A Theory on the Nonlinear Relationship of Sexual Behavior and Aggression
Abstract
Objectives: Claims have been made that more sexual liberalism in society than what generally existed in human history is necessary to promote societal tranquility and reduce violence. This research was conducted to investigate the real relationship between sexual behavior and aggression based on scientific data especially from the perspective of physiological psychology. The present study investigates the hypothesis that unrestrained sexual behavior leads to an escalation of behavior, rather than satiation, and aggression rather than calmness.
Methods: This study employed a theoretical review methodology and drew upon previous findings from neuropsychology, psychophysiology, laboratory research, and field studies.
Results: The study's results indicate that uncontrolled sexual behavior can lead to an increase in Sexual desire instead of sexual satisfaction. This increase may be due to a positive feedback loop between the nervous and hormonal systems, specifically the Medial Preoptic Area (MPA) and testosterone. Experimental findings suggest that this physiological process may result in aggressive behavior.
Conclusion: This paper establishes that the intensification of sexual behaviors leads to increased violence and aggression in society, ultimately elevating levels of public insecurity. Therefore, limiting sexual behavior within the framework of the relationship of married couples may serve as a moderating factor for this phenomenon.
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2. Carlson N. Physiology of behavior: Pearson Higher Ed. Amherst; 2012.
3. Mhaouty-Kodja S, Naulé L, Capela D. Sexual behavior: from hormonal regulation to endocrine disruption. Neuroendocrinology. 2019;107(4):400-16.
4. Jennings KJ, De Lecea L. Neural and hormonal control of sexual behavior. Endocrinology. 2020;161(10):bqaa150.
5. Iovino M, Messana T, Iovino E, De Pergola G, Guastamacchia E, Giagulli VA, Triggiani V. Neuroendocrine mechanisms involved in male sexual and emotional behavior. Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders-Drug Targets (Formerly Current Drug Targets-Immune, Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders). 2019;19(4):472-80.
6. Sturmey P. Epidemiology of Violence and Aggression. Violence and Aggression: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice: Springer; 2022. p. 55-86.
7. Sturmey P. Social Causes of Violence and Aggression: II. Human Cultural Evolution. Violence and Aggression: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice. 2022:159-84.
8. Frieze IH, Newhill CE, Fusco R. Dynamics of family and intimate partner violence: Springer; 2020.
9. Krahé B. The social psychology of aggression: Routledge; 2020.
10. Kim SE, Kim Y, Hashizume M, Honda Y, Kazutaka O, Hijioka Y, Kim H. Focus: Climate Change and Environmental Health: Positive Association of Aggression with Ambient Temperature. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 2023;96(2):189.
11. Mestre-Bach G, Villena-Moya A, Chiclana-Actis C. Pornography use and violence: a systematic review of the last 20 years. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 2024;25(2):1088-112.
12. Chigbu UE, Atiku SO, Du Plessis CC. The science of literature reviews: Searching, identifying, selecting, and synthesising. Publications. 2023;11(1):2.
13. Collins JA, Fauser BC. Balancing the strengths of systematic and narrative reviews. Oxford University Press; 2005. p. 103-4.
14. Wu Y, Ou J, Wang X, Zilioli S, Tobler PN, Li Y. Exogeneous testosterone increases sexual impulsivity in heterosexual men. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2022;145:105914.
15. Hellhammer DH, Hubert W, Schürmeyer T. Changes in saliva testosterone after psychological stimulation in men. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1985;10(1):77-81.
16. Nan Y, Li H, Wu Y. Testosterone and human aggression. Advances in Psychological Science. 2020;28(10):1697.
17. Geniole S, Bird B, McVittie J, Purcell R, Archer J, Carré J. Is testosterone linked to human aggression? A meta-analytic examination of the relationship between baseline, dynamic, and manipulated testosterone on human aggression. Hormones and behavior. 2020;123:104644.
18. Geniole SN, Procyshyn TL, Marley N, Ortiz TL, Bird BM, Marcellus AL, et al. Using a psychopharmacogenetic approach to identify the pathways through which—and the people for whom—testosterone promotes aggression. Psychological Science. 2019;30(4):481-94.
19. Laube C, Lorenz R, van den Bos W. Pubertal testosterone correlates with adolescent impatience and dorsal striatal activity. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 2020;42:100749.
