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vincentML -> RE: Young Men and Mass Violence (5/5/2013 8:46:52 AM)
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quote:
Vincent, your question seems to me to interested in identifying the determining factors are in a given behaviour. I don't believe that any human behaviour is wholly determined. It seems all human behaviour is mediated through the brain mostly consciously, often sub-consciously. This implies an element of choice, which can range from the minute to total prevarication depending on the individual the context and the choice.
Tweakabelle, there are some who posit that the choices we make are determined by the choices we made previously and those determined by choices made even earlier, and the emotions associated with those choices. Probably not a good place to insert the question of whether free will is an illusion but what prompts me strongly to wonder about it is the strength of compulsions, addictions, and fetishes that grip the consciousness of so many, and over-ride any sense of which behavioural choice is truly best for the individual's survival, status, or self-esteem. In a simple case, when you choose to visit a theatre and see a particular film your choice is determined by your previous decisions about the genre of film or the actors, etc. In the more problematic situation, when a rapist, a pedophile, or a mass killer acts out his fantasies those fantasies have such a grip on his mind to indicate he is in the thrall of delusion. So, free choice? I dunno.
quote:
One area that is constantly overlooked in studies of chemical differences and their alleged effects on human behaviour is that we do 'know' that certain behaviours and/or external influences stimulate chemical (eg. hormone) production. For instance, some behaviours and/or external influences stimulate the production of sex hormones, other behaviours and/or external influences inhibit the production of those hormones.
I do not find this surprising at all. Feedback mechanisms between hormones and the internal environment are well established. No surprise there are feedback effects from the external environment as well. I find this phenomenon supportive of the essential role that chemicals play in behaviour.
quote:
Do you find it puzzling that, even though we know the opposite to be valid, the assertion continually advanced is the unproven and possibly unprovable claim that hormones determine behaviour?
A review of animal studies found strong correlation between testosterone and aggressive behaviours. The findings suggest there is a critical period within days of birth when high levels of testosterone had effects on brain development establishing circuitry and receptors that enhance aggressiveness in later stages of the life cycle. This was confirmed with the females of the studied species as well. The possibility of in utero environment might also be in play. These correlations were not as strong for humans and of course there is always the caution suggested when projecting animal studies onto humans. Perhaps because our brain processes are more complicated and our socialization processes more elaborate:
CONCLUSION
There is strong evidence in animals that testosterone
is directly associated with aggression, although this
correlation is not as strong in humans. Testosterone
appears to mediate its effects during a critical time
period shortly after birth during which it sensitizes
certain neuronal circuits in the brain. As a result, in
adulthood, when these circuits are stimulated again by
steroids, aggressive behaviour is elicited perhaps
through modulation of specific neurotransmitter
pathways. However, it must be remembered that
hormones themselves do not directly cause behaviours,
but induce chemical changes in certain neurons,
affecting the likelihood of certain behavioural outcomes
as a result of modulation of particular neural pathways
(91). Furthermore, gonadal hormones are only one of a
myriad of influences on aggressive behaviour. Since
testosterone is present in males that are not aggressive
as well as in those that are, it is obvious that another
factor(s) is involved, such as cognition and
environmental circumstances which have been found to
affect the expression of aggression. (60,92)
Scientists are limited in that they cannot perform
experimental procedures in humans as they have done
in animals and since the behaviour patterns in humans
are so different from animals, rendering it difficult to
extrapolate from animals to humans. As it was put
recently “there is a danger of triviality and truism, or
even misleading simplification, in many of our
extrapolations and animal models” (76). As such we
should remember that correlation does not necessarily
indicate causation and in many studies such
assumptions have been made. Before experiments can
be done to investigate these correlations, we need to be
sure that the types of aggression we are looking into are
testosterone-dependent and eliminate other factors that
could confound the results.
Tweak, there is enough here to suggest that the role of chemicals cannot be ignored in seeking to understand human behaviour. They are pieces of the puzzle.
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