Hormonal Explanation

Question 1

Describe the role of testosterone in aggression

Answer 1

• It produces male characteristics, including aggression
• Levels peak in young males, and then decline. So testosterone influences aggression from young adulthood onwards due to its action on brain areas involved in aggression
• Changes in testosterone levels influence aggression by increasing amygdala reactivity during social threat

Question 2

Describe research support for the role of high levels of testosterone in aggression

Answer 2

Dabbs et al measured salivary testosterone in violent and non-violent criminals. Those with highest testosterone levels had a history of violent crimes while those with the lowest testosterone levels had committed non-violent crimes

Question 3

Give evaluation for the hormonal explanation of aggression (there is inconsistent evidence)

Answer 3

• e.g. There’s a positive correlation between levels of testosterone and self-reported levels of aggression among prison inmates (Albert et al)
• On the other hand, no correlation was found between testosterone levels and actual violent behaviour among male inmates in prison
• This suggests that the relationship between testosterone and aggression in humans remains unclear

Question 4

Give evaluation for the hormonal explanation of aggression (issues with causality)

Answer 4

• In psychology, we can’t experimentally manipulate changes in hormones to establish the effect on aggression in humans. So, the research on the link between testosterone and aggression is often correlational.
• Although research shows a positive correlation between testosterone and aggression, Geniole found causal effects to be much weaker.
• Therefore, it’s difficult to establish either the direction of causality or rule out the possibility of a 3rd variables explaining the link between testosterone and aggression. So we can’t be certain that testosterone causes aggression