20. Blankenstein NE, Vandenbroucke AR, de Vries R, Swaab H, Popma A, Jansen L. Understanding aggression in adolescence by studying the neurobiological stress system: A systematic review. Motivation Science. 2022;8(2):133.
21. Delville Y, Mansour KM, Ferris CF. Testosterone facilitates aggression by modulating vasopressin receptors in the hypothalamus. Physiology & behavior. 1996;60(1):25-9.
22. Archer J. Testosterone and aggression. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. 1994;21(3-4):3-25.
23. Enomoto T. Male aggression and the sexual behavior of Japanese monkeys. Primates. 1981;22:15-23.
24. De Jonge F, Van de Poll N. Relationships between sexual and aggressive behavior in male and female rats: Effects of gonadal hormones. Progress in brain research. 1984;61:283-302.
25. Bayless DW, Davis CO, Yang R, Wei Y, de Andrade Carvalho VM, Knoedler JR, et al. A neural circuit for male sexual behavior and reward. Cell. 2023;186(18):3862-81.e28.
26. Bermond B. Effects of medial preoptic hypothalamus anterior lesions on three kinds of behavior in the rat: Intermale aggressive, male‐sexual, and mouse‐killing behavior. Aggressive Behavior. 1982;8(4):335-54.
27. Hunsperger R. A neuroethological study of sexual and predatory aggression in the domestic cat. Advances in vertebrate neuroethology: Springer; 1983. p. 1151-66.
28. Lin D, Boyle MP, Dollar P, Lee H, Lein E, Perona P, Anderson DJ. Functional identification of an aggression locus in the mouse hypothalamus. Nature. 2011;470(7333):221-6.
29. Gontkovsky ST, Morgan J. Neurobiological bases and neuropsychological correlates of aggression and violence. Psychology of aggression. 2005:101-16.
30. Xu X, Coats JK, Yang CF, Wang A, Ahmed OM, Alvarado M, et al. Modular genetic control of sexually dimorphic behaviors. Cell. 2012;148(3):596-607.
31. Persky H, Lief HI, Strauss D, Miller WR, O'Brien CP. Plasma testosterone level and sexual behavior of couples. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 1978;7:157-73.
32. Ågmo A. Neuroendocrinology of sexual behavior. International Journal of Impotence Research. 2024;36(4):305-11.
33. Flanigan ME, Russo SJ. Recent advances in the study of aggression. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2019;44(2):241-4.
34. Kikusui T. Analysis of male aggressive and sexual behavior in mice. Pheromone Signaling: Methods and Protocols. 2013:307-18.
35. Anderson DJ. Circuit modules linking internal states and social behaviour in flies and mice. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2016;17(11):692-704.
36. Hammack SE, Braas KM, May V. Chemoarchitecture of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis: neurophenotypic diversity and function. Handbook of clinical neurology. 2021;179:385-402.
37. Zillmann D, Hoyt JL, Day KD. Strength and duration of the effect of aggressive, violent, and erotic communications on subsequent aggressive behavior. Communication Research. 1974;1(3):286-306.
38. Krahé B, Tomaszewska P, Schuster I. Links of perceived pornography realism with sexual aggression via sexual scripts, sexual behavior, and acceptance of sexual coercion: A study with German university students. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2021;19(1):63.
39. Wiemer J, Kurstak S, Sellmann F, Lindner K. Sexual stimuli cause behavioral disinhibition in both men and women, but even more so in men. Archives of sexual behavior. 2023;52(4):1445-60.
40. Zhang C, Zhang Q, Zhuang H, Xu W. The reciprocal relationship between depression, social anxiety and aggression in Chinese adolescents: The moderating effects of family functioning. Journal of affective disorders. 2023;329:379-84.
41. Giacolini T, Sabatello U. Psychoanalysis and affective neuroscience. The motivational/emotional system of aggression in human relations. Frontiers in psychology. 2019;9:2475.
42. Schultz DP, Schultz SE, Enos M. Theories of personality. 2009.
43. Malamuth NM, Feshbach S, Jaffe Y. Sexual arousal and aggression: Recent experiments and theoretical issues. Journal of Social Issues. 1977;33(2):110-33.
