Evolutionary Explanation

Question 1

Outline the evolutionary explanation of aggression

Answer 1

• Based on the idea that the human brain is a product of evolution by natural selection.
• So adaptions (aggression) have been made to cope with the various challenges associated with group living, such as gaining resources, eliminating male rivals and deterring mates from infidelity)

Question 2

Describe sexual competition as a reason for aggression

Answer 2

• Ancestral males would compete with other males for access to females, through aggression
• Those who used aggression successfully would’ve acquired mates and passed on their genes
• This would led to the development of a genetically transmitted tendency for males to be aggressive to other males

Question 3

Give research support for sexual competition

Answer 3

• Puts argues that various male traits imply that competition with other males did take place
• e.g. Anthropological evidence shows that males have thicker jawbones, which Puts believes may have come from men hitting each other, and those with the thickest jawbone would survive and pass their genes on

Question 4

Describe sexual jealousy as a reason for aggression

Answer 4

• Sexual jealously arises due to paternal uncertainty, this because men can never be certain that a child is theirs, as fertilisation is hidden inside the women
• This leads to men being at risk of cuckoldry due to his partner’s infidelity leading to unwilling investing his resources into an offspring that isn’t his.
• In order to avoid cuckoldry, aggression is used to deter a male from sexual infidelity

Question 5

Describe mate retention strategies in sexual jealously

Answer 5

These are strategies adopted by men to decrease paternity uncertainty:
- Direct guarding (male vigilance over a partner’s behaviour e.g. stalking)
- Negative inducements (issuing threats of dire consequences)

Question 6

Describe aggression in warfare as a reason for aggression

Answer 6

• Livingstone Smith claims human warfare originated to obtain resources and to attract mates and forge intragroup bonds
• Displays of aggression are attractive to females. e.g. in traditional societies, male warriors had more sexual partners and children, suggesting a direct reproductive benefit
• Aggression in combat increases status for individuals, leading to peers respecting them which strengthens the bond between them and other males

Question 7

Give evaluation for the evolutionary explanation (support for the notion that aggression is linked to increased social status)

Answer 7

• e.g. Campbell found that in industrial societies, such as US, the most violent gang members often have the highest status among peers
• This suggests that aggression is an important way of gaining status among males, providing validity to the evolutionary perspective

Question 8

Give evaluation for the evolutionary explanation (fails to account for wide-scale acts of aggression and cruelty)

Answer 8

• e.g. In the Rwandan Genocide, there’s was wide scaled slaughter of groups. This shows that the evolutionary explanation doesn’t tell us why humans torture opponents when they no longer pose a threat
• Furthermore, anthropological evidence suggests this is a consequence of de-individual effects rather than evolutionary adaptions. This means the evolutionary explanation is limited as it can’t account for all forms of aggression in modern society

Question 9

Give evaluation for the evolutionary explanation (aggression doesn’t always have an adaptive advantage)

Answer 9

• e.g. violent males might be rejected as mates and warriors might die in battle, so aggression might not be an adaptive advantage in some cases
• This suggests that it’s important to consider the social context of aggression, as it may be maladaptive in some social contexts
• However, Duntley and Buss argue that the benefits of aggression have to outweigh the costs to other strategies in the evolutionary past. This means that natural selection will favour the evolution of aggressive behaviours

Question 10

Give evaluation for the evolutionary explanation (issues with social sensitivity in this explanation)

Answer 10

• e.g. it provides an account that could potentially excuse domestic abuse, as it suggests that aggression directed from men to women in sexual relationships is attributed to evolutionary needs to prevent cuckoldry.
• This suggests we should approach the evolutionary explanation with caution as to not allow for certain behaviours in society to be deemed as an ‘adaptive advantage’. This calls into question whether this explanation should still be considered in modern psychology