role of hormones to explain human behaviour
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what are hormones?
chemical messengers that transmit info around the body ,they dont cause changes but influence them.
where are hormones produced
produced by the endocrine system/glands outside the CNS
what is the endocrine system
system of glands that secrete hormone messages around the body using the circulatory system
what is an androgen
a chemical that develops or maintains male characteristics eg testosterone
how does testosterone contribute to aggression
critical period after birth where T stimulates clel growth in areas of the hypothalamus+amygdala which later causes adult aggression
what is testosterones effect on aggression and how does it do this
-weakens the link between the OFC and amygdala so that T is more reactive to the amygdala.It also reduces inhibitory control so a person is more likely to respond to aggression
what were the three studies used to investigate T and aggression
DABBS,TRICKER and ALBERT
what was the aim of DABBS ET AL’s study
investigating the influence of testosterone on aggression using male prisoners
describe the procedure of DABBS ET AL’s study
took saliva samples of 692 male prisoners
what were the findings of DABBS ET AL’s study
found that men with higher levels of T were more likely to commit ‘worse’ crimes involving sex and men with lower levels were only in for crimes like burglary etc
what were some limitations to DABBS’s study
-lacks generalisability as only used male PPs -cannot apply findings of criminals to general public
describe trickers study
-gave 43 men either 600mg of T per week for 10 weeks or gave a placebo -given anger questionnaires aswell as their partner but there was no sig diff between the 2 groups
what were the findings from trickers study
didn’t find any significant difference/correlation
what were some strengths of Tricker’s study
double blind trial red researcher bias and demand characteristics -experimental study so makes judgment about cause and effect -used self reports and peer reports
what were some limitations of Tricker’s study
-self report produces inaccurate judgment of own behaviour and can lead to under report in agg levels -small sample=low generalisability and all males
what was the aim of ALBERT ET AL’s study
castrated male rats to investigate the influence of T on aggression
describe the procedure of ALBERT ET AL’s study
manipulated T levels using drugs
what were the findings of ALBERT ET AL’s study
aggressive behaviours in the rats increased when T levels were high and vice versa
why can we not apply this study ALBERT to humans
-a rats brain functions differently from a humans -agg in rats comes from social dominance whereas in humans it comes from threat
give one strength and one weakness of alberts study
strength=exp study so no quesyioning of external factors affecting agg as everything kept same weakness=subjective as uses observational data so recquries researchers ops on what is consdierd as agg behaviour
what type of studies were each of these
DABBS= correlational TRICKER+ALBERT=experimental (manipulates T levels)
what is cortisol
a stress hormone
what is the role of cortisol
-inhibits aggression -lower levels linked to higher aggression
explain how cortisol may lead to higher aggression
-cortisol regulates stress responses so lower cortisol may reduce fear/anxiety about being punished and so the individual may be more inclined to partake in risk-taking/aggressive behaviour