Specification

• Neural and hormonal mechanisms in aggression, including the roles of the limbic system, serotonin and testosterone. Genetic factors in aggression, including the MAOA gene.

• The ethological explanation of aggression, including reference to innate releasing mechanisms and fixed action patterns. Evolutionary explanations of human aggression.

• Social psychological explanations of human aggression, including the frustration-aggression hypothesis, social learning theory as applied to human aggression, and de-individuation.

• Institutional aggression in the context of prisons: dispositional and situational explanations. 

• Media influences on aggression, including the effects of computer games. The role of desensitisation, disinhibition and cognitive priming.