Based on the findings from Caspi et al. (2002) in which researchers examined MAOA activity in adults who had experienced no, probable, or severe maltreatment as children, how would you best answer the question "Is aggression learned?"

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Gene–environment interaction (GxE) is the key concept: an individual’s genetic makeup can change how environmental experiences (like childhood maltreatment) affect later behaviour. Caspi et al. (2002) tested whether a functional polymorphism in the MAOA gene moderated the link between childhood maltreatment and adult antisocial/aggressive behaviour.

Step-by-step reasoning:
1. Identify variables: genotype (MAOA low-activity vs. high-activity), childhood experience (no, probable, severe maltreatment), and adult aggressive/antisocial outcomes.
2. Observe the pattern reported: among males with the low-activity MAOA variant, severe childhood maltreatment was associated with much higher rates of later antisocial behaviour. Among males with the high-activity MAOA variant, comparable maltreatment did not lead to the same elevated risk.
3. Interpretation: maltreatment alone did not uniformly produce aggression; its effect depended on MAOA activity. Therefore, neither pure social learning (aggression solely learned) nor pure genetic determinism (aggression solely innate) fully explains the data.
4. Causal inference caveat: the study was longitudinal and correlational — strong evidence for moderation but not definitive proof of causal mechanisms.

Why the correct option is correct:
- “Yes and no, because it depends on an individual's genetics and environment” accurately captures the GxE result: aggression can be influenced by learned/environmental factors, but the degree of that influence depends on genetic susceptibility (MAOA activity).

Why the other options are incorrect:
- “It's impossible to answer because it was a correlational study” overstates the limitation; longitudinal correlational data can still support moderated associations and generate strong inferences.
- “Yes, because being severely maltreated in childhood predicted adult aggressive behaviour” is incomplete: severe maltreatment predicted aggression primarily in the genetically susceptible (low-MAOA) group.
- “No, because whether an individual had low or high MAOA activity impacted the extent to which early maltreatment predicts later aggressive behaviour” misreads the finding: that interaction shows both genes and environment matter, not that aggression is purely not learned.

Conclusion: The best answer is “Yes and no, because it depends on an individual's genetics and environment,” which matches the provided correct answer.

Based on the findings from Caspi et al. (2002) in which researchers examined MAOA activity in adults who had experienced no, probable, or severe maltreatment as children, how would you best answer the question "Is aggression learned?"Single choice

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