Lesson 4.3.8.2

4.3.8.2 Ethological and evolutionary explanations of aggression Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 3

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.3.8.2, Ethological and evolutionary explanations of aggression: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Psychology (7182), Unit 3: Issues and options in Psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is an innate releasing mechanism (IRM)?

    • An inborn sensory trigger that releases a fixed action pattern when a specific stimulus is detected
    • A set of rules that a child acquires by imitating an adult in the same household
    • A hormone that is released from the adrenal glands during any stressful event
    • A learned association between a food and feelings of nausea in the stomach

  2. What is a fixed action pattern?

    • A learned sequence of behaviour that changes with every new experience the animal has, and which is shaped by reinforcement from its environment
    • A species-typical, innate sequence of behaviour that is triggered by a specific stimulus and runs to completion
    • A pattern of brain activity that is recorded by an EEG during sleep, which varies between individual animals in a predictable way across nights
    • A hormone that increases heart rate during a threat that is clearly visible, and which is released by the adrenal medulla in response to danger

  3. Which study is classically used to illustrate innate releasing mechanisms and fixed action patterns in animals?

    • Holmes and Rahe's study of life changes and illness
    • Caspi's study of the MAOA gene in a birth cohort
    • Bandura's Bobo doll study of imitated aggression in children
    • Lorenz's work on the three-spined stickleback and its red belly

  4. According to ethological theory, why are fixed action patterns considered adaptive?

    • They ensure rapid, reliable responses to important stimuli, which helps survival and reproduction
    • They ensure that animals never respond to threat because the behaviour is suppressed
    • They ensure that every animal learns its behaviour from other animals of the same species
    • They ensure that aggression is always directed at members of other species

  5. What is an evolutionary explanation of human aggression based on?

    • The idea that aggression is caused entirely by a single gene with no survival function
    • The idea that aggression evolved because it helped individuals gain resources, mates or protection
    • The idea that aggression only occurs when cortisol is absent from the blood
    • The idea that aggression has no adaptive value and is produced only by modern media

  6. Which concept is central to evolutionary explanations of aggression in males?

    • Competition for mates, which can select for aggressive behaviour
    • Competition for food only in the modern urban environment
    • Competition for hormones that suppress aggression in the brain
    • Competition for education, which encourages cooperation rather than aggression

  7. Which evaluation point applies to ethological explanations of human aggression?

    • Human behaviour is entirely fixed by innate releasing mechanisms with no role for learning
    • Human behaviour is strongly shaped by learning and culture, so animal fixed action patterns may not transfer directly
    • Ethological explanations have been tested in humans in controlled experiments with clear results
    • Animal research has shown that fixed action patterns never exist in any species

  8. A researcher argues that aggression in humans is an adaptive response to resource competition. Which evidence would support the evolutionary account?

    • Aggression is found across many cultures and appears to be linked to contexts involving resources or status
    • Aggression is found only in one culture and is absent in every other group studied, so it cannot be a shared adaptive response for humans
    • Aggression is found only in people who have no contact with resources or other people, which suggests that it is unrelated to any social context
    • Aggression is never linked to resources or status in any published research, so the evolutionary account has no evidence to draw on at all

  9. In the stickleback study, what triggered the attack behaviour in males?

    • The loud noise of a motor running nearby in the laboratory
    • The red belly of a model that resembled a rival male
    • The smell of food placed in the tank as a reward
    • The sound of a bell that signalled the start of feeding time

  10. A bird reliably flies away when it sees a particular silhouette overhead, even when raised in isolation. Which concept best explains this?

    • A learned association formed through classical conditioning in the nest
    • A hormone that is produced by the adrenal glands in response to noise
    • Social learning through observing the parents' responses to the silhouette
    • An innate releasing mechanism that triggers a fixed action pattern

  11. Which statement best describes evolutionary explanations of aggression?

    • They propose that aggression is caused only by modern media and has no evolutionary history
    • They propose that aggression is always maladaptive and has no benefit for survival
    • They propose that aggression can be adaptive, helping individuals secure resources, status or mates
    • They propose that aggression is caused only by low cortisol in the brain

  12. Which criticism applies to ethological explanations of aggression in humans?

    • Animal studies may not generalise to humans, who are influenced by culture and cognition
    • Ethology has no interest in the function of behaviour in natural environments
    • Animal studies have been shown to be entirely useless for any understanding of behaviour
    • Human aggression has been shown to be identical to animal aggression in every respect

  13. Why might an evolutionary explanation be difficult to test directly?

    • It relies on measuring cortisol levels, which cannot be done in any human sample
    • It refers to behaviour in ancestral environments that cannot be observed directly
    • It can only be tested in a laboratory with artificially created stimuli
    • It depends on participants being unaware of the purpose of the study at all times

  14. A male animal attacks a rival only when that rival displays a specific colour, and not when a rival of different colour is shown. Which concept does this best illustrate?

    • A hormonal change caused by testosterone that affects only colour perception
    • Social influence from a group of males who all attack the same colour
    • A learned preference for a certain colour acquired through reinforcement
    • A key stimulus releasing an innate aggressive behaviour

  15. Which evolutionary concept is most closely linked to parental investment and aggression?

    • Competition over reproductive opportunities, which varies between the sexes
    • Competition over fixed action patterns, which are inherited by all offspring
    • Competition over leptin, which controls the appetite of each offspring
    • Competition over cortisol levels, which determines the strength of all family bonds

  16. Which best summarises the ethological approach to aggression?

    • Aggression is a hormonal effect with no link to stimuli or evolutionary history
    • Aggression is caused only by social comparison with peers in the same group
    • Aggression is an innate behaviour triggered by key stimuli and shaped by natural selection
    • Aggression is entirely learned through reinforcement and has no innate basis at all

  17. A study finds that the presence of a stimulus in human infants triggers a stereotyped response. Which concept from ethology would be most relevant?

    • A fixed action pattern released by an innate releasing mechanism
    • A hormone that is produced by the pituitary gland to regulate emotion
    • A learned behaviour acquired through classical conditioning in the nursery
    • A defence mechanism that is acquired through psychoanalysis of the infant

  18. Which feature makes a stimulus a key stimulus in ethological terms?

    • It only triggers a response when the animal has been ill or deprived of food for a long period
    • It produces a response that varies greatly from one individual to the next across all situations
    • It is learned slowly over many years through reward and punishment from older members of the group
    • It reliably triggers a particular innate response in members of the species, with little need for learning

  19. Which criticism applies to the claim that a fixed action pattern explains human aggression?

    • Human aggression is always caused by a single stimulus that releases the same response every time
    • Human aggressive acts vary widely with context and learning, unlike the stereotyped sequence seen in many animals
    • Human aggressive acts are always identical in form and timing, which fits a fixed pattern very well
    • Human aggression has never been observed in any setting, so the claim cannot be assessed at all

  20. Which observation would best support the idea of an innate releasing mechanism in humans?

    • Infants show a stereotyped response to a face-like pattern shortly after birth, before any learning has occurred
    • Infants show identical responses to every object placed in front of them in a laboratory setting
    • Infants respond differently to each stimulus depending on the amount of food they were given earlier
    • Infants show no response to any stimulus until they have learned words at about two years of age

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