Hormonal explanation of aggression Flashcards

1
Q

What is a hormone?

A

A chemical messenger which is carried in the blood

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2
Q

What controls and releases hormones?

A

The endocrine system

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3
Q

What are four hormones which link to aggression?

A

Testosterone, Cortisol, Adrenaline and Serotonin

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4
Q

Which hormone balance is largely correlated to aggression?

A

High levels of testosterone correlates positively with aggression

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5
Q

Which brain area does the level of testosterone effect?

A

Amygdala

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6
Q

What effect does testosterone have on the Amygdala in people?

A

It lowers the activation threshold and refractionary period making it easier to fire and fire more

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7
Q

What does testosterone do to the hypothalamus and amygdala in the womb?

A

It decreases the cell growth in those areas

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8
Q

What is Cortisol for?

A

Stress

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9
Q

What is the effect of the Cortisol?

A

It mitigates the testosterone levels (so high cortisol stops high testosterone have a strong effect)

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10
Q

What is Serotonin for?

A

Relaxation/calmness

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11
Q

What is the effect of Serotonin on aggression?

A

High Serotonin correlates with lower aggression

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12
Q

What is Adrenaline for?

A

It plays a role in fight and flight responses so might link to aggression

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13
Q

Which of these did Dabbs et al (1996) show?

A

They found that the fraternities that had the highest average testosterone levels were also more wild and unruly

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14
Q

What did Dabbs et al 1995 show?

A

measured testosterone in the saliva of 692 adult male prisoners. They found higher levels in rapists and violent offenders than in burglars and thieves.

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15
Q

What did Beeman demonstrate?

A

He castrated male mice and found that aggressiveness reduced. He later injected the mice with testosterone which re-established their aggressiveness

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16
Q

What is a criticism of Beeman?

A

Animals brains and systems are different to humans and so the results might not apply to explain human aggression

17
Q

What is a strength of using hormones to explain aggression?

A

This is an empirical explanation as you can measure the hormone levels directly making it a more objective and credible explanation of aggression

18
Q

This is a correlational explanation what is a problem with this?

A

The evidence can’t clearly tell us if high testosterone causes aggression or if being aggressive increases testosterone levels

19
Q

Why is this theory reductionist?

A

It ignores other factors which could cause aggression and focuses only on hormones i.e. ignoring physical brain differences or upbringing

20
Q

Which of these is an alternative theory saying we might learn aggression from role models around us meaning this theory might be incorrect?

A

Social Learning Theory