Hormones and aggression (BP)

Question 1

Strength

Answer 1

I - Strenghth of Testosterone for an explanation of aggression is supportive evidence by Dabbs et Al.
J - 84 female prisoner’s testosterone levels were tested, which showed high levels in unprovoked violent, but the lowest testosterone levels were when violence was defensive, such as in domestic abuse.
I - This highlights the correlation between testosterone and aggression, increasing both the reliability and validity of the association.

Question 2

Weakness

Answer 2

I - Many studies of hormonal influences on human aggression are correlational.
J - Research just considers the changes in hormone levels in association with changes in aggression, without manipulating hormone levels to see if they cause changes in aggression (which would be unethical).
E - Therefore, it is impossible to establish a causal relationship. This means that there could be alternate explanations for the relationship, such as the elevated testosterone levels being the outcome of aggression, or both being the result of changes triggered by a different hormone.