These materials are the intellectual property of Lotus Mohammad and are for personal use only. Any reproduction,
distribution, or sharing without explicit written permission is strictly prohibited.
Discuss the neural explanation as a biological explanation of human aggression (16)
AO1 This is one mark
S- Aggression is a strong emotion marked by a high motivation to do harm, combined with a
lack of fear for the consequences, and at times, self-preservation
E- Characteristics of aggression include both physical harm and verbal signs of hostility
AO1
S- This emotion is mostly controlled by the limbic system, a brain system associated with
om
emotional responses
E- This system includes the hypothalamus, amygdala, and fornix parts of the hippocampus. The
amygdala is known to be the centre of emotions. fMRIs show that overactivity in the amygdala
increases reactive aggression by intensifying the emotional responses of humans
l.c
AO1
S- This explanation also proposes serotonin as being strongly implicated in the control of
ai
aggression.
E- This is because it has an inhibitory effect on impulsive behaviour, and so low levels of
gm
serotonin in the brain’s OFC lead to less self-control and more impulsivity, ultimately causing
increased aggression. Low serotonin is caused by MAOA-L, a gene mutation preventing the
coding of an enzyme which breaks down serotonin
@
AO3
P- One strength of the neural explanation of the limbic system is supporting evidence.
E- For example, Farah et al 2018 involved MRI scans which found that males with alexithymia
72
(an inability to understand one’s emotions) who had increased grey matter in the right
hemisphere of the amygdala were more likely to show reactive aggression.
ct
E- This is often triggered by their own bad mood, showing that an increased volume in the limbic
system’s central organ - the amygdala - increases levels of aggressive behaviour. This is a
strength because it improves the validity of the strong effect of the limbic system on aggression.
so
L- Therefore, this supporting evidence grants this theory high usefulness as an explanation of
human aggression in psychology, which means there is validity to the use of the neural,
tu
biological approach to explain aggression
AO3
lo
P- However, a weakness of this theory is the presence of a different theory.
E- For example, even within the biological approach, there are numerous other explanations
such as the hormonal explanation, which explain human aggression in ways which are ignored
by the neural explanation.
E- This is seen as the hormonal explanation includes testosterone as the main drive for
aggression, and with numerous supporting studies of the effect of testosterone, it appears that
the neural explanation is a limited, incomplete way to understand the nature of aggression in
humans, decreasing its overall validity
,
These materials are the intellectual property of Lotus Mohammad and are for personal use only. Any reproduction,
distribution, or sharing without explicit written permission is strictly prohibited.
L- Therefore, the limited, poor explanatory power of the neural explanation brought on by the
fact that it ignores other factors which affect aggression such as hormones, decreases its
usefulness as a way to understand aggression in the human body
AO3
P- On the other hand, another strength of the neural explanation is further supporting evidence.
E- For example, Brunner et al 1993 found that males from one family with dysfunctional MAOA
levels showed higher aggression levels than those with normally functioning MAOA
om
E- This is a strength because it provides evidence for the effect of serotonin on aggression, as
MAOA is key in producing serotonin, so dysfunctional MAOA levels lead to a drop in serotonin
levels, weakening the inhibitory effect of the neurotransmitter on the impulsivity of aggressive
behaviour
l.c
L- Therefore, this study provides evidence which strengthens the overall validity of the neural
explanation, increasing its usefulness as a way to understand aggression in humans
ai
AO3
P- Lastly, a weakness of the neural explanation is that it takes a biologically reductionist
gm
approach
E- For instance, it is seen to place all focus on the neural factors which lead to aggression,
effectively ignoring the social and environmental factors which also have a large role in
producing aggressive behaviour.
@
E- Those factors can include substance abuse, upbringing, and more. Ignoring these factors is a
weakness of the neural approach because it attempts to simplify a complex phenomena to one
simple biological cause, ignoring the effects of numerous other factors on aggressive behaviour
72
L- Therefore, due to its reductionism, the neural explanation cannot be deemed an entirely valid
explanation for aggression, lowering its usefulness overall
ct
Discuss the hormonal explanation as a biological explanation of human aggression (16)
AO1
so
S- Aggression is a strong emotion marked by a high motivation to do harm, combined with a
lack of fear for the consequences, and at times, self-preservation
tu
E- Characteristics of aggression include both physical harm and verbal signs of hostility
AO1
lo
S- The hormonal explanation proposes that testosterone is the main factor causing aggression
E- This is because testosterone activates the amygdala, increasing impulsive, emotional
reactions to stimuli, meaning that high testosterone can increase reactive aggression. Males
have 10 times the amount of testosterone as women, explaining why males are known to be
more aggressive.
