PSY220H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Konrad Lorenz, Dental Surgery, Amygdala
Document Summary
What is aggression: verbal or physical behaviour intended to cause harm. Doesn"t include unintentional harm like dental surgery or assisted suicide: two forms: Hostile: stemming from emotions like anger with intent to harm. Ex. some murders (impulsive, emotional outbursts from arguments or love triangles) Instrumental: intent to harm, but as a means to some end. What are some theories of aggression? (3 broad views: instinct view: (freud and konrad lorenz) aggressive energy will accumulate from within. Proof is that aggression is biologically influenced by heredity, blood chemistry and the brain. One thing can affect the other and vice versa. Theory collapsed because you can call every human behaviour an instinct. Also, that it doesn"t account for variation in aggressiveness from person to person. Males are more aggressive than females generally. Some neural systems have been found to facilitate aggression as when they were activated, hostility increases. (like the amygdala)
