Anger Management Blog
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Anger Management
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Serotonin and Aggression/Anger
Molly Crockett and colleagues explored the connection between serotonin and socially aggressive behavior. The researchers asked 20 young adults to fast overnight and then gave them drinks containing tryptophan (a building block of serotonin) on the first day of testing. On the second day of testing the volunteers received drinks without tryptophan, causing their serotonin levels to fall.
On both days the volunteers played an “ultimatum game” in which one player suggests a way to split a pot of money with another player. If the second player accepts the offer, both players receive a payout; however, if the second player refuses the offer, neither person receives money. In some cases the first player offered a fair settlement (for example, dividing the money in half), while other times the first player offered an unfair split.
The researchers found that players with normal serotonin levels rejected only 67 percent of unfair offers, while those with reduced serotonin rejected 82 percent. These results, the researchers suggest, indicate that serotonin helps keep aggressive social responses—in this case, refusing a deal even if both players lose money—in check.
“When we feel something is unfair,” study coauthor Matthew Lieberman comments, “that may have to do with how our brain causes us to experience the world.”
From “Serotonin modulates behavioral reactions to unfairness,” M. J. Crockett, L. Clark, G. Tabibnia, M. D. Lieberman, and T. W. Robbins, Science, June 5, 2008 (epub prior to print publication). Address: Molly Crockett, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK, mc536@cam.ac.uk.
On both days the volunteers played an “ultimatum game” in which one player suggests a way to split a pot of money with another player. If the second player accepts the offer, both players receive a payout; however, if the second player refuses the offer, neither person receives money. In some cases the first player offered a fair settlement (for example, dividing the money in half), while other times the first player offered an unfair split.
The researchers found that players with normal serotonin levels rejected only 67 percent of unfair offers, while those with reduced serotonin rejected 82 percent. These results, the researchers suggest, indicate that serotonin helps keep aggressive social responses—in this case, refusing a deal even if both players lose money—in check.
“When we feel something is unfair,” study coauthor Matthew Lieberman comments, “that may have to do with how our brain causes us to experience the world.”
From “Serotonin modulates behavioral reactions to unfairness,” M. J. Crockett, L. Clark, G. Tabibnia, M. D. Lieberman, and T. W. Robbins, Science, June 5, 2008 (epub prior to print publication). Address: Molly Crockett, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK, mc536@cam.ac.uk.
Anger management advice by Dr. Joe James at 11:59 AM
