Brain Structures and Aggression

Aggression – Explanations for Aggression

In this course, Dr Eduardo Vasquez (University of Kent) explores explanations for aggressive behaviour and tendencies. In the first lecture, we think about some brain structures which are responsible for regulating aggressive behaviour. In the second lecture, we think about the ethological perspective on aggression by recognising it as an instinctive and natural behaviour. In the third lecture, we consider psychodynamic explanations for aggression and how they are rooted in the three psychoanalytic personality structures: the id, ego, and superego. Next, we think about institutional aggression, focusing on the two primary explanation categories for increased aggression in these environments: dispositional and situational. In the fifth and final lecture, we think about exposure to aggression and violence in the media, and the impact it can have on one’s tendency to aggress.

Brain Structures and Aggression

In this lecture, we think about the impact of brain structures on aggression, focusing in particular on: (i) some potential definitions of aggression; (ii) the joint impact of individual and situation in aggressive responses; (iii) the limbic system, including the thalamus, hypothalamus and amygdala, which impacts aggression, as well as the orbitofrontal cortex which impacts self-control and impulsivity; (iv) the limitations of this research, including that it is correlational, and that there is also an impact of the connections between these brain areas on behaviour.