Jide Olaofe 13F

Psychology notes

04/12/14

Biological Explanations of Aggression: The Role of Biochemical and

Neural Factors notes.
-

PMT which stands for Protection Motivation is a theory that was

clarified in order to help clarify fear appeals. In the case of R.V Smith, a
murder charge was reduced to manslaughter when PMT was taken into
account.

The lawyers who were working on beh m alf of the defendant said
that the murder was not intentional because of the fact that she was
acting as an automation of her body.

-Nelson (1995) found a positive correlation between the amount of

androgens circulating in the body and the aggressive behaviour of male
and female prisoners.
AO2: The levels of androgens were not measured when aggressive acts
took place which means that other variables cannot be ruled out.
-

The basal model of testosterone assumes that testosterone causes a

change in a persons dominance. The more testosterone a person has
the more dominant and competitive they become.
Mazur and Booth concluded from their review of research that men
with higher levels of testosterone were more likely to divorce, or
remain single; be arrested for violations other than traffic violations...
and to use weapons in fights.
AO3: However, they did not ensure the validity of their review by
neglecting to use research that had been reviewed by other
psychologists.

The reciprocal model of testosterone suggests that the persons

testosterone levels vary with the level of dominance. Mazur and
Booth conducted a 10-year longitudinal study of over 2000 air force
veterans and found that their testosterone levels varied: they reduced
when married and increased upon divorce.

EVIDENCE AGAINSTS TESTERONE MODELS: Simpson (2001)

suggests that androgens cannot be solely responsible for aggressive
behaviour. Other factors such as noise, temperature and overcrowding
have shown to have affect aggression levels.

Research in in the area of serotonin suggests that serotonin influences

aggressive and violent behaviour. Aggression is associated with High
levels of dopamine and Low levels of serotonin. Cases (1995) have
stated that Serotonin has been shown to produce a calming, inhibitory
effect on neural firing.

Jide Olaofe 13F

Psychology notes

04/12/14

It is claimed, therefore, that low levels of serotonin, particularly in the

prefrontal cortex, remove this inhibitory effect so that individuals are
less able to control their impulsive and aggressive responses

A study that supports this is Brown et al (1972) who found that The
major waste product (metabolite) of serotonin tends to be low in the
CSF of people who exhibit aggressive behaviour.