Role of hormones in human behaviour

Question 1

What are hormones and what is their role?

2

Answer 1

• Biochemical messengers transported around body (widespread effects)
• Fight/flight to perceived stressors (^heart rate)

Question 2

What is the role of testosterone?

1

Answer 2

• Regulates social behaviour through it’s influence on areas of the brain involved in aggro

Question 3

What does Dual-hormone hypothesis suggest (Carre and Mehta) and who supports this?
3

Answer 3

• ^Cortisol = testo influence on aggro blocked
• Testo/cortisol activity = better predictor not single hormone
• Popma et al.

Question 4

What did Eisenegger et al. do and find?

2

Answer 4

• Women given dose of testo

- Behaved ^generously in lab-based negotiating game

Question 5

Evaluate role of hormones in aggression

3

Answer 5

Dabbs and Hargrove measured testo in saliva of female inmates (87), found degree of criminal violence = +correlated with testo level. Testo also correlated w the extent of women’s aggro dominance in prison

Reductionist. Carre and mehta dual hormone hypothesis.

Aggro chemically controlled = make drug influences hormonal mechanism, >aggro. Maletzky et al. found testo lowering drug (Depo-Provera) >sexually aggro behaviour in some offenders

Question 6

What did Wagner et al. find?

1

Answer 6

• Castrated mice and aggro dropped then injected w testo and rose back to pre castration aggro

Question 7

What is the role of cortisol?

1

Answer 7

• Protect body against effects of stress