THE BIOLOGICAL APPROACH - AGGRESSION Flashcards
How is the amygdala responsible for aggression?
It is the centre for primitive emotional behaviour therefore damage leads to a lack of emotional connections and therefore resulting in aggression
Charles Whitman, Urbach-Wiethe syndrome, Raine et al
How is the prefrontal cortex responsible for aggression?
It is responsible for rationality and self control so damage leads to impulsive actions and making rash decisions which can result in aggression
Phineas Gage
How is the hypothalamus responsible for aggression?
Responsible for signalling the release of testosterone which is a hormone linked to aggression
How can brain structure influence aggression?
Damage to the amygdala or prefrontal cortex can lead to aggression, and the hypothalamus could release too much testosterone
How can hormones be responsible for aggression?
Hormones affect behaviour and cause physical changes in the body
Androgens are male sex hormones that develop and maintain male characteristics (eg testosterone)
Prenatal, postnatal and puberty are critical periods in the brain development when testosterone will have a more significant impact and explains why boys can be more aggressive whilst going through puberty
What are the studies that support the role of hormones in aggression? (4)
Mazur - showed an increase in male fighting during puberty when testosterone increases
Hawke - chemically castrated sex offenders were less aggressive and lost sex drive
Goldstein - most fighting among animals is mates competing for mates depending on their levels of testosterone
The Dabbs study - compared violent and non-violent offenders and found that violent offenders had higher levels of testosterone
How can evolution lead to aggression?
Men have evolved to be more aggressive as through sexual and natural selection they have passed on their aggressive alleles
Aggression gives men an evolutionary advantage as they win competitions for food and mates
Women are less aggressive as it is disadvantageous for child bearing and keeping a mate
An environment of evolutionary adaptedness (EEA) required aggression to get a mate
What are the studies that support the role of evolution in aggression? (3)
Dobash and Dobash - violence against women came from partner jealousy leading to aggression, showing that aggression is a result of the need for a mate
Harvey et al - sexual jealousy is often a major cause of aggression as driven to protect reproductive resources
Buss and Shackleton - men tend to ‘give in’ to females but threaten other males, both promote the survival of the male’s genes
What criticisms of biological explanations of aggression?
Can’t operationalise aggression
90% of murderers are men but there is no gender difference in the brain
Bandura suggests aggression develops through learned experiences and imitation of role models
The human body is more complex than one hormone affecting behaviour
Evolution explanation is a post-hoc argument as the theory developed around the facts
It’s reductionist as it ignores free will and individual differences
Ignores brain plasticity - eg London taxi drivers have a bigger hippocampus because they have to remember the London road routes
What are the biological explanations of aggression?
brain structure, hormones and evolution
What is the psychodynamic explanation of aggression by Freud?
We all have a conscious, pre conscious and unconscious
Id - (first part of personality to develop) manifests biological drives and is controlled by thanatos
Ego - (reality principle) logical and rational, balances the needs of the id and superego
Superego - (morality principle) influenced by social values
If the ego and superego don’t develop properly it can result in aggression as biological drives in the id take over
Can use catharsis to prevent aggression, which is a safe release of mental energy (eg playing video games or watching action movies)
Hydraulic model - the mind operates like a hydraulic machine as emotions build up in the unconscious leading to aggression in the conscious
Libido - energy form the survival and sexual instincts
Thanatos - things dangerous and harmful (can be projected and displaced leading to aggression)
What are strengths of the psychodynamic explanation of aggression?
Scal noticed that certain films at certain times in society acted as a form of catharsis
At the end of the 1980s, a popular movie was ‘fatal attraction’ which was about a married man who had an affair whilst on a work conference, and this was when AIDs was becoming a big fear, showing catharsis works which is the safe release of negative thoughts
It takes into account biological, social and cognitive factors making it more holistic
What is the weakness of the psychodynamic explanation of aggression?
Bushman found that catharsis made people more aggressive so it lacks predictive validity
