Evolutionary explanations of human aggression

Question 1

What aggression does the evolutionary explanation aim to explain?

Answer 1

• human aggression

Question 2

What is the evolutionary explanation?

Answer 2

• An account of the changes over millions of years based on the idea of natural selection

Question 3

What is natural selection?

Answer 3

• the process through which a favourable adaptation is passed on from a parent to its offspring and increases chances of survival

Question 4

What is sexual jealousy a major motivator of in males?

Answer 4

• aggressive behaviour

Question 5

According to the EvEx why does sexual jealousy occur in men?

Answer 5

• jealousy occurs because men can never be certain about paternity
• this paternity uncertainty is a result of the threat for the male of cuckoldry (having to raise offspring that is not his own)

Question 6

Why is cuckoldry a threat?

Answer 6

• any investment in offspring who do not share the male’s genes is a waste of his resources
• & contributes to the survival of rival genes & leaves the father with fewer resources to invest in his own offspring

Question 7

What psychological mechanisms have evolved to increase anti-cuckoldry behaviours in males?

Answer 7

• men adopt aggressive strategies to retain their partners & prevent them from straying > strategies were adaptive in evolutionary history

Question 8

What mate retention strategies do Wilson & Daly identify?

Answer 8

• direct guarding
• negative inducements
• physical violence

Question 9

What is direct guarding?

Answer 9

• involves male vigilance over a partners behaviour e.g. checking who they have been seeing, coming home early, installing tracking apps etc

Question 10

What are negative inducements?

Answer 10

• issuing threats of dire consequences for infidelity
  e.g. ‘I’ll kill myself if you leave me’

Question 11

What did Wilson et al ask women to report and was this measured?

Answer 11

• mate retention strategies in their partners
• this was measured by the extent to which they agreed to statements like “he insists on knowing who you are with and where you are at all times”

Question 12

What did Wilson et al find from the women’s self reports?

Answer 12

• women who did agree with the statements were 2x more likely to have experienced physical violence by their partners
• of these women, 73% required medical attention & 53% said they feared for their lives
• supports view that male retention strategies are linked to physical violence

Question 13

Why does bullying occur?

Answer 13

• because of a power imbalance > a more powerful individual uses aggression deliberately and repeatedly against a weaker person

Question 14

Why is bullying adaptive according to the EvEx?

Answer 14

• evolutionary ancestors may have used bullying as an adaptive strategy to increase chances of survival by promoting their own health & creating opportunities for reproduction

Question 15

What is the first reason according to Volk et al why bullying in men occurs?

Answer 15

• characteristic associated with bullying behaviour are attractive to females e.g. dominance, acquisition of resources & strength

Question 16

What is the second reason according to Volk et al why bullying in men occurs?

Answer 16

• bullying has benefit of warding off potential rivals
  > bullying behaviour naturally selected due to greater reproductive success

Question 17

What is the third reason according to Volk et al why bullying in men occurs?

Answer 17

• may benefit a bully’s health
  > adolescent boy who gain a reputation for being tough are less likely to experience aggression themselves as other boys avoid contact with them.
  > benefits their health as those at the top in a dominance hierarchy experience less stress

Question 18

Why does bullying occur in females?

Answer 18

• method of controlling a partner
• used to secure their partners fidelity > means they continue to provide resources for future offspring
• behaviour= naturally selected as it enhances reproductive success

Question 19

What is a strength of the evolutionary explanation?

Answer 19

• theory can explain my males & females differ in their uses of aggression
• differences could be due to socialisation & some can be explained in terms of adaptive strategies
• e.g. Campbell not adaptive for female to be physically aggressive> puts her & child’s survival at risk
  adaptive strategy=verbal aggression to retain a partner who provides resources

Question 20

What is a limitation of the evolutionary explanation?

Answer 20

• cultural differences in aggressive behaviour
• cultures where aggression appears to be almost non-existent
• e.g. Thomas studied the Lung San people and called them ‘harmless people’
• found they have very negative attitudes towards use of aggression and is discouraged from childhood in boys & girls
• status & reputation diminished in community if used
• aggressiveness may not be adaptive

Question 21

What is a counterpoint to the limitation of the evolutionary explanation?

Answer 21

• Lot of controversy over how ‘harmless’ the lung really are
  e.g. Lee describes the homicide rate as surprisingly high
• contradictions in findings may be due to the fact that what an observer sees is biased by their own expectations & particular sample they observed
• observations by outsiders lack validity > should use indigenous psychologists instead

Question 22

What is another strength of the evolutionary explanation?

Answer 22

• can be used to reduce bullying
• Ellis et al > suggest an alternative strategy based on the idea that bullying is adaptive
• the ‘meaningful roles’ anti-bullying intervention, aims to increase costs of bullying & rewards of parasocial alternatives
• e.g. roles & responsibilities provide an alternative source of status
• bullying as adaptive= more effective anti-bullying intervention