PSY 250 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Biological Specificity

• School: Stony Brook University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 250
• Professor: Ryan Parsons

Document Summary

Fear: the emotional reaction to a threat; it is the motivating force for defensive behavior. Defensive behaviors: the primary function is to protect the organism from threat or harm. Freezing and flight: if you approach a squirrel, it will often freeze until you get too close, then it will flee. Defensive attacks: occur when animals are cornered by a threat. Aggressive behaviors: the primary function is to threaten or harm. Predatory behavior: stalking or killing other species for the purpose of eating them. Social aggression: aggressive behavior that is unprovoked and directed at conspecific (member of the same species) for the purpose of establishing a social hierarchy. Testosterone and aggression: one of the major sex hormones involved in development of sex organs in-utero and secondary male characteristics. Early evidence suggested a link between testosterone and aggression: Castrated rodents show a near-complete absence of social aggression; however, this can be fully restored by providing testosterone supplementation to these animals.