Key Question

Question 1

What is the key question?

Answer 1

What are the implications for society if aggression is found to be caused by nature not nurture?

Question 2

Why is this issue important?

Answer 2

• If behaviour is cause by environmental factors, then someone can choose to act aggressively
• But if it is due to genetics then someone may not have control over their behaviour to a certain extent and so it would be difficult to change this due to it being innate
• Therefore people who act aggressively may not be held fully accountable for their actions in situations such as crime
• Also in that depression and anxiety are treated with sympathy and anger and aggression are punished leading to an unfair society even if both are innate

Question 3

Briefly describe how brain structure can be linked to aggression, give examples and supporting studies.

Answer 3

• Damage to the pre-frontal cortex can lead to changes in personality, e.g. Phineas Gage had injury to this area and became aggressive afterwards
• Damage to the amygdala ca lead to aggression in a lack of fear and control of emotions, e.g. Charles Whitman killed 16 people and had a tumour in this region
• Damage to the hypothalamus can also lead to aggression in getting too hot due to not regulating temp, e.g. Hess found that electrical stimulation of the HAA caused biting attacks in cats and rats

Question 4

Briefly describe how neurotransmitters can be linked to aggression, give examples.

Answer 4

• Serotonin prevents stimulation of the amygdala and lower levels lead to aggression, e.g. Mann found that after decreasing these levels and filling out hostility questionnaires, men were more aggressive
• Increased dopamine levels also increases aggression, e.g. Lavine used amphetamines to increase dopamine and found a positive correlation with this and aggression

Question 5

Briefly describe how hormones can be linked to aggression, give examples.

Answer 5

• Testosterone is linked with aggression which is why crime rises in the early teens due to puberty, e.g. Kalat found that in 15-20 year olds, those with higher levels of testosterone showed more aggression
• Castrated male rats don’t produce testosterone, when injected with some they become more aggressive than they were previously
• Cortisol is produced in the adrenal glands and it manages stress, e.g. Barzman found that the amount of cortisol in the saliva of 17 boys aged 7-9 years old after waking up positively correlated the number of aggressive incidents recorded by nurses

Question 6

Briefly describe how natural selection can be linked to aggression, give examples.

Answer 6

• Due to not knowing if the offspring of a man is biologically theirs they can become jealous and aggressive, women don’t know that men are dedicating all their resources to them and so may get jealous and aggressive this way, e.g. Daly and Watson found that men have developed ways to retain their partners (e.g. abuse) in order to feel more secure that their child is theirs
• Our ancestors may have needed aggression to survive and protect offspring and their limited resources, e.g. Lorenz found that monkeys used aggression to protect their offspring and resources aiding their survival

Question 7

What do these explanations for aggression suggest about the nature of which it occurs?

Answer 7

That aggressive behaviour can be down to nature either due to genetics passed on through ancestors, production of hormones, or through naturally occurring damage to the brain.

Question 8

What can the implication of this knowledge have on society?

Answer 8

That people may not be held fully accountable for their aggressive actions if they are already predisposed to this type of behaviour in which people might be unable to control it as they are already wired to behave in such a way.

Question 9

What can we conclude about our key question?

Answer 9

That the implications pf aggression being due to nature should change the fact that people who experience this are punished and that they should instead be treated. However, if aggression were to be down to nurture then punishment would be more suited but due to this type of behaviour being so complex a more holistic explanation of aggression and its origins is needed.

Question 10

Evaluate the scientific state of research support for nature, giving 2 reasons.

Answer 10

P - Studies use brain scans
E - This involves taking images of the brain (PET)
E - Therefore this image can be analysed by multiple researchers to reduce bias and is objective
P - Darwin used methods of observations and analysis of fossils
E - These methods and results were confirmed by other people
E - Therefore adding to the objectivity

Question 11

Evaluate reductionism.

Answer 11

P - Theory is reductionist
E - Research separates aggression into different sections (brain function, hormones, etc)
E - Research should take a more holistic view and consider other factors such as the environment

Question 12

Evaluate the validity of correlational data.

Answer 12

P - Low validity
E - Due to using correlational data we cannot infer cause and effect due to not being able to manipulate the variables
E - Therefore more research needs to be done to provide evidence that is causal