Hormones as an Explanation of Behaviour

• What are hormones?

  Chemical messengers in the bloodstream
• How do hormones affect cell function?

  They bind to receptors and change function
• What are the long-term effects of hormones?

  Responsible for metabolism, mood, and involuntary actions
• What role does testosterone play in behavior?

  Activates brain regions for aggressive behavior
• What are hormones?

  Chemical messengers that travel in the bloodstream after being secreted from endocrine glands
• How do hormones affect cell function?

  They bind to receptors in cells and change the cell's function
• What are some of the effects of hormones?

  They are responsible for metabolism, mood, and involuntary actions
• How does testosterone affect aggressive behavior?

  Testosterone activates subcortical brain regions to produce aggressive behavior by sparking self-esteem and competitiveness
• What is the relationship between testosterone levels and gender?

  Males have higher levels of testosterone than females, but females have a spike in testosterone during PMS
• How does testosterone affect the amygdala's response to social threats?

  Testosterone enhances the amygdala's reaction to social threats, increasing physical and emotional arousal
• What is the relationship between testosterone and aggression in female offenders?

  Dabbs and Hargrove found a positive correlation between aggression and testosterone in the saliva of female offenders
• What is the relationship between testosterone and aggression in 15-25 year old males?

  Kalat found a positive correlation between increased circulating testosterone and increased aggression in 15-25 year old males
• What is the gender distribution in the prison population?

  95% of the prison population are male
• How does adrenaline affect behavior?

  Adrenaline is released from the adrenal glands and prepares the body for fight-or-flight, which can result in dysfunctional behavior such as aggression
• How does cortisol affect aggression?

  Cortisol, produced in the adrenal glands, is responsible for combating stress, and stress caused by cortisol inhibits aggression through fear
• What is the relationship between low cortisol levels and risk-taking behavior?

  Low levels of cortisol lead to an under-aroused autonomic nervous system, causing the individual to take risks to provoke cortisol release and stimulate the ANS
• How does cortisol affect the relationship between testosterone and aggression?

  Popma et al. found that in 13-year-old boys, those with high cortisol did not have a positive correlation between testosterone and aggression, suggesting that cortisol reduces the effect of testosterone and inhibits aggression
• What is a weakness of the hormonal explanation for aggression?

  The relationship between hormones and aggression is correlational, so only a link can be inferred as hormonal levels are not tested before an aggressive act occurs
• What are the opposing arguments to the hormonal explanation of aggression?

  • Mazur and Booth found that testosterone levels decreased in marriage but increased in divorce, suggesting an environmental effect on hormone levels that is not considered by the biological explanation
  • An evolutionary theory suggests that males could be more aggressive due to the need to acquire status and find a mate to pass on their genes, rather than just hormones
• What are the potential applications of the hormonal explanation of aggression?

  • If aggression is chemically controlled by hormones, a drug could be produced to control this, such as by lowering testosterone
  • This could lead to the formulation of treatments for offenders to help manage their aggressive behavior