners counter point
Strength and weakness of brain and aggression
Raine et al
Pardini
Strength and weakness for raine study
High level of control
Lack of control in key elements
Strength and weakness for hormones
Dabbs et al
Evidence is correlational
Strength and weakness for evolution and aggression
Chester
Wolfgang and ferracuti
Old and miners
Electrodes inputed at various point in a the brains of the rat. The rat could stimulate itself by pressing a button and the specific area was called the medical forebrain bundle which process dopamine
Suggest that part of the brain is involved in pleasure that some drugs activate
Old and miners : counterpoint
Lack of validity
Animals and humans are similar
Human brain is far more complex than that of a rat brain and isolating a single neurotransmitters greatly oversimplified the complex process of addiction
Humans have complex social and psychological issues that’s explain usage of drugs which is not accounted for in the rate
Raine et al
Raine found that there was lower activity in the frontal lobe and higher activity in the right amygdala in 41 murderers compared to 41 non murderers suggesting that the brain can lead to different levels of aggression
Pardini
Found a link between smaller amygdala size and higher aggression in 56 men with a history of violence which suggest that brain arsa size might affect a person’s aggression rather than brain activity
Strength of raine study
High levels of control
Standardised procedures used
All ppt were drug tested and the pet scan scanning method was used and the same regions of the brain was measured
Suggesting that the study had a high internal validity as all extraneous variables are controlled
Weakness of raine study
Key elements were not controlled for 23 of the murderers had suffered from head injuries and situation factors such as upbringing could affect brains of ppts
Researchers can only be certain that other factors other than brain could have lead to violent behaviour
Chester
277 male and female ppts
Lower functioning MAOA GENE
Lower self control
higher levels of aggression when provoked
Aggression can be linked to inheritance of genes aggressiveness maybe passed on
Wolfgang and ferracuti
Kung San ppl have low levels of aggression as that behaviour is discouraged from childhood.
Yanomani ppl more aggressive as aggressiveness gain status in their society
Perhaps evolution is not the biggest thing buy culture is
Dabbs et al
Measured testosterone in saliva of adult male prisoners found higher levels in rapist and violent offenders than in burglars
This suggest that more testosterone you have the more violent you are
Weakness for hormonal aggressions
Evidence is mainly correlational
Research > changes in hormone levels in linked with changes in aggressive
without manipulation of hormone levels to see if they would affect aggression
This suggest that it’s impossible to establish a causal relationship can’t tell if aggression causes hormones or if hormones causes aggression
Strength of brendgen
Rating of aggression from multiple sources
Teacher rating “says mean things and spreads rumors
Peer rating
Show children 3 picture of children which one matches child best
Rating method similar so it is a reliable method to measure aggressive behaviour in chd
Brengden weakness
Age group being studied highly specific
Sample range 5 months to 6yrs
Aggression may just be bites and rumors
Adult Aggression much higher I.e stabbing
Finding may not he applicable to older age groups
Strength for freud theory
Graham et al
Sample of 51 who ranted and processed their emotions / aggression had improvement control over pain after consistently ranting
Freud strength and weaknes
Graham
Bushman
Graham et al
Found that in 51 ppts
Ppts that ranted and processed their emotions and aggression = improvement in control over pain
after consistently ranting
Proving freuds theory of the ego as a form of stress relief via sublimation
Bushman
He made 600 students angry
By getting confederate to heavily criticise an essay the students wrote
Found that students who were allowed to vent anger by hitting punching bags were most aggressive with confederate compare to controls
Showing that release of aggression makes anger worse disproving freuds theory of the ego
