aggression

• ritualistic aggression

  aggression is more adaptive, such as "teeth baring" to deter an opponent without physical harm being caused
• paternity uncertainty

  men can never be sure about whether they are in fact their child's parent
• monozygotic twins

  non identical, two separate eggs
• the presence of which hormone links to an increase in aggressive behaviour

  testosterone
• who conducted the castration study in animals?

  giommanco et al - 2006
• giommanco et al - what did they do

  found decreases in testosterone and therefore aggressive behaviour after castration
• mz twins meaning

  monozygotic (identical) twins - share 100% genes
• dz twins meaning

  dizygotic (non - identical) twins - share 50% genes
• what did Coccaro et al study?

  aggressive behaviour present in adult male MZ and DZ twins defined as direct physical assault
• Coccaro et al results?

  Concordance rates of aggressive behaviour present in: 50% for MZ twins, 19% for DZ twins
• what gene links to aggressive behaviour?

  MAOA gene
• what does MAOA do ?


  it breaks down the neurotransmitter notably serotonin into constituent (smaller / part of a whole ) chemicals to be recycled - catabolism
• what does MAOA effect?

  levels of serotonin in the brain
• what did Brunner et al do?

  (1993) studied 28 members of a large Dutch family who were involved in impulsive and violent criminal acts (rape, attempted murder + GBH / ABH)
• what did Brunner et al find?

  the Dutch men had abnormally low levels of MAOA in their brains + a low activity version of the gene
• what did Stuart et al do?

  studied 97 men who inflicted IPV (intimate partner violence)
• what did Stuart et al find?

  (2014) men with low activity MAOA were the most violent perpetrators of IPV, engaging in the highest levels of physical and psychological aggression
• what did Frazzetto et al find?

  (2007) found an association between increased ASB aggression and low activity variant of the MAOA gene but only after first 15 years of life
• are the two key neural explanations for aggression?

  The role of the limbic system and hormones
• what is the main neural explanation?

  the Papez-Maclean limbic theory
• what structures does the limbic theory contain?

  amygdala, hypothalamus and hippocampus which are involved in reactive aggression
• what is reactive aggression?

  a response to a perceived threat
• what is proactive aggression?

  a response in anticipation of a reward
• what does the limbic system connect to?

  cingulate gyrus and prefrontal cortex
• what is the cingulate gyrus responsible for?

  focusing attention on emotionally significant events
• what is the prefrontal cortex responsible for?

  it is involved in forward planning and anticipation of reward
• what role does the limbic system have?

  how an organism responds to environmental threats and challenges

  believed to be a key factor in whether our responses are aggressive or not
• what is the hypothalamus responsible for?

  the regulation of the autonomic nervous system which in turn regulates responses to emotional circumstances
• what happens if the hypothalamus is damaged?

  can result in inappropriate aggressive response to a perceived threat
• what is the amygdala responsible for?

  responsible for attaching emotional significance to sensory information
• what type of sytem is the lymbic system?

  hierarchal
• how are signals passed in the lymbic system?

  from a lower system to higher systems in the prefrontal cortex where emotions are monitored - then triggers a physical response
• what is the prefrontal cortex responsible for regulating?

  regulating social behaviour and aggressive responses.
• what will occur if the prefrontal cortex is damaged?

  would reduce the inhibition of the amygdala resulting in higher levels of aggression
• how do low levels of serotonin cause aggression?

  affects response to external stimuli meaning a person cannot anticipate risk and impulsively engage in aggressive behaviour
• desensitisation definition

  the way that in which people become less anxious and shocked by media violence as a result of exposure
• frustration definition

  the feeling of being upset or annoyed as a result of being unable to change or achieve something.
• aggression definition

  feelings of anger, resulting in violent and hostile behaviour
• who proposed the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

  Dollard et al
• when was the frustration-hypothesis proposed?

  1939