Evolutionary Explanations of Human Aggression: Sexual Jealousy

Question 1

what is the major motivator of aggressive behaviour in males?

Answer 1

• sexual jealousy
• which can be given an evolutionary explanation

Question 2

why does sexual jealousy occur in men and not women?

Answer 2

men can never be completely sure about whether or not they are their child’s parent

Question 3

what is paternity uncertainty a result of?

Answer 3

paternity uncertainty is a result of the real threat for the male of cuckoldry (having to raise offspring that isn’t their own due to cheating)

Question 4

why does a man not want to raise a child that is not theirs?

Answer 4

• any investment in offspring who does not share the male’s genes is a waste of his resources
• it contributes to survival or a rival’s genes and leaves the father with fewer resources to invest in his own future offsrping

Question 5

what do men in our evolutionary past who avoid cuckoldry succeed in?

Answer 5

• men in our evolutionary past who could avoid cuckoldry were more reproductively successful

Question 6

how have the psychological mechanisms evolved to increase anti-cuckoldry behaviour in males?

Answer 6

• sexual jealousy is more strongly experienced in males than in females
• this drives the often aggressive strategies men employ to retain their partners and prevent them from ‘straying’
• these strategies were adaptive in our evolutionary history

Question 7

what are the strategies used to prevent cuckoldry?

Answer 7

• mate retention strategies

Question 8

what are mate retention strategies?

Answer 8

• involves aggression and even physical violence

Question 9

who introduced the mate retention strategies?

Answer 9

Wilson and Daly

Question 10

what are the mate retention strategies?

Answer 10

• direct guarding = involves male vigilance over a partner’s behaviour (e.g. checking who they’ve been seeing, keeping track of their whereabouts)
• negative inducements = issuing threats of dire consequences for infidelity (e.g. ill kill myself if you leave me)

Question 11

who are the researchers involved in the research on physical violence against partners?

Answer 11

Wilson et al

Question 12

what did Wilson et al do?

Answer 12

• asked women to report mate retention strategies in their partners
• this was measured in terms of the extent to which they agree with statements
  = he insists of knowing who you are with and where you are at all times

Question 13

what did Wilson et al find?

Answer 13

• women who did agree with the statements were twice as likely to have experienced physical violence at the hand of their partners
• of these women, 73% required medical attention and 53% said they feared for their lived
• this supports the view that mate retention strategies are linked to physical violence