AO1
,
These materials are the intellectual property of Lotus Mohammad and are for personal use only. Any reproduction,
distribution, or sharing without explicit written permission is strictly prohibited.
S- Cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress, is thought to inhibit the effects of
testosterone on aggression.
E- According to the dual-hormone hypothesis, high levels of testosterone are only linked to
increased aggression when cortisol levels are low. This suggests that cortisol may act as a
regulatory mechanism, lowering the extent of aggressive behaviours typically associated with
elevated testosterone.
AO3
om
P- One strength of the hormonal explanation is supporting evidence
E- For example, Zak et al 2009 found that males with higher testosterone levels were less
generous to other males, and more likely to punish those who did not reward them
E- This evidence suggests that high levels of testosterone lead to higher levels of aggression in
l.c
men, which is a strength as it provides validity for the findings of the hormonal explanation
C- However, this study suffers from beta bias, weakening its validity as supporting evidence
E- This is seen as its procedure uses a male-only sample, failing to test the aggression levels of
ai
females, which can also produce testosterone
E- This is a weakness because it means that the study is ungeneralisable, for it does not
gm
accurately represent the wider population it aims to study, so it cannot be used as supporting
evidence for the hormonal explanation
L- Therefore, while there is supporting evidence showing a strong link between testosterone
levels and aggressive behaviour, this evidence is limited to men only, as the study ignored
@
differences between genders’ aggression levels. This limits its usefulness as an explanation for
human aggression in wider society
72
AO3
P- However, a weakness of this theory is the presence of a different theory.
ct
E- For example, even within the biological approach, there are numerous other explanations
such as the neural explanation, which explain human aggression in ways which are ignored by
the neural explanation.
so
E- This is seen as the neural explanation includes the limbic system and serotonin as the main
drive for aggression, and with numerous supporting studies, making it apparent that the
tu
hormonal explanation is a limited, incomplete way to understand the nature of aggression in
humans, decreasing its overall validity
L- Therefore, the limited, poor explanatory power of the hormonal explanation brought on by the
lo
fact that it ignores other factors which affect aggression such as neurochemistry, decreases its
usefulness as a way to understand aggression in the human body
AO3
P- On the other hand, a strength of the hormonal explanation is further supporting evidence
E- For example Dabbs 1995 found that prisoners who committed violent crimes had higher
testosterone levels than those that committed non-violent crimes such as theft, and that violent
offenders violated more rules involving overt confrontation
distribution, or sharing without explicit written permission is strictly prohibited.
Discuss the neural explanation as a biological explanation of human aggression (16)
AO1 This is one mark
S- Aggression is a strong emotion marked by a high motivation to do harm, combined with a
lack of fear for the consequences, and at times, self-preservation
E- Characteristics of aggression include both physical harm and verbal signs of hostility
AO1
S- This emotion is mostly controlled by the limbic system, a brain system associated with
om
emotional responses
E- This system includes the hypothalamus, amygdala, and fornix parts of the hippocampus. The
amygdala is known to be the centre of emotions. fMRIs show that overactivity in the amygdala
increases reactive aggression by intensifying the emotional responses of humans
l.c
AO1
S- This explanation also proposes serotonin as being strongly implicated in the control of
ai
aggression.
E- This is because it has an inhibitory effect on impulsive behaviour, and so low levels of
gm
serotonin in the brain’s OFC lead to less self-control and more impulsivity, ultimately causing
increased aggression. Low serotonin is caused by MAOA-L, a gene mutation preventing the
coding of an enzyme which breaks down serotonin
@
AO3
P- One strength of the neural explanation of the limbic system is supporting evidence.
E- For example, Farah et al 2018 involved MRI scans which found that males with alexithymia
72
(an inability to understand one’s emotions) who had increased grey matter in the right
hemisphere of the amygdala were more likely to show reactive aggression.
ct
E- This is often triggered by their own bad mood, showing that an increased volume in the limbic
system’s central organ - the amygdala - increases levels of aggressive behaviour. This is a
strength because it improves the validity of the strong effect of the limbic system on aggression.
so
L- Therefore, this supporting evidence grants this theory high usefulness as an explanation of
human aggression in psychology, which means there is validity to the use of the neural,
tu
biological approach to explain aggression
AO3
lo
P- However, a weakness of this theory is the presence of a different theory.
E- For example, even within the biological approach, there are numerous other explanations
such as the hormonal explanation, which explain human aggression in ways which are ignored
by the neural explanation.
E- This is seen as the hormonal explanation includes testosterone as the main drive for
aggression, and with numerous supporting studies of the effect of testosterone, it appears that
the neural explanation is a limited, incomplete way to understand the nature of aggression in
humans, decreasing its overall validity
,
These materials are the intellectual property of Lotus Mohammad and are for personal use only. Any reproduction,
distribution, or sharing without explicit written permission is strictly prohibited.
