About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about ethological explanations for aggression, focusing in particular on: (i) aggression as an instinctive, natural behaviour; (ii) the governance of aggression by genes and hormones/neurotransmitters; (iii) innate releasing mechanisms and the fixed action patterns they initiate in response to certain stimuli; (iv) the lack of generalisability of research into animal and human aggression.

About the lecturer

Dr Eduardo Vasquez is a senior lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Kent. His research interests include aggression, inter-group relations/conflict, and the influence of alcohol on social behaviours. Some of Dr Vasquez’s recent publications include 'Are you insulting me? Exposure to alcohol primes increases aggression following ambiguous provocation' (2014), 'Any of them will do: In-group identification, out-group entitativity, and gang membership as predictors of group based retribution' (2015), and 'The sexual objectification of girls and aggression towards them in gang and non-gang affiliated youth' (2017).