Group display as an adaptive response

Question 1

Sports:

what is xenophobia?

Answer 1

Fear of strangers/foreigners

Question 2

Sports:

Xenophobia- how is this adaptive?

Answer 2

natural selection favors genes that cause human beings to be unselfish towards members of their own group but intolerant towards others. It would be adaptive to exaggerate negative stereotypes about outsiders as the over perception of threat is less costly.

Question 3

Sports:

Xenophobic displays in sport

Answer 3

Behaviour of Italian football crowds has been analysed and found that group displays of xenophobia was characterised by racist chants and openly anti-Semitic banners.

Question 4

Sports:

What us another explanation for the evolution of group displays?

Answer 4

Territoriality. Non-human animals show threat towards outsiders and attack with greater vigour when defending home territory. This is equivalent to humans displaying aggressiveness during sports prior to a match. Aggressive displays would have been adaptive for our ancestors because it means it allowed groups to defend valuable resources associated with their territory.

Question 5

Sports:

Testosterone and territorial behaviour

Answer 5

Because we display more aggression when we have higher testosterone levels, footballers have more testosterone when playing home games because they feel the need to defend home territory. And so were more likely to win.

Question 6

Sports:

Real world application of xenophobia

Answer 6

The power of xenophobic groups have motivated football clubs to take steps in minimising it’s influence e.g. German teams wearing a shirt saying “My friend us a foreigner” the aim is to end violence

Question 7

Sports:

Research support for the link between xenophobia and violent displays

Answer 7

Violent incidents based on racist or xenophobic attitudes were observed at all stadia with gypsies, Jews and Russians being the main targets.

Question 8

Sports:

How does crowd support cause people to become territorial during a sports game?

Answer 8

crowd support is seen as the most important factor contributing to a home advantage. Fans felt responsible for inspiring their team to victory and took credit in distracting the opponents. However, the precise ways in which crowds do this is not clear-it may not be the size as its proven to work with smaller crowds, and is it mainly to ‘psych’ up their team or distract the opposition.

Question 9

Sports:

Do crowds really even help teams?

Answer 9

Two basketball teams forced to play without spectators achieved higher points than they did when playing in front of spectators.

Question 10

Warfare:

Why did aggressive group displays evolve?

Answer 10

Because of the adaptive benefits for the individual and their offspring

Question 11

Warfare:

What are the 2 benefits of aggressive display?

Answer 11

Sexual selection

Acquisition of status

Question 12

Warfare:

What are the 2 costs related to aggressive display?

Answer 12

Signals of commitment

Minimising the likelihood of defection

Question 13

Warfare:

What is the benefit of sexual selection?

Answer 13

Men compete for mates, those that do well in battle are rewarded with access to females. Displays of aggression and bravery are attractive to females and so male warriors tend to have more sexual partners which suggests reproductive benefit.

Question 14

Warfare:

What is the benefit of acquisition of status?

Answer 14

Displays of aggression and bravery in battle acquires status in the eyes of other group members. They are then more likely to share the benefits associated with status which increases their reproductive fitness.

Question 15

Warfare:

What is the cost of signals of commitment?

Answer 15

By groups engaging in permanent displays e.g scars, individual warriors demonstrate their loyalty to the group and so can benefit from the benefits of warfare against another group.

Question 16

Warfare:

What is the cost of minimising the likelihood of defection?

Answer 16

Permanent displays are important in the survival of a group. The displays minimise the ability of males to abscond o another group and increase their commitment to their own group.

Question 17

Warfare:

Research support for aggressive displays increasing sexual attractivness

Answer 17

Male youth street gang members have more sexual partners than normal men.
Military men have a greater sex appeal but only if they have been observed showing bravery.

Question 18

Warfare:

War is not biological, but environmental

Answer 18

War emerged when people began to become more settled, which gave them something to defend. Warfare emerged as a rational response to a changing lifestyle. Therefore, aggressive displays are not likely to be a product of genes, but a response to environmental changed such as rising population.

Question 19

Warfare:

What is a major limitation of the evolutionary explanation of warfare?

Answer 19

It fails to explain the cruelty that is found in many human conflicts but not in any non-human conflicts. E.g. why do humans continue to torture their opponents even when they no longer pose a threat? May be effects of deindividuation

Question 20

Warfare:

Explanations of aggressive displays are gender bias

Answer 20

The views are limited to the behaviour of males rather than females. Women have considerably less to gain from fighting in near-death experiences and a lot to lose e.g. reproductive capacity.

Question 21

Warfare:

What are the 4 evaluation points for warfare?

Answer 21

sexual selection
war is not ‘in the genes’
limitations
gender bias

Question 22

Sport:

What are the 4 evaluation points for sport?

Answer 22

research support-football crowds
territoriality
does crowd work?
real world application