What is the evolutionary theory of aggression?

Evolutionary explanations of aggression suggest that aggression serves an important function in terms of both individual survival as well as reproductive potential. Competition arises when resources are limited and animals must compete in order to survive and reproduce.

What are two types of aggression?

Two major types of aggression, proactive and reactive, are associated with contrasting expression, eliciting factors, neural pathways, development, and function. The distinction is useful for understanding the nature and evolution of human aggression.

Is aggression evolutionary adaptive?

Definition. The psychological mechanisms that govern aggression – a violent or hostile action toward another – may have evolved as solutions to a number of recurring adaptive problems faced by our ancestors.

What are the five theories of aggression?

In general we can identify five approaches to understanding our aggression: ethological, psychotherapeutic, social learning, frustration-aggression, and cultural.

What is Freud’s theory of aggression?

Sigmund Freud proposed that aggression was an inborn instinct or drive, as compared to later theorists who felt aggression was a reaction or a response to a situation (Meyer, 1996). Freud postulated that all human beings have two basic drives: aggressive and libidinal.

Is aggression learned or innate?

1 Answer. Aggression is an innate instinct. It is part of the “Fight or Flight” response to an external threat.

Is aggression learned or inherited?

According to a meta-analysis on data from 24 genetically informative studies, up to 50% of the total variance in aggressive behavior is explained by genetic influences.

Who proposed the theory of aggression?

Freud believed that these two instincts exist together in every human mind, and that all behaviors stem from the balance of these two instincts. This may explain why we take anger out on others.

What are the levels of aggression?

It measures four different sub-dimensions of aggression listed as physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility.

Why is violence required throughout Harlan Kentucky?

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers violence is required/normal throughout Harlan, Kentucky due to its upbringing. The very first immigrants that settled in this area were from “the lowlands of Scotland, the northern counties of England, and Ulster in northern Ireland”(167).

How does the limbic system cause aggression?

The Limbic System (including the Hypothalamus and Amygdala) tends to act as an alarm system triggering aggressive response to certain types of threats. Giving testosterone to new-born female mice made them act like males with increased aggression, when given testosterone as adults.

Are we evolutionarily predisposed towards aggression?

Is Aggression Evolutionarily Adaptive? A belief in the innate aggressive tendencies of human beings—that the ability to be aggressive toward others, at least under some circumstances, is part of our fundamental human makeup—is consistent with the principles of evolutionary psychology.

What did Dabbs et al find?

A study of prisoners (James Dabbs et al., 1987, 1995) found testosterone levels were higher in those who had been convicted of a violent crime. Those with high testosterone levels were rated higher by other prisoners for being “tough”.

Which part of the brain is responsible for aggression?

Two of the key players in the neuroanatomical control of aggression are the amygdala and the frontal cortex, and the connections between these two areas, namely the hypothalamus.

What part of the limbic system controls aggression?

The amygdala
The amygdala in the limbic system plays a key role in how animals assess and respond to environmental threats and challenges by evaluating the emotional importance of sensory information and prompting an appropriate response. The main job of the amygdala is to regulate emotions, such as fear and aggression.

Are humans instinctively aggressive?

* It is scientifically incorrect to say that war or any other violent behavior is genetically programmed into our human nature. Except for rare pathologies the genes do not produce individuals necessarily predisposed to violence. Neither do they determine the opposite.

Are humans violent by nature or nurture?

Not only the genetic make-up, but environmental factors also influence human behavior. It is well known that early-childhood environment also influences the later-life predisposition toward violent behaviors.

What did Gospic et al 2011 do and find?

The Limbic System Gospic et al (2011) discovered that amygdala activity increased in response to an aggressive game in which participants how to decide to split money with a confederate.

How does serotonin affect aggression?

The findings suggest that when serotonin levels are low, it may be more difficult for the prefrontal cortex to control emotional responses to anger that are generated within the amygdala. Using a personality questionnaire, they also determined which individuals have a natural tendency to behave aggressively.

Is aggression genetic or learned?

Why does the amygdala cause aggression?

Amygdala Hijack If in a threatening situation, the amygdala will send information to other parts of the brain to prepare the body to either face the situation, or to get away from it. This fight-or-flight response is triggered by emotions of fear, anxiety, aggression, and anger.

What is social-psychological explanation of aggression?

Section 5: Social-Psychological explanations of Aggression. In the 1960s Social learning theory seen as a challenge to behaviorists Suggested children learn things even without doing them, through observational learning and modelling.

Does the SRY gene play a role in aggression?

The Sry gene was associated with high levels of aggression, suggesting that genes and hormones interact and that sex chromosome genes also have a role. • Rissman et al. (2006) investigated Sry, a gene leading to the development of testes and high androgen levels in males. Male and female mice with and without the gene were tested.

Are some people with the XYY gene more aggressive?

Later research by Alice Theilgard [1984] did show that 16 men out of 30,000 sampled had the xyy gene and that these were slightly more aggressive and slightly less intelligent but this is such a rare mutation that it does not explain aggression in the general population.

Which genes are associated with high levels of aggression?

The Sry gene was associated with high levels of aggression, suggesting that genes and hormones interact and that sex chromosome genes also have a role. • The Super-Male hypothesis (Sandberg, 1961) suggested the XYY Gene led to aggression.