44. Zillmann D. Connections between sexuality and aggression: Psychology Press; 2021.
45. Vertel A, editor Sexual education in Wilhelm Reich’s psychoanalytic pedagogy. Actual problems of pedagogical education development: innovations, challenges, prospects: proceedings of the International scientific-practical conference (15 March 2024, Mukachevo) Mukachevo: Publising House of MSU; 2024.
46. Matviyenko S. Wilhelm Reich's machines of sexual revolution. Emotion, Space and Society. 2019;31:120-5.
47. Reich W. The discovery of the orgone. Vol. I. The function of the orgasm; sex-economic problems of biological energy. 1942.
48. Lankford A. A sexual frustration theory of aggression, violence, and crime. Journal of criminal justice. 2021;77:101865.
49. De Hoop T, Coombes A, Warren A, Holla C, Mutea E, Malhotra SK, et al. homicides and conflict-related deaths and their implementation. 2024.
50. Lemahieu JL, et al. Global study on homicide: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC); 2023
51. Sturup J, Rostami A, Mondani H, Gerell M, Sarnecki J, Edling C. Increased gun violence among young males in Sweden: A descriptive national survey and international comparison. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research. 2019;25(4):365-78.
52. Lewis A. Combatting Femicide in France. Hum Rts Brief. 2020;23:11.
53. Bosch-Fiol E, Ferrer-Perez VA. Femicide, intimate partner violence and legal complaints in Spain. Journal of Gender Studies. 2020;29(2):187-201.
54. Dabelstein AM. Understanding Femicides in the EU: A Comparative Analysis of Germany and Spain. 2024.
55. Corradi C, Baldry AC, Buran S, Kouta C, Schröttle M, Stevkovic L. Exploring the data on femicide across Europe. Femicide across Europe: Policy Press; 2018. p. 93-166.
56. Fox JA, Levin J. Mass murder in America: Trends, characteristics, explanations, and policy response. Homicide studies. 2022;26(1):27-46.
57. Seffrin PM. The competition–violence hypothesis: Sex, marriage, and male aggression. Justice Quarterly. 2017;34(4):652-73.
58. Lussier P, Healey J. Searching for the developmental origins of sexual violence: examining the co‐occurrence of physical aggression and sexual behaviors in early childhood. Behavioral Sciences & the Law. 2010;28(1):1-23.
59. Allsop DB, Leavitt CE, Clarke RW, Driggs SM, Gurr JB, Marks LD, Dollahite DC. Perspectives from highly religious families on boundaries and rules about sex. Journal of religion and health. 2021;60:1576-99.
60. Hoffman S. Standards of sexual modesty, gender separation and homosexuality: rabbinic and psychological views: Mondial; 2020.
2. Carlson N. Physiology of behavior: Pearson Higher Ed. Amherst; 2012.
3. Mhaouty-Kodja S, Naulé L, Capela D. Sexual behavior: from hormonal regulation to endocrine disruption. Neuroendocrinology. 2019;107(4):400-16.
4. Jennings KJ, De Lecea L. Neural and hormonal control of sexual behavior. Endocrinology. 2020;161(10):bqaa150.
5. Iovino M, Messana T, Iovino E, De Pergola G, Guastamacchia E, Giagulli VA, Triggiani V. Neuroendocrine mechanisms involved in male sexual and emotional behavior. Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders-Drug Targets (Formerly Current Drug Targets-Immune, Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders). 2019;19(4):472-80.
6. Sturmey P. Epidemiology of Violence and Aggression. Violence and Aggression: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice: Springer; 2022. p. 55-86.
7. Sturmey P. Social Causes of Violence and Aggression: II. Human Cultural Evolution. Violence and Aggression: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice. 2022:159-84.
8. Frieze IH, Newhill CE, Fusco R. Dynamics of family and intimate partner violence: Springer; 2020.
9. Krahé B. The social psychology of aggression: Routledge; 2020.
10. Kim SE, Kim Y, Hashizume M, Honda Y, Kazutaka O, Hijioka Y, Kim H. Focus: Climate Change and Environmental Health: Positive Association of Aggression with Ambient Temperature. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 2023;96(2):189.
11. Mestre-Bach G, Villena-Moya A, Chiclana-Actis C. Pornography use and violence: a systematic review of the last 20 years. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 2024;25(2):1088-112.
12. Chigbu UE, Atiku SO, Du Plessis CC. The science of literature reviews: Searching, identifying, selecting, and synthesising. Publications. 2023;11(1):2.
