Biological🧠 • Evolutionary Theory + Studies

Question 1

What is the main issue with the reliability of the evolutionary theory of aggression?

Answer 1

When something is reliable, it usually includes scientific credability/ evidence. The main issue with the entire theory is that we cannot test variation/ evolution as we can hormones as it happened thousands of years ago and is pretty much irrevocable

Question 2

Why is the theory so difficult to directly prove?

Answer 2

Because we cannot isolate evolution and test it empirically

Question 3

What does empiricale mean?

Answer 3

To be able to measure/ see something

Question 4

Why does aggression still exist in modern day humans/ animals?

Answer 4

Because those who would have been more aggressive would have won more fights and had more children, consequently passing on their genes to the next generation, leaving all predecesors of that species to have the inherent aggressive traits, therefore all humans are still aggressive today as its an evolutionary adaptation that helped us to survive in primative ages
Because our body and brains are the same as they were 4000 years ago

Question 5

How is natural selection a part of the theory?

Answer 5

Natural selection is the process through which the behavioural traits of aggression would have been favoured by the environment and become permanent fixtures of the human species/ a staple characteristic through adaptation/ evolution

Question 6

Organisms that are best ____________ to their ____________ are ________ likely to survive and pass on their ____________

Answer 6

Organisms that are best adapted to their surroundings are more likely to survive and pass on their genes

Question 7

What are the 4 main reasons males would have been more aggresive in primal ages?

Answer 7

• to compete with other males to increase social status and ensure reproductive success
• to protect females, reproduce with as many as possible to make sure most likely chances of offspring surviving and continuing genes
• to ensure parental surety, therefore a reason is sexual jealousy
• to protect offspring and aquire resources (food/territory)

Question 8

What is sexual jealousy? (+ 3 main behaviours of it)

Answer 8

When males are more protective and watchfull of their mates to ensure that they are the only one mating with that female
Main behaviours include:
* hyper-vigilance
* prevention of fratenizing
* verbally deterring interaction with others/ verbal insults/abuse

Question 9

What is parental surety/ unsurety?

Answer 9

A male being sure/ usnsure that a child is of his production and therefore containing his genes for passing on to the next generation

Question 10

Why is being percevied as powerful & high status is an advantage?

Answer 10

• Because it deters attacks therefore increased chance of surivival
• Increases sexual reproduction options (to pass on genes)

Question 11

Why are high status males aggressive?

Answer 11

To keep their status/ control and keep their females/ mates

Question 12

What does being a high status male mean for mating?

Answer 12

High status males that have survived fights/ display aggression would be more appealing to a female, hence they would want to mate with him - high status males monopolise females

Question 13

What is the risk involved with being a low status male?

Answer 13

Their is the risk of not producing any offspring as all females would be taken by higher status males/ they wouldnt want to mate with him

Question 14

What do low status males do in an attempt to increase status and therefore attraction towards mates?

Answer 14

They indulge in high risk stratagies to compete for increased status (stratagies include being much more aggressive/ reckless to attract female attention to show strength/ dominance) - high risk = high reward

Question 15

What is a study to support aggression in males being due to desire for an increased social status?

Answer 15

Daly & Wilson (1985)

Question 16

Explain Daly & Wilson’s (1985) study

Answer 16

• Gathered information on all murders in Detroit in the year 1972 NOT THE SAME AS YEAR STUDY WAS CONDUCTED
• 58/214 cases were motivated by sexual jealousy
• They found that both victims and offenders of murders were unemployed and unmarried young men
• In other words: they found that both victims and offenders of murders were ‘low status’ and ‘without a mate’
• They concluded that the motive behind most of the conflicts was status - that the young, low status males without a mate were performing high risk actions (murder) to attempt to enhance social status, therefore, being more aggressive to do so

Question 17

What is a study to support aggression in males being due to sexual jealousy/ gender differences in aggression?

