Key Question Flashcards
What is the biological psychology key question?
What are the implications for society if aggression is found to be caused by nature, not nurture?
What would nature be in this sense?
Biological factors influencing behaviour
Eg:brain structure.
What would nurture be in this sense?
Environmental factors influencing behaviour.
Eg:upbringing.
Who was Charles Whitman
He was a male who committed a massacre at a US university.
He had severe headaches which caused him to be impulsive and after death is was found that he had a tumour adjacent to his amygdala.
Why is the key question important in general?
Because it is important that offenders get the right treatment if the cause of their aggression is biological (by giving medication or anger management)
Why is the key question important for society?
If it is not addressed then the offenders wont learn from mistakes by going to prison so will continue to reoffend. This is because their behaviour wont change as it is a result of biological factors.
What is behaviour comes from someone’s nature?
They dont have a choice on how to behave therefore cant control it.
They won t learn from their mistakes making it harder to condition
If behaviour is caused by the nurture/environment, someone can choose not to behave in that way.
Would imprisonment be ethical if aggression was from nature?
No because they would be punished for something they cant control.
How can brain structure be linked to aggression?
-It was found that an impaired pre-frontal cortex can contribute to high aggression.
-phineas gage severed his pre-frontal cortex following an accident that made him impulsive.
-suggests that aggression is the result of biological factors therefore individuals who gave impaired pre-frontal cortex and a gage in aggressive behaviour cannot make rational decisions so Seoul’s continue to commit aggressive acts.
How can brain functioning link to aggression?
-was found that deficits in the amygdala can contribute to high aggression.
-Raines study where murderers who pled NGRI had lower glucose functioning in their left amygdala and higher in their right.
-suggests that agreed ion is the result of biological factors therefore individuals engaging in aggressive behaviour and have functioning deficits in their amygdala might lack fear so consequences like prison would be ineffective as they will continue to reoffend after release.
How can hormones link to aggression?
-high testosterone has been found to link with high aggressive behaviour.
-dabs study where 10 out of 11 violent offenders had high testosterone in their saliva.
-suggests that aggression is a result of biological factors and therefore any individual engaging in aggressive behaviour who has high testosterone may not be in control of their actions and society cannot hold them fully accountable.
What could the key question tell us overall?
Aggression in nature: men be seen as needing treatment rather than punishment
Aggression from nurture:punishment may rely on teaching them a lesson such as imprisonment.
