Evolution and aggression Flashcards
direct fitness
when a gene gives a characteristic that benefits survival of the individual
inclusive fitness
a characteristic which is disadvantageous to the individual but advantageous to their relatives
kin selection
a type of natural selection where individuals will sacrifice their own lives in an effort to save closely related organisms
- all parts of the group share genes
group selection
individuals in a group may survive more readily as the group can help with the division of labour and to care for offspring
not all share genes
the success of living in a group leads to survival of the genes
success (in evolutionary terms)
production of offspring that survive to reproductive maturity
what advantage did males have who were physically bigger and stronger
would be more capable of providing food and protecting their mates and offspring, which gave them advantage in terms of mate choice
those who displayed aggressive traits were more successful than those who didn’t
competition for mates has driven masculine aggresion
why are females less physically aggressive
it would be an evolutionary disadvantage as females spend long periods of time pregnant, breastfeeding and looking after children
Buss (1999) - female competition for mates
females would still be in competition for mates even though they aren’t physically aggressive by denigrating other females to potential mates so as to make other women appear less attractive
evolution
the changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations
sexual selection
attributes or behaviours that increase reproductive success are passed on and may become exaggerated over succeeding generations of offspring
natural selection
a process that explains evolution as inherited traits which enhance reproductive success and are passed onto the next generation and thus ‘selected’
animals without such traits have less reproductive success and their traits are not selected
survival of the fittest
when animals in the species reproduce and pass on their characteristics due to a genetic mutation which has increased their likelihood of survival
what would have enhanced survival in human evolution
being able to protect yourself and your possessions - so would have been modified by natural selection
male retention strategies
often aggressive behaviours men use to retain their partners and prevent them from ‘straying’
(e.g. guarding their partner)
Wilson and Daly - male retention strategies
direct guarding involves male vigilance over a partners behaviour, for example, keeping tabs on their whereabouts
guarding your offspring and aggression
human parents will direct aggressive acts against other people that threaten their children
why do parents use aggression
as it is a way for parents to protect their ‘investment’ increasing the offspring’s chances in later life
what did Steiner say about protecting offspring
is one of the very few situations that females behave as aggressively as males
what is bullying viewed as
maladaptive
what can maladaptive behaviour be a result of
poor social skills
what may our evolutionary ancestors used bullying as
an adaptive strategy to increase survival chances
where is female bullying most common
in a relationship and it is a method of controlling the partner
this behaviour is used to secure their partners fertility
Volk et al. (2012) - bullying
characteristics associated with bullying are attractive to the opposite sex causing this behaviour to be naturally selected in males as they lead to greater reproductive success
Buss and Shakelton (1997)
supporting research explaining the role of evolution in infidelity and jealousy
this is because men tend to give the female everything she wants and they were threatening around other males
this is helpful for the survival of the genes because the men want to make sure they can mate and that the baby is theirs
application of the evolutionary theory to real life
helps us to understand human relationships as it predicts that we should choose partners who will enhance our reproductive success
Buss (1989)
Buss (1989)
across 33 countries
males preferred younger, more attractive women, perhaps because they are more fertile
weakness of the evolutionary theory
cannot explain cultural differences
compare to other approaches - biological (hormones), psychodynamic (trauma in unconscious mind)
limitations of the evolutionary theory
uncertain as it is impossible to test directly
Kung San - details of study
people of the Kulkari , aggression is discouraged from childhood so is therefore rare
Kung San - what does this study show about aggression
cultural norms show aggression is not universal and suggest that naturally determined behaviour can be outweighed by cultural norms
