Aggression | AQA A-Level Psychology (7182)
Aggression
- 174 questions
- 6 subtopics
- Paper 3: Issues and options in psychology
- Paper 3
Aggression is an optional topic for Paper 3.
It covers the biological basis of aggressive behaviour in the brain, hormones and genes, ethological and evolutionary accounts, social psychological explanations, and aggression in two specific settings: prisons and the media.
Sample questions from Aggression
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
-
Neural and hormonal mechanisms in aggression
What happens when the amygdala is activated in response to a perceived threat?
Show the answer
Activation of the amygdala is associated with aggressive reactions to perceived threats. -
Neural and hormonal mechanisms in aggression
What effect does testosterone have on the prefrontal cortex's ability to regulate behaviour?
Show the answer
Testosterone reduces the regulatory influence of the prefrontal cortex. -
Genetic factors in aggression
What did Brunner et al. find when studying a Dutch family with abnormally aggressive males?
Show the answer
The males had a mutation causing complete absence of MAOA enzyme activity. -
Genetic factors in aggression
Why are genetic explanations of aggression considered reductionist?
Show the answer
They oversimplify complex behaviour by focusing on single genes while ignoring cognitive, social and environmental factors. -
Ethological and evolutionary explanations of aggression
In Lorenz's hydraulic model, what releases accumulated aggressive energy?
Show the answer
An appropriate sign stimulus releases the energy as aggression. -
Ethological and evolutionary explanations of aggression
What did Daly and Wilson find about male-male homicides?
Show the answer
They often involve status disputes, and young men at peak reproductive competition are most likely to be both perpetrators and victims. -
Social psychological explanations of human aggression
Who proposed social learning theory as an explanation for the acquisition of aggressive behaviour?
Show the answer
Bandura. -
Social psychological explanations of human aggression
Why does anonymity contribute to de-individuation?
Show the answer
Being unidentifiable reduces concerns about being judged or held accountable for aggressive actions.
The 6 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Neural and hormonal mechanisms in aggression | The brain structures linking emotion to aggression, the role of serotonin, the influence of testosterone, and the limits of these explanations. | 28 |
| Genetic factors in aggression | The MAOA gene and its low-activity variant, the Brunner and Caspi findings, twin and adoption evidence on heritability, and the evaluation of genetic explanations. | 17 |
| Ethological and evolutionary explanations of aggression | Innate releasing mechanisms and fixed action patterns, Lorenz's hydraulic model, ritualised aggression and appeasement, and evolutionary accounts of human aggression. | 37 |
| Social psychological explanations of human aggression | The frustration-aggression hypothesis and Berkowitz's revision, social learning theory, de-individuation, and the SIDE model's challenge to it. | 30 |
| Institutional aggression in prisons | The importation and deprivation models as dispositional and situational explanations of prison aggression, and the evidence for each. | 28 |
| Media influences on aggression | Desensitisation, disinhibition and cognitive priming as routes from media violence to aggression, and why interactive games may differ from passive viewing. | 34 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
-
Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
-
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
-
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA A-Level Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,999 questions with their answers.