Evolutionary explanations of aggression

• • Evolutionary theories assume that the human brain has developed as a product of natural selections & we have adaptations enabling us to cope & thrive with social/ group living.
  • Aggression is one of these adaptations, as it would have helped eliminate competition. Humans would need to compete for food & resources as well as mates (sexual competition).
• Sexual Competition:

  • Aggression is aimed at rivals; involves men with men over females.
  • Those who used aggression to 'win' mates would pass their aggressive traits through their genes to their offspring.
  • Male traits: 75% more muscle mass than women, thicker jaws & men are generally more aggressive than women.
  • All suggests that males have evolved from a more aggressive & competitive environment.
  • Dell (1984) concluded that sexual competition accounted for 17% of all cases of murder in the UK, with mainly men as both perpetrators & victims.
• Sexual Jealousy:

  • Aimed towards partner
  • From male POV, female infidelity can cause doubts of paternity as fertilisation occurs hidden inside the female (definitely know child is female's, but might not be male's).
  • This risks a man investing his time & resources raising offspring that are not genetically related to him (cuckoldry).
  • This can lead to the development of strategies from vigilance to direct violence.
• Sexual Jealousy:

  • The adaptive function of sexual jealousy is to reduce this risk by deterring infidelity.
  • Buss suggested a number of strategies (mate retention strategies) males have evolved such as direct guarding to avoid them meeting other men, eg violence towards the perceived love rival & negative inducements, eg threats of violence.
  • Sexual jealousy= primary cause of violence against women with studies on domestic violence against women showing the majority report extreme jealousy as the key cause of violence (Dobash & Dobash).
• Evaluation of evolutionary explanations of aggression- strength:

  • Idea that aggression & violence leads to a greater status is supported by anthropological evidence as well as modern day societies.
  • Many tribal societies honour men who have committed murder & in gangs in America, it is the most violent members who have the highest status amongst their peers.
  • Suggests that aggression in males is an adaptive response to enable the male to gain status & reproductive rights, meaning his offspring would inherit these aggressive tendencies.
• Evaluation of evolutionary explanations of aggression- weakness:

  • Aggressive behaviour may be seen as maladaptive rather than adaptive.
  • Aggressive & violent males often rejected from friendship groups & by females, and if in battle, more likely to die.
  • Would suggest it reduces survival rather than increases it.
  • Although that may be the case sometimes, the benefits of aggressive acts only need to outweigh the costs on average for it to be an adaptive survival strategy.
  • Would mean aggression is naturally selected & forms part of human nature.
• Evaluation for evolutionary explanations of aggression- weakness:

  • Explanations are gender biased & do not consider the role of aggression in females- very little consideration of aggression in females as theories focus on the male perspective.
  • Therefore, our understanding of evolutionary explanations of physical aggression is limited to males.