Aggression: Hormonal mechanisms
- Created by: aliyah007
- Created on: 08-06-16 12:05
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- Aggression: Hormonal mechanisms
- Testosterone
- In both males and females but on average adult men produce 10X more testosterone than adult females
- Psychologists suggest that this is why males are often described as being more aggressive than females
- Thought to influence aggression as it affects certain parts of the brain such as the amygdala that are associated with controlling aggression
- In both males and females but on average adult men produce 10X more testosterone than adult females
- Wagner
- When a male mouse was castrated (causing a reduction in their testosterone levels) that their overall levels of aggression decreased
- If the mouse was given testosterone then their aggression levels increased again.
- Anthropomorphism. Animalistic research - generalisability
- Evolutionary psychologists would argue that the same basic principle applies across all species. so findings CAN be generalised
- suggests that testosterone is an important hormone implicated in aggressive behaviour
- When a male mouse was castrated (causing a reduction in their testosterone levels) that their overall levels of aggression decreased
- Dabbs
- 692 male inmates at a prison in the USA
- large sample, inmates = aggressive potential, culturally biased + gender bias
- testosterone levels measured via saliva & inmates coded from prison records
- Those imprisoned for committing violent acts were more likely to have higher levels of testosterone whereas those convicted for crimes such as theft or drugs showed lower levels of testosterone.
- Those with highest testosterone levels were also more likely to have violated prison rules regarding confrontational behaviour
- 692 male inmates at a prison in the USA
- Deterministic: states that aggressive behaviour is fully caused by biological factors
- fails to acknowledge free will
- suggests that we have no control over our actions which is controversial to our legal system
- Correlation does not = causation
- Oversimplifies the complex emotional response of aggression fails to consider other possible influencing factors such as environmental factors
- Scientific validity
- Testosterone
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