Option 3 Revision Notes

Aggression: Biological and Psychological Explanations

Neural and Hormonal Mechanisms

• Limbic System: The limbic system, particularly the amygdala, plays a crucial role in processing emotions and aggression. When activated, it can trigger aggressive responses.
• Serotonin: Low levels of serotonin are linked to increased aggression. Serotonin helps regulate mood and impulse control.
• Testosterone: Higher levels of testosterone are associated with increased aggression. Studies suggest that testosterone influences aggression through its effects on the brain.

Genetic Factors

• MAOA Gene: The MAOA gene is involved in the breakdown of neurotransmitters. Variants of this gene have been linked to aggressive behavior, particularly in individuals with a history of abuse.

Ethological Explanation

• Innate Releasing Mechanisms: These are specific stimuli that trigger aggressive responses in animals, suggesting that aggression can be instinctual.
• Fixed Action Patterns: These are sequences of behavior that occur in response to specific stimuli, indicating that aggression can be a pre-programmed response.

Evolutionary Explanations

• Aggression may have evolved as a survival mechanism, helping individuals secure resources and mates. This perspective suggests that aggressive behavior can enhance reproductive success.

Social Psychological Explanations

• Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis: This theory posits that aggression is the result of frustration when an individual is blocked from achieving a goal.
• Social Learning Theory: Aggression can be learned through observation and imitation of aggressive models, particularly in media.
• De-individuation: In groups, individuals may lose self-awareness and feel less accountable, leading to increased aggression.

Institutional Aggression in Prisons

• Dispositional Explanations: These focus on individual characteristics, such as personality traits, that may predispose someone to aggression.
• Situational Explanations: These consider the environment and conditions within prisons that may provoke aggressive behavior.

Media Influences

• Exposure to violent media, including video games, can lead to desensitization, disinhibition, and cognitive priming, increasing aggressive thoughts and behaviors.

Offender Profiling

• Typology Approach: Classifies offenders based on their characteristics and behaviors.
• Investigative Psychology: Uses psychological principles to understand criminal behavior and assist in profiling.
• Geographical Profiling: Analyzes the locations of crimes to predict the likely home base of an offender.

Biological Explanations of Offending Behavior

• Genetic predispositions and neural mechanisms can contribute to criminal behavior, suggesting a biological basis for some types of offending.

Psychological Explanations of Offending Behavior

• Eysenck's Theory: Proposes that personality traits, particularly extraversion and neuroticism, can influence criminal behavior.
• Cognitive Explanations: Focus on how thought processes, such as moral reasoning and cognitive distortions, can lead to offending.
• Differential Association Theory: Suggests that criminal behavior is learned through interactions with others.

Custodial Sentencing

• Aims include punishment, deterrence, rehabilitation, and public protection. Psychological effects can include stress, anxiety, and institutionalization.

Behaviour Modification in Custody

• Techniques used to change behavior through reinforcement and punishment, aiming to reduce recidivism.

Anger Management and Restorative Justice

• Anger management programs help individuals control their anger, while restorative justice focuses on repairing harm caused by criminal behavior.

Addiction

• Physical Dependence: The body's adaptation to a substance, leading to withdrawal symptoms.
• Psychological Dependence: Emotional and mental reliance on a substance.
• Tolerance: Needing more of a substance to achieve the same effect.
• Withdrawal Syndrome: Symptoms experienced when reducing or stopping substance use.

Risk Factors in Addiction

• Genetic vulnerability, personality traits (e.g., impulsivity), and social influences (e.g., peer pressure) can increase the likelihood of developing an addiction.

Nicotine Addiction

• Involves brain neurochemistry, particularly dopamine pathways, and learning theories that explain how habits form.

Gambling Addiction

• Learning theory and cognitive biases explain how gambling behaviors are reinforced, leading to addiction.

Reducing Addiction

• Various therapies, including drug therapy, aversion therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy, aim to help individuals overcome addiction.

Prochaska's Six-Stage Model of Behaviour Change

• This model outlines the stages individuals go through when changing behavior, from precontemplation to maintenance.