Evolution and aggression (BP)

Question 1

Strength

Answer 1

I - Research to support the idea that there is a genetic link to aggression.
J - Chester (2015) took a sample of female saliva and found a positive correlation between a low functioning MAOA ‘warrior gene’ and aggression levels.
E - Therefore, this suggests that the MAOA gene (and associated aggression) Would have been important for survival and has been passed down through natural selection. So, women with this gene would display more aggressive behaviour. This suggests evolutionary explanation can explain the human behaviour aggression as an adaptive behaviour aiding survival.

Question 2

Weakness

Answer 2

I - However, research into the evolutionary nature of aggression is only correlational.
J - We can only observe not manipulate variables in evolution, so we cannot establish cause and effect between evolution and aggression.
E - Therefore, other theories for why people are aggressive, such as social learning theory cannot be ruled out which states aggression is learnt through imitating same-sex role models as demonstrated by the Bobo doll study