AGGRESSION EXPLANATIONS GCSE

AGGRESSION EXPLANATIONS GCSE

1. Definition

   • The behaviour that intends to inflict some form of harm on others. Aggression can be verbal or physical.

2. Biological explanation

   • Hormones
     • Testosterone
       • Men have much more testosterone than women and are more aggressive
   • Chromosomes
     • XYY
       • There is a high proportion of men with XYY syndrome in amongst violent offenders, potentially making them more aggressive.
   • Brain: interaction/abnormalities
     • Prefrontal cortex
       • knows when instinctive behaviour is appropriate, controls and stops aggression
     • Limbic system
       • associated with instinctive behaviour e.g. aggression.
   • Young study
     • A:To see what effect hormones have on aggressive behaviour.
     • M: Young injected pregnant rhesus monkeys with testosterone and observed the levels of aggression in their offspring as they matured.
     • R; The high levels of testosterone made the females grow up to behave like male monkeys – engaging in rough-and-tumble play and challenged the males for dominance in their troop.
     • C: Testosterone does seem to play a vital part in aggressive behaviour.
     • E: Results are not generalisable as the behaviour of monkies may not reflect the complex bevaviour of humans. There are ethical issues with this study as the unnatural increase of testosterone may have caused distress and physiological harm (e.g. through challanging males for dominance. However this study does support that testosterone does play a vital role in aggression