Hormonal explanation of aggression Flashcards
What is a hormone?
A chemical messenger which is carried in the blood
What controls and releases hormones?
The endocrine system
What are four hormones which link to aggression?
Testosterone, Cortisol, Adrenaline and Serotonin
Which hormone balance is largely correlated to aggression?
High levels of testosterone correlates positively with aggression
Which brain area does the level of testosterone effect?
Amygdala
What effect does testosterone have on the Amygdala in people?
It lowers the activation threshold and refractionary period making it easier to fire and fire more
What does testosterone do to the hypothalamus and amygdala in the womb?
It decreases the cell growth in those areas
What is Cortisol for?
Stress
What is the effect of the Cortisol?
It mitigates the testosterone levels (so high cortisol stops high testosterone have a strong effect)
What is Serotonin for?
Relaxation/calmness
What is the effect of Serotonin on aggression?
High Serotonin correlates with lower aggression
What is Adrenaline for?
It plays a role in fight and flight responses so might link to aggression
Which of these did Dabbs et al (1996) show?
They found that the fraternities that had the highest average testosterone levels were also more wild and unruly
What did Dabbs et al 1995 show?
measured testosterone in the saliva of 692 adult male prisoners. They found higher levels in rapists and violent offenders than in burglars and thieves.
What did Beeman demonstrate?
He castrated male mice and found that aggressiveness reduced. He later injected the mice with testosterone which re-established their aggressiveness
What is a criticism of Beeman?
Animals brains and systems are different to humans and so the results might not apply to explain human aggression
What is a strength of using hormones to explain aggression?
This is an empirical explanation as you can measure the hormone levels directly making it a more objective and credible explanation of aggression
This is a correlational explanation what is a problem with this?
The evidence can’t clearly tell us if high testosterone causes aggression or if being aggressive increases testosterone levels
Why is this theory reductionist?
It ignores other factors which could cause aggression and focuses only on hormones i.e. ignoring physical brain differences or upbringing
Which of these is an alternative theory saying we might learn aggression from role models around us meaning this theory might be incorrect?
Social Learning Theory
