Add your conference to our Justice Events calendar

PUBLICATIONS

Stay Informed
Register with NCJRS to receive NCJRS's biweekly e-newsletter JUSTINFO and additional periodic emails from NCJRS and the NCJRS federal sponsors that highlight the latest research published or sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs.

NCJRS Abstract

The document referenced below is part of the NCJRS Virtual Library collection. To conduct further searches of the collection, visit the Virtual Library. See the Obtain Documents page for direction on how to access resources online, via mail, through interlibrary loans, or in a local library.

NCJ Number:	228721

Title:	Interacting Roles of Testosterone and Challenges to Status in Human Male Aggression

Journal:	Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume:14 Issue:5 Dated:September/October 2009 Pages:330-335

Author(s):	Francis T. McAndrew

Date Published:	October 2009

Page Count:	6

Publisher:	http://www.elsevier.com

Type:	Literature Review

Format:	Article

Language:	English

Country:	Netherlands

Annotation:	A literature review was conducted on sex and cultural differences in physical male aggression, specifically the roles of testosterone (biological) and challenges to status.

Abstract:	Reading of the available evidence suggests that the most common chain of events leading to physical aggression by human males begins with a public challenge to a man's status through direct competition with another male, through insult, or by the threat of having one' mate poached by another male. These threats to status provoke a biological response marked by heightened levels of testosterone, which facilitate an aggressive response. The degree to which an aggressive response is called for, or at least permitted, will be determined at least in part by the cultural and societal value placed on a man's reputation and honor and the degree to which aggression is considered an appropriate response. Social scientists have identified many factors that can increase frequency of aggressive behavior in human beings. Attempts made to incorporate factors, such as personality traits and situational (i.e. heat, crowding, or noise), into a theoretical framework have focused on cognitive and emotional states as explanatory mechanisms, but have ignored the role that biological factors might play in human aggression. This paper proposes, through a review of the literature, that the process of natural selection has shaped hormonal responses in males that are sensitive to situations involving challenges to status and/or competition with other males, and that these hormonal changes are essential ingredients of the aggressiveness occurring in these situations. References

Main Term(s):	Aggression

Index Term(s):	Anger; Biological influences; Dangerousness; Literature reviews; Male offenders; Violence; Violence causes; Violent men



	To cite this abstract, use the following link: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=250743

*A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents not available online, a link to the publisher's website is provided. Tell us how you use the NCJRS Library and Abstracts Database - send us your feedback.

PUBLICATIONS

NCJRS Abstract

Find in a Library