A - Evolution (Group) Flashcards
What does the evolutionary approach argue?
That as animals, we have innate desires to do 3 things: protect ourselves, protect our offsprings, pass on our genes
These desires can be used to explain human behaviour during war and sport rituals
Group displays prevent conflict/harm
How does the evolutionary approach explain group display in welfare? and in sport?
G: in the EEA - safety in numbers = more powerful group display allows mates to access women in a safer way than fighting
S: replaced tribal warfare in modern societies, in this form of aggression all the benefits of success (women) are still available but with reduced risk of physical harm. Haka - designed to intimidate opponents, football hooliganism - human equivalent of ceremonial conflicts (many young males use to invade and mark territory)
Why does the warfare explanation have face validity?
Makes sense - explains tribal warfare including why raids on villages are unlikely to result in too many casualties and rewards are greater
How does Pinker further support that this explanation has face validity?
Stated that during WW2, Germans invading Europe raped women in concentration camps - shows that groups = safer and more powerful
What did Maxwell and Viseck find that supports this theory?
Found that the rugby players who were more likely to use unsanctioned aggression were those who placed more emphasis on winning the game
What was wrong with Maxwell and Viseck’s study?
Used self-report which reduces validity - less strong support for theory
Why is this theory deterministic?
Ignores individual differences
Suggests our behaviour is determined by genes to help us survive so cannot explain why some individuals become involved in group displays of aggression and others don’t (football hooliganism) - better explained through social/cultural explanations
What is one reason for going to war?
Aggressors forcing their genes on the defeated population
Describe this reason for going to war and how it was adaptive in the EEA
Going to war enables a population to spread their genes within another gene pool ensuring greater spread of their genes
Adaptive as ensures greater reproductive success
What did Bullock find?
In the Vietnam war, one of the first actions soldiers undertook in peasant villages was the rape of young women which created a generation of Amerasians in Vietnam
What is a problem with Bullock’s findings and this theory?
This theory does not explain why women might engage in war - unable to pass genes as easily - war rape not adaptive for women in EEA
Gender bias undermines the war rape theory
