Evolutionary Explanation for Group Display Flashcards
Why do people cooperate as members of a group?
Expect adaptive benefits of cooperation if it has evolved to modern day, EEA life was harsh so survival only possible if hunt, gather, make home and fight in groups, cooperation allows on-zero sum game: one persons gain is not another’s loss
What is the free rider problem?
Individual doesn’t cooperate but takes the benefits of the group, lowers risk of dying in raids, nothing stopping everyone doing this, cooperation would then never evolve because no one would benefit, free riding genes then less adaptive
How would cooperation evolving by kin selection solve the problem of free riding?
we share genes with relatives so if they reproduce some of our genes are still in the next generation, expect more cooperation with more genetically related family, EEA more adaptive to take risks for relatives: if food were short then the genes that led people to be altruistic towards relatives allows them to reproduce and share genes, groups small in EEA so most people related
How would cooperation evolving by reciprocal altruism solve the problem of free riding?
Reciprocate help, many opportunities to repay favours but if not taken people will notice so free riders excluded from the group, cooperation can evolve if people are good at cheater detection and remember those who cheat
What is the link between cooperation and warfare?
development of cooperative warfare, risks of death in warfare would have to be outweighed by the benefits in terms of survival and reproduction
What are the adaptive benefits of war in the EEA (and in modern warfare)?
increasing access to scarce resources (for survival) and increasing access to women (for reproduction)
Who conducted a study into 20th C warfare and scarce resources?
Diamond 1991: 63% of countries in warfare for land disputes due to (perception of) insufficient space and resources, Japan/Germany in WW2, gaining land is followed by partial/total killing of the original population
Who conducted a cross cultural study into warfare and scarce resources?
Ember and Ember 1992: Standard Cross Cultural Sample from Human Resources Area Files, blind coding by independents.
What were the results of the Ember and Ember 1992 study?
(correlated with warfare)Non state: threat of natural disaster: 0.71, famine threat: 0.39, on going scarcity:0.35, defeated moved from land 73%. State: natural disaster sig. related, famine/scarcity not sig related, defeated moved 77% wars
What evidence is there of accessing women in warfare in contemporary wars?
Allen 1996: Bosnia, 20000 Muslim women raped as part of Serbian programme of genocide during the wars of the breakdown of Yugoslavia
What are the cross cultural findings of increasing access to women and war?
Divale and Harris 1976: warring societies had sex ratios skewed towards men, may go to war more due to lack of women. Ember and Ember 1992: societies with more men didn’t go to war more
How does access to women affect status?
Chagnon 1988: men who killed in raids had twice as many wives who hadn’t among Yanamamo. May be outlier: soldiers may die before reproducing. Waroni Indians of Ecuador: more active in warfare = fewer kids
What is the practical application (IDA) of sexual access to women and modern soldiers?
Training: empathy/consciousness raising, reduce motivation. Organisation: supervision when taking prisoners and interaction with defeated females. Punishment: well publicised, always enforced e.g. dishonourable discharge