Answer 17

Young (1978)

Question 18

Explain Young’s (1978) study

Answer 18

• He asked students to describe their likely reactions to a jealousy-inducing scenario (‘likley indicates hypothetical aspect of study)
• Males: exclaimed that they would respond angrily and threaten their rival
• Females: exclaimed that they would most likely cry, pretend not to care and try to increase attractiveness to regain male attention (glowup)

Question 19

What is the main fault with Young’s (1978) study?

Answer 19

As the students were told of the true nature of the experiment and the answers were completly theoretical from students, the study is therefore open to demand characteristics from the students (they could have attuned their responses to better fit how they feel stereotypicallly they should respond), ultimately leaving the study with low validity

Question 20

What is parental investment?

Answer 20

The time, energy, and resources that parents provide to their offspring

Question 21

Why may some males not want to ‘parentally invest’?

Answer 21

Because they do not want to waste their time/ resouce/ energy on raising another males genes

Question 22

What is a study to support aggression in males being due to sexual jealousy?

Answer 22

Miller (1980)

Question 23

Explain Miller’s (1980) study

Answer 23

• Study conducted on the percentage of deomestic abuse victims that felt that their abuse was on accords of their male partner being jealous
• 55% of domesitc abuse victims cited jealousy as the reason for their husbands behaviour
• Males theorized to have been aggressive on accords of sexual jealousy (seeing their partner fratenizing with other males), reassurement of paternal nature of children (parental surety),

Question 24

What is the main flaw with Miller’s (1980) study?

Answer 24

Again, the results/ statements from the victims/ women were hypothetical, based only on suspicion and fear (therefore decreasing validity of results)

Question 25

What is indirect aggression?

Answer 25

Aggression that is predominantly verbal e.g. gossip/ swearing/ insults

Question 26

What is direct aggression?

Answer 26

Aggression that involves physical violence

Question 27

Traditionally, what sex is more likely to attune to direct aggression?

Answer 27

Males

Question 28

Traditionally, what sex is more likely to attune to indirect aggression?

Answer 28

Females

Question 29

Why are females more attuned to indirect aggression?

Answer 29

Because this form of aggression has a greatly reduced risk of phsyical injury

Question 30

Why is a reduced chance of physical injury vital in a female?

Answer 30

Because in primative ages:
* they are highly likely to be pregnant (damage to stomach can cause miscarriage)
* If not pregnant already have a child to care for all the time (harm to mother shifts priority from child to herself, increasing the chances of child no suriviving)
* breastfeeding a child (damage to breasts can prevent milk and therefore cause young children to loose their lives)

Question 31

Why was direct female aggresion not appealing to males?

Answer 31

Because in a fight, vital reproductive organs/ the ability to reproduce successfully could be lost, this wouldnt appeal to males as they could percieve it as females treating their child/ genetics poorly - therefore generating a negative reproductive reputation
* Hence females have evolved to be less physically aggressive due to their historical burdern of childcare

Question 32

Why was parental surety so important for males in more primal ages?

Answer 32

Because there was no way for a male to identify the paternity of a child (to know 100% that it was his own) hence males would monitor their mates to ensure they were the only one maiting with them
(For a female its easily identifiable as they become pregnant and can see that they are with child physically & know without question that it is their own)

Question 33

What is a study to support aggression in males being due to gender difference?

Answer 33

Griskevicius (2009)

Question 34

Explain Griskevicius’ (2009) study

Answer 34

• gave students a scenario of a person of the same sex spilling a drink on them at a party and not apologising
• It was found in the research that:
• Males: respond with direct aggression such as pushing the other man
• Females: only 1/4 would show any aggression, the rest said they would just walk away
• Therefore giving prominance to the theory/ idea that women, through evolution, have become much less aggressive (due to primal age constantly being maternal/ responsible for a child)

Question 35

For females the cost of ____________ behaviour ________ the benifits

Answer 35

For females the cost of aggressive behaviour exceed the benifits