Group displays Flashcards
Explain what is meant by group displays.
The Evolutionary theory believes that man survives better in a group. Group display refers to a collective behaviour of a group and displays of aggression are usually used as a way of showing dominance. Larger, more aggressive groups are able to gain access to larger territories, more females, and have a higher reproductive success. The evolutionary theory can explain aggression in various types of groups.
Outline the evolutionary perspective on warfare.
- Evolutionary perspective believes that since warfare is costly, group displays of aggression have evolved because of the adaptive benefits for the individual and their offspring. In societies that experience frequent warfare, males are far less likely to be killed than females because of their potential usefulness in battle.
- Men must compete with each other for mates, with those who do well in battle being rewarded by access to female mates.
- For example, evidence shows that male warriors in traditional societies tend to have more sexual partners and more children suggesting a direct reproductive benefit.
What did Palmer and Tilley find?
Found that male youth street gang members have more sexual partners than ordinary young males.
What did LeBlanc suggest?
He suggested that warfare and aggressive displays associated with warfare are not biological compulsions but are consequences of environmental changes such as rising populations and dwindling food supplies.
Outline what other studies have found?
Other studies have also found that members of the military were found to have on average more sexual partners than non-military individuals.
Outline the weaknesses of group displays as an explanation of warfare aggression.
- Explanations of displays of aggression that are based on mating success or status fail to explain the huge levels of cruelty that are often found in human wars, yet not among non-human species.
- For example, why do humans torture their opponents when they have already been defeated and no longer pose a threat? Anthropological evidence (e.g. Watson ’73) suggests that this may be more a consequence of deindividuation.
- Evolutionary explanations for aggressive displays in warfare are gender biased because they are limited to the behaviour of males rather than females.
Outline the evolutionary perspective on sports.
- The explanation for the evolution of group displays is based on territoriality, the protective response to an invasion of one’s territory. A form of territorial display has its equivalent in the aggressive displays of sports teams prior to a match.
- For example some rugby teams use chants and dances before a match to intimidate their opponents - the New Zealand all Blacks dance the Huka before international matches. These displays intimidate opponents and allow the group to assert their masculinity in an attempt to show that they have the ability to defend their territory if needed.
- An aspect to group aggression in sports is xenophobia. In group living species natural selection favours genes that cause individual group members to be cooperative with other group members but intolerant of non-group members.
- Within sports we find the fans of teams display a fear of or hatred towards fans of the visiting team. Individuals often display aggression towards fans of the opposing team. By doing this they display dominance over the members of the out group, while, at the same time, strengthening the relationship between those of the in group.
What did Lewis et al. find?
Found that, among football fans, crowd support was seen as the most significant factor contributing to a home advantage.
Weaknesses of group displays as an explanation of sport aggression?
- The precise way in which crowd displays have an effect is not clear. Crowd size may not be as important, as the effect has been shown to operate even with small crowd sizes (Pollard and Pollard).
- It is not clear whether the primary function of crowd displays is to psych up the home team or distract the opposition.
What has Foldesi found?
Found evidence in a study of Hungarian football crowds, with violent incidents based on racist or xenophobic attitudes being observed at all stadia. Gypsies, Jews or Russians were the usual targets.
Real world relevance of the theory? (sport)
• The theory also has real world relevance as the power of xenophobic group displays to invoke violence has motivated football clubs to take steps to minimise its influence. For example, in December ’92 all teams in the German Bundesleague played in shirts displaying the slogan ‘My friend is a foreigner’.
