Biological Explanation of Aggression

Hormones cause aggression males are more aggressive than females, males have the
hormone testosterone.
Evidence shows that violent criminals have higher levels of testosterone than non-
violent criminals
Chromosome abnormalities there is a
higher proportion than normal of males with
an extra Y chromosome amongst violent
offenders. This is where the 23
rd
chromosome
(the sex chromosome) fails to divide properly
giving XYY instead of XY


Brain damage the areas of the brain associated with aggression are the limbic system and
the prefrontal cortex. The limbic system is the
part of the brain responsible for instinctive
behaviours such as eating, sex and aggression.
The prefrontal cortex is involved in learning
and acts as a check on our instinctive
behaviours when it is appropriate to show it
and when it is not.


Psychodynamic Explanation of
Aggression
Freud argued that the mind is like an
iceberg and that it is the unconscious mind
that dominates our behaviour. Two forces
are dominant, the libido (sexual instinct)
and thanatos (aggressive instinct)



Freud stated that the personality is made up of three parts, the Id, Ego
and the Superego.

You are born with your Id and it is dominated by sex and aggression
You develop your superego between the ages of 3 and 5 when you
adopt the morals and values of your same sex parent
Your ego has to balance out the demands of the Id with the feelings of
guilt from the superego. To do this it uses ego defence mechanisms.


There are a number of ego defence mechanisms that we use to protect ourselves from harm
Displacement is where you redirect your anger towards other people
Sublimation is where you push your aggression into socially acceptable activities
Repression is where you bury harmful thoughts or shameful experiences into your
unconscious mind
Dollard said that people are not aggressive for no reason. Instead he came up with the
frustration-aggression hypothesis. He stated that our anger is only released if something
provokes us, for example if we lose something we may shout in annoyance.


Social Learning Explanation of Aggression
We learn aggression by imitating models we see what other people do and we copy it.
This is sometimes called vicarious learning.
We are more likely to copy models if they are the same sex, age or have a high status.
We are more likely to copy a model if they are rewarded for their actions this is known as
vicarious reinforcement
Rewards can also be internal if we do something bad and it makes us feel good, we are
more likely to repeat this behaviour
Studies of Aggression
Explanation Biological Psychodynamic Social
Name Raine (1997) Barker (1941) Bandura et al (1963)
Aim To investigate the
brains of murderers
To see the effect of
frustration on aggressive
behaviour
To find out if children will
imitate aggressive
behaviour towards a
bobo doll
Method 41 murderers were
given a PET scan, these
were compared to the
brains of non-murderers
Children were kept waiting
before been allowed to play
in a room full of attractive
toys, others were allowed to
play straight away
96 children were split into
4 groups. 3 groups saw an
adult kicking, punching
and throwing the bobo
doll. The children were
then observed playing.
Results There was less activity
in the prefrontal cortex
in the murderers group
Those who had been kept
waiting were more
aggressive and destructive in
their play
The children who had
seen the aggressive role
model showed more
aggression than those
who had not seen this.
Conclusion When they prefrontal
cortex is not working
properly it can lead to
people committing
violent crimes
Being frustrated leads to
aggressive behaviour
Children will copy how
they see others behave
Evaluation PET scans are an
objective way of
measuring the brain and
differences can be
measured statistically
It could be that the act
of violence leads to
changes in the
prefrontal cortex and
not the other way
round as the
researchers suggest
It is unethical to cause
frustration in young children
as it is placing them under
unnecessary stress
It could be that by chance
the children who were made
to wait were naturally more
aggressive anyway
The study was a lab
experiment so may not
reflect real life behaviour
for instance in real life
an adult may explain why
the behaviour the child is
observing is wrong
A real life study carried
out on the Island of St
Helena showed that
aggressive behaviour did
not increase after TV was
introduced to the island

Treatments for Aggression
Biological:
Drugs such as Ritalin (used for ADHD) can reduce aggressive behaviour. They work by
increasing activity in the prefrontal cortex
Psychosurgery can be used by inserting a probe into the brain to kill the nerves. You can
destroy parts of the limbic system to reduce aggressive behaviour
Evaluation:
Drugs have side effects which are often unpleasant
Once you stop taking the drugs the symptoms will come back
Psychosurgery is irreversible once the brain is destroyed it cannot fully repair itself
Psychosurgery can lead to a person being in a vegetative state
Psychodynamic:
Catharsis can be used to release aggression catharsis is the release of emotion by watching
other people experience emotion. According to Freud, watching violence should help a
person to release their aggression
Defence mechanisms can make people less aggressive. For example, sublimation is where
you channel a negative emotion such as aggression into something positive, like playing
sport
Evaluation:
It is impossible to test whether or not defence mechanisms or catharsis exists because they
happen on an unconscious level
Research contradicts the idea that watching violence makes you less aggressive as many
studies show that there is a link between watching violence and aggressive behaviour
Social:
Watching a role model commit an aggressive act and receive punishment for it will reduce
aggressive behaviour. Bandura showed that children were much less likely to copy an adult
behaving aggressively if they had seen them be punished for their actions
Explaining to children that aggression they are observing is wrong can lead to a reduction in
aggressive behaviour
Evaluation:
If the punishment is not as big as the reward gained from carrying out the aggressive act
then the threat of punishment will not be a deterrent
An adult is not always present to explain the consequences of violence that a child has
observed.

Key Terms You need to be able to define the following:

Aggression
Hormones
Testosterone
Chromosomes
Vicarious Learning
Imitation
Punishment
Vicarious reinforcement
PET Scan
Repress
ADHD
Ritalin
Psychosurgery
Catharsis