evolution and aggression

Question 1

what are genes

Answer 1

50:50 mother and father

developed from a process of evolution through survival of the first

Question 2

what is a genotype

Answer 2

collection of genes, guides what we are and what we will become such as eye colour, temperament and intelligence

Question 3

what is evolution

Answer 3

how inherited characteristics are passed from generation to generation through reproduction

Question 4

what did charles darwin find

Answer 4

attempts to explain how living creatures were created and how they change over time
different species have evolved from simple life forms which lived on earth 3 billion years ago

Question 5

what is natural selection

Answer 5

the process by which heritable traits become more or less common in an environment
organisms that adapt are healthier and live longer and are more likely to reproduce each species had adapted to the environment and developed unique characteristics

Question 6

what is the link between evolution and aggression

Answer 6

• gain territory and resources
• defend against attacks
• inflicting cost on same sex rivals
• negotiating status and power hierarchy
• deterring rivals from future aggression
• deterring males from infidelity

Question 7

what is the link between jealousy and aggression

Answer 7

• emotional response to anticipated loss of affection and/or status e.g. infidelity
• 99% of married people expect spouse to be faithful however 11% women and 21% men admit to extramarital sex

Question 8

why do men and women express jealousy differently

MEN

Answer 8

• need to compete with other males for access to choosy females
• lower status men are willing to take greater risks by using aggression or they face genetic extinction
• if the female is unfaithful the man faces paternity uncertainty (human males cannot risk wasting investment on offspring who are not their own so they should show more jealous violent aggression to female fidelity towards male competitors and females mates.

Question 9

why do men and women express jealousy differently

WOMEN

Answer 9

• if a male is unfaithful the female risks losing his time, resources, energy, protection and commitment t her children
• human females can always guarantee their offspring are their own and compete for the quality of males rather than availability
• women take fewer risk with violence and use indirect forms of aggression

Question 10

evidence of why men and women express jealousy differently

Answer 10

• male - male aggression =
• DALY AND WILSON homocide is more common in poor and unmarried men than richer, married ones
• WILSON AND DALY sexual jealousy produces more male-male homocides than female-female
• female - female aggression =
• more verbal to maintain status and reduce attractiveness of competitors using verbal criticism of their physical attractiveness and promiscuity to lower their appeal
• in a study of battered women 57/60 attributed the violence to their husbands extreme jealousy and possessiveness (hilberman and munson)

Question 11

what are our human instincts

Answer 11

get a ‘kick’ when winning
brain and body work together and faster reflexes
dopamine offers a sense of wellbeing
endorphins fight exhaustion and give the body a natural high
prevents pain as it stops it reaching the spinal chord
adrenaline and testosterone will give strength and keep at rest and speed recovery
we compete when there is a strong chance of victory, feels most competitive with people on the same level as us

Question 12

what are the features of a dominant face

Answer 12

prominent brows

bigger jaw

Question 13

what are the features of a less dominant face

Answer 13

rounder

vertical forehead

Question 14

what happens when we get a fear of failure

Answer 14

when we begin to lose, chemicals like dopamine and endorphine decrease. we feel exhausted and pain
the stress hormone cortason is released, which mixed with adrenaline makes us feel anxious and frightened and we can become immobilised. the vagus nerve slows the heart and blood flows out of the gut. in the brain the hippocampus is stimulated so you remember the loss

Question 15

strengths of jealousy and aggression explanation

Answer 15

• HARRIS found the results from forced choice studies about males being more stressed by sexual infidelity to be true and females by emotional infidelity to also be true of imagined instance
• offers an explanation of how aggressive behaviour due to suspicions of infidelity arise as a result of natural selection
• DARWIN took careful observations and observed visible behaviour so has scientific credibility and is widely accepted
• BUSS found men were more distressed than women by sexual infidelity

Question 16

weaknesses of jealousy and aggression explanation

Answer 16

• cultural differences in murder rates of wives by husbands and in degree of anxiety felt by sexual infidelity by males suggests that other factors might play a part
• DREZNICK suggests there may be an alternative explanation to evolutionary theory such as differences in beliefs of what constitutes sexual infidelity. men may react differently
• forced choice of methodology does not allow participants to specify the levels of agreement
• BUSS showed although women were more distressed by emotional infidelity than men and men were more distressed by sexual infidelity than women. men were also more distressed by emotional infidelity
• people feel that evolutionary explanations justify violence by men against women as natural and inevitable