13. Collins JA, Fauser BC. Balancing the strengths of systematic and narrative reviews. Oxford University Press; 2005. p. 103-4.
14. Wu Y, Ou J, Wang X, Zilioli S, Tobler PN, Li Y. Exogeneous testosterone increases sexual impulsivity in heterosexual men. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2022;145:105914.
15. Hellhammer DH, Hubert W, Schürmeyer T. Changes in saliva testosterone after psychological stimulation in men. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1985;10(1):77-81.
16. Nan Y, Li H, Wu Y. Testosterone and human aggression. Advances in Psychological Science. 2020;28(10):1697.
17. Geniole S, Bird B, McVittie J, Purcell R, Archer J, Carré J. Is testosterone linked to human aggression? A meta-analytic examination of the relationship between baseline, dynamic, and manipulated testosterone on human aggression. Hormones and behavior. 2020;123:104644.
18. Geniole SN, Procyshyn TL, Marley N, Ortiz TL, Bird BM, Marcellus AL, et al. Using a psychopharmacogenetic approach to identify the pathways through which—and the people for whom—testosterone promotes aggression. Psychological Science. 2019;30(4):481-94.
19. Laube C, Lorenz R, van den Bos W. Pubertal testosterone correlates with adolescent impatience and dorsal striatal activity. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 2020;42:100749.
20. Blankenstein NE, Vandenbroucke AR, de Vries R, Swaab H, Popma A, Jansen L. Understanding aggression in adolescence by studying the neurobiological stress system: A systematic review. Motivation Science. 2022;8(2):133.
21. Delville Y, Mansour KM, Ferris CF. Testosterone facilitates aggression by modulating vasopressin receptors in the hypothalamus. Physiology & behavior. 1996;60(1):25-9.
22. Archer J. Testosterone and aggression. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. 1994;21(3-4):3-25.
23. Enomoto T. Male aggression and the sexual behavior of Japanese monkeys. Primates. 1981;22:15-23.
24. De Jonge F, Van de Poll N. Relationships between sexual and aggressive behavior in male and female rats: Effects of gonadal hormones. Progress in brain research. 1984;61:283-302.
25. Bayless DW, Davis CO, Yang R, Wei Y, de Andrade Carvalho VM, Knoedler JR, et al. A neural circuit for male sexual behavior and reward. Cell. 2023;186(18):3862-81.e28.
26. Bermond B. Effects of medial preoptic hypothalamus anterior lesions on three kinds of behavior in the rat: Intermale aggressive, male‐sexual, and mouse‐killing behavior. Aggressive Behavior. 1982;8(4):335-54.
27. Hunsperger R. A neuroethological study of sexual and predatory aggression in the domestic cat. Advances in vertebrate neuroethology: Springer; 1983. p. 1151-66.
28. Lin D, Boyle MP, Dollar P, Lee H, Lein E, Perona P, Anderson DJ. Functional identification of an aggression locus in the mouse hypothalamus. Nature. 2011;470(7333):221-6.
29. Gontkovsky ST, Morgan J. Neurobiological bases and neuropsychological correlates of aggression and violence. Psychology of aggression. 2005:101-16.
30. Xu X, Coats JK, Yang CF, Wang A, Ahmed OM, Alvarado M, et al. Modular genetic control of sexually dimorphic behaviors. Cell. 2012;148(3):596-607.
31. Persky H, Lief HI, Strauss D, Miller WR, O'Brien CP. Plasma testosterone level and sexual behavior of couples. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 1978;7:157-73.
32. Ågmo A. Neuroendocrinology of sexual behavior. International Journal of Impotence Research. 2024;36(4):305-11.
33. Flanigan ME, Russo SJ. Recent advances in the study of aggression. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2019;44(2):241-4.
34. Kikusui T. Analysis of male aggressive and sexual behavior in mice. Pheromone Signaling: Methods and Protocols. 2013:307-18.
35. Anderson DJ. Circuit modules linking internal states and social behaviour in flies and mice. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2016;17(11):692-704.
36. Hammack SE, Braas KM, May V. Chemoarchitecture of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis: neurophenotypic diversity and function. Handbook of clinical neurology. 2021;179:385-402.
