Psychological Knowledge

• What has biological psychology explained regarding violent crime?

  Brain functioning
• What role does the amygdala play in the brain?

  Regulates fight or flight mechanism
• How was the amygdala linked to Charles Whitman's actions?

  A tumor was pressing on his amygdala
• What is diminished responsibility in legal terms?

  Brain abnormality may lower a sentence
• What did Raine et al find about NGRI murderers' amygdala activity?

  Lower activity compared to controls
• What is a weakness of Raine et al's study?

  Sample lacks generalizability
• What interventions can be used for early aggression in children?

  Surgical treatments or therapies
• How does nurture influence aggression in children?

  Through anti-bullying policies and role models
• What did Brendgen et al study regarding aggression?

  Link between social and physical aggression
• What was a strength of Brendgen et al's study?

  Quantitative data for statistical analysis
• What is a weakness of Brendgen et al's methodology?

  Low internal validity due to bias
• What did Sherif's field study involve?

  22 boys at Robber's Cave Park
• What were the stages of Sherif's study?

  Group norms, competitions, superordinate goals
• How did superordinate goals help in Sherif's study?

  Encouraged cooperation to achieve common goals
• What is the jigsaw classroom technique?

  Children work together and teach each other
• What is a strength of Sherif's study?

  High task validity due to realistic setting
• What is a weakness of Sherif's study's sample?

  Lacks generalizability due to homogeneity
• What does social impact theory explain?

  Influence of strength, immediacy, and number
• How is social impact theory applied in crowd control?

  Using uniformed staff to reduce hooliganism
• What did Sedikides and Jackson find about obedience?

  Increased with uniformed authority figures
• What is a weakness of social impact theory?

  Oversimplifies obedience and social behavior
• What is classical conditioning in relation to phobias?

  Learning behaviors through association
• How does systematic desensitization work?

  Unlearning phobias through gradual exposure
• What were the findings of Capafons' study on fear of flying?

  Decrease in fear after treatment
• What is a weakness of Capafons' study?

  Lacks mundane realism in simulation