amygdala and aggression Flashcards
what does the amygdala do?
it is essential for the ability to feel certain emotions such as fear being able to perceive danger, it is also responsible for the fight and flight reflexes.
what might happen if the amygdala is overstimulated?
it could mean that the person is more aggressive as their fight or flight responses are more likely to be activated, this paired with an under stimulated PFC means you are more likely to participate in violent acts
What did Raine et al (1997) find?
prisoners that were convicted as NGRI had an overstimulation in the amygdala, this is more so in the right side of the amygdala which is responsible for processing fear inducing stimuli, and a deficit in the left side which is responsible for verbal and emotional processing.
Matthies et al (2012) found what?
that people with a 16-18% reduction in volume in the amygdala have a higher aggression score.
what is the issue with cause and effect with the amygdala theory?
(limitation)
we do not know if it the fact that the volume of the amygdala causes aggression and makes people be criminals or the fact that being criminals makes a reduction in amygdala volume.
what is the implication on society with this theory?
this could have bad implications for society as people who are convicted with violence/murder could falsely claim that they are NGRI even though they are not and this does not give the victims the justice they deserve
how good is the research into amygdala + aggression?
research is low in mundane realism as the tasks that the PPTs did are not reflective of the tasks that they would be carrying out in the real world (it is unethical to get someone to be aggressive to someone else in a study)
