Hormones explaining aggression Flashcards
How is the hormone testosterone linked to increased aggression? (3 points)
A male androgen hormone - men produce 20 times more testosterone in their testes than women in their adrenal gland
Can affect the development of the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and hypothalamus - associated with higher aggression levels in men
How is the hormone cortisol linked to increasing aggression? (3 points)
Secreted from the adrenal gland during the ‘fight or flight’ stress response in response to stressful or threatening situations
Low levels of Cortisol are associated with higher aggression as cortisol normally inhibits aggression through fear (Fearlessness Theory)
If an individual has lower cortisol, they are less inhibited and more inclined to take risks and act impulsively
How does Van Goozen et al support cortisol causing aggression? (3 points)
Hormone levels can be directly observed and measured using blood/saliva samples - increased credibility
Van Goozen et al (2007):
+ Found a link between cortisol levels and aggressive behaviours
+ Low levels of cortisol in the saliva were associated with persistent aggression in boys
How is the hormone adrenaline linked to increasing aggression? (3 points)
A hormone secreted by the adrenal gland of the endocrine system in response to the ‘fight or flight’ response
Causes increased adrenal output including increased heart rate, breathing rate, glucose synthesis and vasodilation
Can lead to raised physical strength and endurance - linked to rage and violent outbursts
How does IASO treatment support adrenaline causing aggression? (2 points)
The role of adrenaline in causing episodes of rage in children is supported by treatment for Immature Adrenaline Systems Over-reactivity (IASO)
IASO treatment uses adrenaline blockers like Doxazosin to inhibit excessive adrenaline that triggers rage
How can hormones explain aggression in females? (2 points)
Female reproductive hormones like oestrogen are produced by women in their ovaries
Linked to lower levels of aggression in female children and violent offenders
How can the hormone explanation be considered deterministic? (2 points)
Hormones are biological molecules hard-wired into our bodies by nature
Solely basing human aggression on the presence or absence of a protein molecule can be considered to be deterministic
What are the supporting and refuting arguments for the hormone explanation of aggression?
Supporting:
S - Wagner and D&H
A - W&B and Maletzky
Refuting:
C - Generalisability and correlation
O - Freud and Lorenz
D - SLT
What are the strengths of hormones as an explanation of aggression? (2 points)
Testosterone causing aggression is supported by Wagner et al (1979) and Dabbs & Hargrove (1997)
This shows there is a relationship between testosterone and aggressive behaviour observed in mammals
How does Wagner et al (1979) support testosterone causing increased aggression? (4 points)
Investigated if testosterone affects aggressive behaviour by castrating male mice
Castration reduced the aggressive behaviours in all of the male mice
Testosterone replacement therapy caused the aggressive behaviours to return back to pre-castration
Suggests there is a link between testosterone and aggressive behaviours
How does Dabbs & Hargrove (1997) support testosterone causing increased aggression? (2 points)
They found a positive correlation between testosterone and the degree of violent crime in 87 female prisoners
Suggests that elevated levels of testosterone can explain aggression in women too
How credible are hormones as an explanation of aggression? (5 points)
Lidberg (1985):
+ Argues that the influence of hormones on the body’s response is correlational
+ We cannot be certain which hormone is directly responsible for human aggression - decreased internal validity
Generalisability of Wagner et al:
+ Research using mice cannot be generalised to the human population as they are two distinct species
+ Rats possess a less complex CNS and brain anatomy than humans who exhibit higher cognitive functioning, motivation and consciousness of behaviour
The extent to which hormones can explain human aggression is limited by research studies - reduced credibility
Are there any other explanations for aggression other than hormones? (4 points)
The correlation between hormone levels and violent outbursts does not imply causation as there could be other explanations
Freud and Lorenz (1966) suggest that violence exists within everyone due to a basic instinct to dominate, with aggressive energy building up until it needs to be released (catharsis)
Freud’s ideas were very influential in the development of psychotherapy - encourages clients to talk through their early life experiences with a trained therapist who guides them in dealing with unresolved conflict
Alternative explanations proposed have had a great influence on therapies to help reduce human aggression
Is there any room for debate on hormones as an explanation for aggression? (4 points)
Biologically reductionist - fails to consider the influence of learning behaviour in social environments
Bandura’s (1966) Social Learning Theory argues that aggressive behaviour is learned through the observation and imitation of same-sex role models
Findings showed that boys copied an average of 25.8 aggressive acts from a male role model whilst girls copied 5.5 aggressive acts from a female role model
Hormones as an explanation of human aggression remain incomplete - doesn’t fully account for gender differences
How can the hormone explanation be applied to real life? (5 points)
Has important applications in preventing violent and sexual assault
The Czech Republic has allowed at least 94 prisoners over the past decade to be surgically castrated including Pavel who at age 18 committed sexual assault
Wille & Beier (1989):
Results in Germany showed that after being released from prison, 3% of castrated offenders re-offended compared to 46% of non-castrated sex re-offenders
Maletzky et al (2006):
+ Administered males with Depo-Provera - a female contraceptive drug containing progestin
+ It lowered testosterone levels and reduced levels of sexually aggressive behaviour in some offenders
The hormone explanation has important implications for society to inform legal practices and as a potential form of social control.
