Lesson 2 - Hormonal mechanisms in aggression Flashcards
What two hormones are implicated in aggression?
Testosterone and progesterone
What is testosterone?
It is the main hormone which decides the gender of an embryo. It is an androgen responsible for the development of masculine features. It promotes muscle strength, is responsible for sex drive, and is very tied in with aggression.
Where do the ideas for testosterone and aggression come from?
Men are generally more aggressive than women - Archer
Men have higher concentrations of testosterone than women - Dabbs
There is an increase in male on male aggressive behaviour when men have the highest testosterone concentrations (Ages 21-35) - Daly and Wilson
What is progesterone?
It is a female ovarian hormone which increases mood and works as a natural antidepressant. It plays an important role in the aggression of women. Levels of progesterone vary during the ovulation cycle, and are lowest during and just after menstruation.
Ziomkiewicz found a negative correlation between progesterone levels and self-reported aggression.
Evaluation of hormonal mechanisms - Research Support
Wagner castrated mice. He wanted to see if aggression levels went down, and they did.
Giammanco et al reviewed other studies to confirm the role of testosterone. For example, in male rhesus monkeys, there are increases in testosterone and aggressive behaviour during mating season.
Evaluation of hormonal mechanisms - Cannot be generalised to humans
One weakness is the lack of generalisation in animal studies to humans in research. Wagner’s research only provides correlational support for the cause of aggression, because his research only shows a relationship between lowered testosterone and lowered aggression.
