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Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression

Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression. Lesson Objective: To understand how jealousy and infidelity can influence aggressive behaviour. What is evolutionary psychology?. Combine ideas from evolutionary biology and neuroscience

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Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression

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  1. Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression Lesson Objective: To understand how jealousy and infidelity can influence aggressive behaviour

  2. What is evolutionary psychology? • Combine ideas from evolutionary biology and neuroscience • Believe that the innate brain functioning contributes to our behaviours • We adapt to our environments • Looking at how the human brain has evolved we can explain human behaviour (ie. Aggression)

  3. What is evolutionary psychology? • Evolutionary psychologists try to identify how aggression developed in the first place • Knowing the roots of aggression, we can understand about aggression in humans today • IS THIS USEFUL?

  4. DEFINITIONS: match up! • Ethology • Benign aggression • Malignant aggression • Ritualised aggression • Appeasement tactic Behaviour that stops the aggression, avoids injury. The animal admits defeat and Shows submissive behaviour. Showing of aggression for asserting power and maintaining status Study of animal behaviour Similar to animal aggression, it involves an impulsive act if threatened An evil act which is not instinctive

  5. Aggressive behaviour by ANIMALS WHY WOULD AN ANIMAL HAVE TO FIGHT?

  6. Aggressive behaviour by ANIMALS • Animals don’t try to kill other animals • It is their aim to get their attacker to back down • LORENZ (1966) – ethologist Four main drives: • Fear • Reproduction • Hunger • Aggression • Functions of Aggression • Only the fittest/strongest are selected as mates • Ensure survival of the young (protecting offspring) • Animals could have their own territories

  7. Displays of animal aggression • Ritualised aggression – in social life and ‘tribe’ • Morris (1990) animals show restraint, they often use appeasement tactics

  8. Aggressive behaviour by HUMANS • Fromm (1973) states that human aggression comes in two forms: • Benign aggression (parent defending child) • Malignant aggression (gangs, genocide) LORENZ MISSES OUT 3 BASIC THINGS Nelson (1974) • The process of learning • Structural causes • Psychological causes

  9. Aggressive behaviour by HUMANS • Infidelity and Jealousy • Daly and Wilson (1988) men have evolved strategies to deter their female partners to commit adultery • From vigilance to violence • Fuelled by jealousy • Evolved to deal with the treat of PATERNAL UNCERTAINTY

  10. Infidelity and Jealousy • Cuckoldry and Sexual Jealousy • Men can never be certain that they are a father • Always at risk of cuckoldry • Might have to invest resources in children that are not theirs • Adaptive function of sexual jealousy to stop sexual infidelity

  11. Infidelity and Jealousy • Male retention and Violence • Buss (1988) men have strategies to keep a mate How??!

  12. Infidelity and Jealousy • Male retention and Violence • Buss (1988) men have strategies to keep a mate • Direct Guarding • Negative Inducements

  13. Infidelity and Jealousy • UX……………… (wife-killing) • Guard against infidelity either by BENEFITS or COSTS • Not all men can provide benefits, so many result to violence (costs) • Daly and Wilson (1988) death from physical violence may be an unintended outcome of an evolutionary adaptation that was designed for control

  14. Case Study Killers? Victims of their evolutionary instinct? • Pipat Lueprasitkul • Stephen Grant • www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,256840,00.html

  15. The Evolution of Homicide • Lack of Resources • Killers – large proportion are: • Unemployed • Unmarried • Lack an ability to attract long-term mates Is this being used as excuse? What are the causes of murder?

  16. The Evolution of Homicide • Loss of Status • Killers – defending their status in a large peer group • Loss of status is bad for survival and reproduction • Mechanisms continue to operate, triggered by events that would triggered them in our ancestral past

  17. The Evolution of Homicide • Sexual Jealousy • Same-sex killings • Male-male homicide can be the result of ‘love triangles’

  18. AO2 • GENDER BIAS – focus on men • BLAME? • Apply to real-life

  19. AO3 • Correlation • Case Studies • Surveys (self-report) = social desirability • Evolutionary Perspective

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