37. Zillmann D, Hoyt JL, Day KD. Strength and duration of the effect of aggressive, violent, and erotic communications on subsequent aggressive behavior. Communication Research. 1974;1(3):286-306.
38. Krahé B, Tomaszewska P, Schuster I. Links of perceived pornography realism with sexual aggression via sexual scripts, sexual behavior, and acceptance of sexual coercion: A study with German university students. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2021;19(1):63.
39. Wiemer J, Kurstak S, Sellmann F, Lindner K. Sexual stimuli cause behavioral disinhibition in both men and women, but even more so in men. Archives of sexual behavior. 2023;52(4):1445-60.
40. Zhang C, Zhang Q, Zhuang H, Xu W. The reciprocal relationship between depression, social anxiety and aggression in Chinese adolescents: The moderating effects of family functioning. Journal of affective disorders. 2023;329:379-84.
41. Giacolini T, Sabatello U. Psychoanalysis and affective neuroscience. The motivational/emotional system of aggression in human relations. Frontiers in psychology. 2019;9:2475.
42. Schultz DP, Schultz SE, Enos M. Theories of personality. 2009.
43. Malamuth NM, Feshbach S, Jaffe Y. Sexual arousal and aggression: Recent experiments and theoretical issues. Journal of Social Issues. 1977;33(2):110-33.
44. Zillmann D. Connections between sexuality and aggression: Psychology Press; 2021.
45. Vertel A, editor Sexual education in Wilhelm Reich’s psychoanalytic pedagogy. Actual problems of pedagogical education development: innovations, challenges, prospects: proceedings of the International scientific-practical conference (15 March 2024, Mukachevo) Mukachevo: Publising House of MSU; 2024.
46. Matviyenko S. Wilhelm Reich's machines of sexual revolution. Emotion, Space and Society. 2019;31:120-5.
47. Reich W. The discovery of the orgone. Vol. I. The function of the orgasm; sex-economic problems of biological energy. 1942.
48. Lankford A. A sexual frustration theory of aggression, violence, and crime. Journal of criminal justice. 2021;77:101865.
49. De Hoop T, Coombes A, Warren A, Holla C, Mutea E, Malhotra SK, et al. homicides and conflict-related deaths and their implementation. 2024.
50. Lemahieu JL, et al. Global study on homicide: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC); 2023
51. Sturup J, Rostami A, Mondani H, Gerell M, Sarnecki J, Edling C. Increased gun violence among young males in Sweden: A descriptive national survey and international comparison. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research. 2019;25(4):365-78.
52. Lewis A. Combatting Femicide in France. Hum Rts Brief. 2020;23:11.
53. Bosch-Fiol E, Ferrer-Perez VA. Femicide, intimate partner violence and legal complaints in Spain. Journal of Gender Studies. 2020;29(2):187-201.
54. Dabelstein AM. Understanding Femicides in the EU: A Comparative Analysis of Germany and Spain. 2024.
55. Corradi C, Baldry AC, Buran S, Kouta C, Schröttle M, Stevkovic L. Exploring the data on femicide across Europe. Femicide across Europe: Policy Press; 2018. p. 93-166.
56. Fox JA, Levin J. Mass murder in America: Trends, characteristics, explanations, and policy response. Homicide studies. 2022;26(1):27-46.
57. Seffrin PM. The competition–violence hypothesis: Sex, marriage, and male aggression. Justice Quarterly. 2017;34(4):652-73.
58. Lussier P, Healey J. Searching for the developmental origins of sexual violence: examining the co‐occurrence of physical aggression and sexual behaviors in early childhood. Behavioral Sciences & the Law. 2010;28(1):1-23.
59. Allsop DB, Leavitt CE, Clarke RW, Driggs SM, Gurr JB, Marks LD, Dollahite DC. Perspectives from highly religious families on boundaries and rules about sex. Journal of religion and health. 2021;60:1576-99.
60. Hoffman S. Standards of sexual modesty, gender separation and homosexuality: rabbinic and psychological views: Mondial; 2020.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 19 No 4 (2024) | |
| Section | Review Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijps.v19i4.16560 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Aggression Medial Preoptic Area Positive Feedback Sexual Behavior Testosterone | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Marashi SA. A Theory on the Nonlinear Relationship of Sexual Behavior and Aggression. Iran J Psychiatry. 2024;19(4):453-462.