L- Therefore, the limited, poor explanatory power of the neural explanation brought on by the
fact that it ignores other factors which affect aggression such as hormones, decreases its
usefulness as a way to understand aggression in the human body
AO3
P- On the other hand, another strength of the neural explanation is further supporting evidence.
E- For example, Brunner et al 1993 found that males from one family with dysfunctional MAOA
levels showed higher aggression levels than those with normally functioning MAOA
om
E- This is a strength because it provides evidence for the effect of serotonin on aggression, as
MAOA is key in producing serotonin, so dysfunctional MAOA levels lead to a drop in serotonin
levels, weakening the inhibitory effect of the neurotransmitter on the impulsivity of aggressive
behaviour
l.c
L- Therefore, this study provides evidence which strengthens the overall validity of the neural
explanation, increasing its usefulness as a way to understand aggression in humans
ai
AO3
P- Lastly, a weakness of the neural explanation is that it takes a biologically reductionist
gm
approach
E- For instance, it is seen to place all focus on the neural factors which lead to aggression,
effectively ignoring the social and environmental factors which also have a large role in
producing aggressive behaviour.
@
E- Those factors can include substance abuse, upbringing, and more. Ignoring these factors is a
weakness of the neural approach because it attempts to simplify a complex phenomena to one
simple biological cause, ignoring the effects of numerous other factors on aggressive behaviour
72
L- Therefore, due to its reductionism, the neural explanation cannot be deemed an entirely valid
explanation for aggression, lowering its usefulness overall
ct
Discuss the hormonal explanation as a biological explanation of human aggression (16)
AO1
so
S- Aggression is a strong emotion marked by a high motivation to do harm, combined with a
lack of fear for the consequences, and at times, self-preservation
tu
E- Characteristics of aggression include both physical harm and verbal signs of hostility
AO1
lo
S- The hormonal explanation proposes that testosterone is the main factor causing aggression
E- This is because testosterone activates the amygdala, increasing impulsive, emotional
reactions to stimuli, meaning that high testosterone can increase reactive aggression. Males
have 10 times the amount of testosterone as women, explaining why males are known to be
more aggressive.
AO1
,
These materials are the intellectual property of Lotus Mohammad and are for personal use only. Any reproduction,
distribution, or sharing without explicit written permission is strictly prohibited.
S- Cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress, is thought to inhibit the effects of
testosterone on aggression.
E- According to the dual-hormone hypothesis, high levels of testosterone are only linked to
increased aggression when cortisol levels are low. This suggests that cortisol may act as a
regulatory mechanism, lowering the extent of aggressive behaviours typically associated with
elevated testosterone.
AO3
om
P- One strength of the hormonal explanation is supporting evidence
E- For example, Zak et al 2009 found that males with higher testosterone levels were less
generous to other males, and more likely to punish those who did not reward them
E- This evidence suggests that high levels of testosterone lead to higher levels of aggression in
l.c
men, which is a strength as it provides validity for the findings of the hormonal explanation
C- However, this study suffers from beta bias, weakening its validity as supporting evidence
E- This is seen as its procedure uses a male-only sample, failing to test the aggression levels of
ai
females, which can also produce testosterone
E- This is a weakness because it means that the study is ungeneralisable, for it does not
gm
accurately represent the wider population it aims to study, so it cannot be used as supporting
evidence for the hormonal explanation
L- Therefore, while there is supporting evidence showing a strong link between testosterone
levels and aggressive behaviour, this evidence is limited to men only, as the study ignored
@
differences between genders’ aggression levels. This limits its usefulness as an explanation for
human aggression in wider society
72
AO3
P- However, a weakness of this theory is the presence of a different theory.
ct
E- For example, even within the biological approach, there are numerous other explanations
such as the neural explanation, which explain human aggression in ways which are ignored by
the neural explanation.
so
E- This is seen as the neural explanation includes the limbic system and serotonin as the main
drive for aggression, and with numerous supporting studies, making it apparent that the
tu
hormonal explanation is a limited, incomplete way to understand the nature of aggression in
humans, decreasing its overall validity
L- Therefore, the limited, poor explanatory power of the hormonal explanation brought on by the
lo
fact that it ignores other factors which affect aggression such as neurochemistry, decreases its
usefulness as a way to understand aggression in the human body
AO3
P- On the other hand, a strength of the hormonal explanation is further supporting evidence
E- For example Dabbs 1995 found that prisoners who committed violent crimes had higher
testosterone levels than those that committed non-violent crimes such as theft, and that violent
offenders violated more rules involving overt confrontation
