Discuss Neural and Hormonal Mechanisms in Aggression

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Discuss Neural and Hormonal mechanisms in aggression. The male sex hormone testosterone is thought to increase levels of aggression from young adulthood onwards. It is thought that testosterone may influence areas of the brain that control behavioural reactions, such as the amygdala and the hypothalamus. Testosterone also influences the levels of other hormones which are thought to be involved in aggression. The hormone cortisol is thought to inhibit aggression. It is thought to do this by having a mediating effect on other hormones related to aggression such as testosterone. High levels of cortisol inhibits testosterone and so inhibits aggression. This may be due to the fact that cortisol increases anxiety and the likelihood of social withdrawal. Olweus found that higher levels of self-reported physical and verbal aggression were associated with higher levels of testosterone. Therefore, there is a positive correlation between the hormone and aggression levels. However, further on from this, the explanation can be argued to be deterministic. It suggests that because all males have higher levels of testosterone than females, they are all aggressive. It is known that not all males are aggressive and some females can be aggressive. This is because people find different ways to channel their aggression positively, such as through sport or exercise. Beeman showed that castration reduces aggression levels whilst injecting them with testosterone increases aggression levels. It demonstrates that testosterone has two roles within the body; to prime the individual and to initiate the aggressive response. Therefore, it shows an association with aggression. A real life application comes from Sweden and Denmark in 2012. They suggest that chemical castration can cut the rates of reoffending from 40% to 5%. Therefore, when the main source of testosterone is

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