Flashcards
Aggression - Hormonal Mechanisms
Cards in this deck (8)
- 1Testosterone is a male hormone, females have very low levels and it can be associated with agg. When T levels peak around the start of puberty, there is a corresponding peak in agg levels among boys. But men with more T do not necessarily become more agg.It is influential during two life periods:
A few days after birth during which sensitisation of neural circuits occurs.
Adulthood when T modulates NT pathways. - 2Human & non-human animal aggression Much research has been carried out using NHA. Classic method: Castrating a M animal to dec agg & when T is replaced through hormone therapy, agg is restored to previous levels. Timing of castration has an effect: At birth they have lower level of agg even if given huge doses of T as adults.The effects of T are shown by:
Dabbs et al 1987:
Measures salivary T in violent & non violent criminals. Highest levels of T found in those of violent crime. Lowest levels of T in those who committed non violent crime.
Lindman et al 1987:
Similar test on non prison population, found that young M who beh agg when drunk had higher levels of T than those who did not act agg. - 3Other causes of low T include: As a man ages, the amount of T in his body gradually declines. This starts after age 30 and continues throughout life. Other causes of low T levels include:Hemochromatosis (too much iron in the body) - this causes a dec in T & agg. Opposing this, not much iron in the body could inc T & inc agg.
A Dysfunction of the pituitary gland - Over functioning of PG could lead to an inc in T & agg. - 4Evaluation - IDA Real World Application > If we know about the link we can help to treat their beh > There would be ethical issues associated with giving people drugs simply to alleviate agg, or male castration, even if it may be in the interests of multiple parties.Evaluation - IDA
Reductionalist
> Bio links are well established in NHA but humans are far more complex.
> We cant reduce complex human beh to one explanation.
> Also need to consider genetic factors, brain structure & enviro factors. - 5Evaluation - IDA Gender Bias > Most R into T is done on males. > Baucom 1985: found that women with inc T levels had inc occupational status. > Findings indicate women may also respond to challenging situations with inc T. May also display dominance & agg. Saying that W are the same as M. W naturally display the characteristics of agg beh & so, do well in business.Evaluation
Higley et al 1996:
>Reported that individuals with raised levels of T exhibit signs of agg, but rarely commit agg acts, suggesting that social and cog factors play a mediating a role.
> Suggesting other factors play a part, not just T levels - Link to reductionist - 6Evaluation Wingfield 1990: > Suggested that in monogamous species, T levels should only rise above the baseline breeding level in response to social challenges such as male-male agg or threats to status > We would expect a similar effect in humans as they are considered monogamous. So we might expect M to be more agg than F as they are challenging reproductive competition.Evaluation
Delville et al 1997:
> Found that drugs that inc S production lead to reduced levels of agg.
Linnoila & Virkunen 1992:
> Found a relationship between low levels of S and highly explosive violent beh
Suggest that a lack of S is linked to agg, but agg beh could be due to other factors such as S. - 7Evaluation Connor & Levine 1969: > Found that rats castrated after birth had reduced agg when tested as adults, suggesting a link between agg & T. However, rats castrated after puberty could be made agg with injections of T, while the early castrated rats could not, suggesting a developmental factor. Supports theory of T causing agg beh. Ethical issues = not valid = not applied to humans.Evaluation
Brook et al 2001:
> MA of 45 studies & found a + correlation between T & agg. This is low, it could be that inc agg causes inc T , as opposed to inc T causing inc agg. We dont know cause & effect. - 8Evaluation Albert 1993: Claims that despite the studies showing a + correlation between T & agg, other studies find no relationship. He points out that many studies use samples of men within prisons & use self report measures (social desirability). Self reports = social desirability = invalid if they lied.Testosterone's link to serotonin
Low levels of S = associated with agg. Suggesting that T might not be the only cause of agg & not having a direct link.
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- as level Aggression Flashcards on Aggression - Hormonal Mechanisms, created by KirstyOldaker on 20/02/2015.
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