In terms of extinction, the regulation of expression of emotional responses comes from the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (Carlson, 2014). The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is “the region of the prefrontal cortex at the base of the anterior frontal lobes and is adjacent to the midline” (Carlson, 2014, p. 279). It is involved in the process of extinction. Extinction occurs when the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly by itself and the conditioned emotional response disappears and is extinguished (Carlson, 2014). If the conditioned stimulus occurs repeatedly, but the aversive stimulus does not follow, it would be better for the emotional response that is disruptive to disappear (Carlson, 2014). Research has shown that when a behavior is extinguished it is not simply forgotten; it is instead learning that the conditioned stimulus is no longer followed by the aversive stimulus (Carlson, 2014).
Neural and Hormonal Control
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When it comes to aggression being acted out, it depends on factors like the types of the stimuli in the circumstance and previous experiences that might play a role (Carlson, 2014). Brain stem circuits are controlled by the hypothalamus, which is located in the amygdala, and activity within that area is a result of the perceptual systems that detect and observe an individual circumstance (Carlson, 2014). Within the context of hormonal control, a hormone called serotonin controls aggressive behavior and studies have shown that low levels of serotonergic neuron release contribute to aggression (Carlson,
“At the University of California at Irvine, experiments in rats indicate that the brain’s hormonal reaction to fear can be inhibited, softening the formation of memories and the emotions they evoke” (Baard).
Aggression may be associated with other symptoms that are determined by the underlying disorder or illness. Ailments that influence behavior often also have psychological, cognitive, and physical symptoms. Some additional signs and symptoms may include:
...n fear and arousal (Schmahl, Berne, Krause, Kleindienst, Valerius, Vermetten &ump; Bohus, 2009). The work of dampening this arousal is carried out by the pre-frontal region of the brain. Brain imaging has revealed that personal differences in the capacity to activate areas of the prefrontal cerebral cortex, which is believed to activate inhibitory responses, predict the capacity to repress negative feelings (Williams Sidis, Gordon &ump; Meares, 2006). Acetylcholine and norepinephrine in addition to serotonin are the main neurotransmitters in the circuit involved in the regulation of emotions. Imbalance of these neurotransmitters in conjunction with increased GABA activity is believed to have the capacity to result in intense mood swings similar to those of borderline personality disorder (Schmahl, Berne, Krause, Kleindienst, Valerius, Vermetten &ump; Bohus, 2009).
Osumi, T., Nakao, T., Kasuya, Y., Shinoda, J., Yamada, J., and Ohira, H. (2012). Amygdala dysfunction attenuates frustration-induced aggression in psychopathic individuals in a non-criminal population. Journal of Affective Disorders, 142(1), 331-338, DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2012.05.012)
It is my opinion that this increased level of aggression does not disappear simply because the cause of the aggression has been removed. Rather this aggression remains in the sub-conscience mind waiting for the perfect opportunity to manifest itself in an action. The pent-up aggression could be released in the act of bullying, playing sports, getting into a fight with others, or it may result in the death of another child.
The Effects of Two or More Environmental Stressors on Aggressive Behaviour An environmental stressor is a situation, which causes a negative emotional experience, accompanied by predictable physiological, biochemical and behavioural changes that are designed to help us adapt to the stressor. The three main environmental stressors are heat, noise and crowding, all of which may result in heightened physiological and psychological behaviour. A large number of studies have investigated the possibility of a connection between temperature and aggressive behaviour. Carlsmith and Anderson (1979) found that hotter weather gives a higher chance of a riot when they looked at disturbances in 79 US cities between 1967 and 1971. There appears to be a similar relationship between violent crime and hot weather.
Meyer, M. L., Berkman, E. T., Karremans, J. C., & Lieberman, M. D. (2011). Incidental regulation of attraction: The neural basis of the derogation of attractive alternatives in romantic relationships. Cognition & Emotion, 25(3), 490-505. doi:10.1080/02699931.2010.527494
One of the most researched topics in the history of psychology is aggression. One goal of social scientists has been to define aggression. Some believe that aggression is biologically preprogrammed, others look toward situational factors and this study suggests that aggression is learned. This study was conducted by Albert Bandura and his associates in 1961 at Stanford University. The researchers proposed that the children be exposed to adult models with either aggressive or nonaggressive ways, they would then be tested without the models present to determine if they would imitate that aggression they observed in the adult.
The other aspect in classical conditioning is extinction, which occurs when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus. For example, when the smell of tobacco that was initially paired with having a few puffs is now present, but the individual is not provided with the cigarette to get the puffs, when this is done for a long time the smell no longer produce the craving in the individual to have the puff. The extinction of the learnt behavior of smoking can be said to have occurred (Cherry, 2011).
Emotions are (in part) for survival, and the more complex the emotion, the more complex the system to process it must be (both in theory and in context). If an emotion or mood is as simple as fight or flight, then this is something that is instilled in reptiles, mammals, and humans alike. These emotions are more easily figured out in the human brain, and seem to be easier to experiment with as well as find out about. There has been a large amount of research on the amygdala and fight or flight response, which as was stated above, is a basic emotion that reptiles, mammals, and humans all seem to have alike. The mor...
Extinction can also occur in operant conditioning. The key to operant conditioning is reinforcement. Reinforcement is when a stimulus is presented that increases the probability that the preceding response will recur in the future. If reinforcement is withheld, extinction will occur in operant conditioning. Another factor that is involved in conditioning is spontaneous recovery. That is the reappearance of an extinguished response after the passage of time, without further training. If Pavlov's dogs did not hear the bell for a few years, and if when they heard it later they drooled, it would be an example of spontaneous recovery.
Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and Prosocial Behavior: a Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature." Psychological Science (2001). EBSCO. DePaul Library. 7 Mar. 2008.
An individual usually experiences high levels of dopamine before and after an altercation and it can cause an individual not to recognize the lasting angry expression they have on their face. Also, “Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is key in information processing and most consistently linked to criminal behavior in its deficiency; low levels are linked to depression and other mental illnesses” (Schram, P. J., & Tibbetts). People with low levels of serotonin have trouble communicating in everyday life and this has a strong connection with criminality because people that
The aggressive personality is defined as an “individual’s whose overall style of interacting involves considerable, persistent, maladaptive aggression” (counselingresource.com). Evolutionary, biological and environmental factors are contributing components of the aggressive personality. Human beings ...
Emotion is the “feeling” aspect of consciousness that includes physical, behavioral, and subjective (cognitive) elements. Emotion also contains three elements which are physical arousal, a certain behavior that can reveal outer feelings and inner feelings. One key part in the brain, the amygdala which is located within the limbic system on each side of the brain, plays a key role in emotional processing which causes emotions such as fear and pleasure to be involved with the human facial expressions.The common-sense theory of emotion states that an emotion is experienced first, leading to a physical reaction and then to a behavioral reaction.The James-Lange theory states that a stimulus creates a physiological response that then leads to the labeling of the emotion. The Cannon-Bard theory states that the physiological reaction and the emotion both use the thalamus to send sensory information to both the cortex of the brain and the organs of the sympathetic nervous system. The facial feedback hypothesis states that facial expressions provide feedback to the brain about the emotion being expressed on the face, increasing all the emotions. In Schachter and Singer’s cognitive arousal theory, also known as the two-factor theory, states both the physiological arousal and the actual arousal must occur before the emotion itself is experienced, based on cues from the environment. Lastly, in the cognitive-mediational theory