Evolutionary Explanations for Human Aggression Essay Example
Outline and Evaluate Evolutionary Explanations for Human Aggression. (25 Marks)
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The high incidence of aggressive behaviour across cultures and through time has led evolutionary psychologist to conclude that the adaptive and functional benefits of aggressive behaviour must outweigh the possible costs (Buss and Duntley, 2006).
From an evolutionary perspective humans are most likely to survive if they have access to resources (food, water and territory); if they can defend their resources and protect their families and if they can attract or gain access to mates. Aggressive behaviour seems to have evolved to support the human race in achieving all of these primary goals.
One example of evolutionary adaptation is the sex differences in jealousy that have evolved in order to ensure mate retention and reproductive success. Daly and Wilson (1988) claim that men have evolved several different strategies to deter their female partners from committing adultery (i.e. Infidelity).These range from vigilance to violence, but all are fuelled by male jealousy, an adaptation that evolved specifically to deal with the threat of paternal uncertainty.
So why have men evolved the emotion of sexual jealousy? Unlike women, men can never be entirely certain that they are the fathers of their children, as fertilisation is hidden from them, inside the woman. As a result men are always at risk of cuckoldry, the reproductive cost that might be inflicted on a man as a result of his partner’s infidelity. The consequence of cuckoldry is that the man might unwillingly invest his resources in offspring that are not his own. The adaptive functions of sexual jealousy therefore, would have been to deter a mate from sexual infidelity, thereby minimising the risk of cuckoldry.
Buss (1988) suggests that males have a number of strategies that have evolved specifically for the purpose of keeping a mate. These include direct guarding of the female and negative inducements that would
.
The high incidence of aggressive behaviour across cultures and through time has led evolutionary psychologist to conclude that the adaptive and functional benefits of aggressive behaviour must outweigh the possible costs (Buss and Duntley, 2006).
From an evolutionary perspective humans are most likely to survive if they have access to resources (food, water and territory); if they can defend their resources and protect their families and if they can attract or gain access to mates. Aggressive behaviour seems to have evolved to support the human race in achieving all of these primary goals.
One example of evolutionary adaptation is the sex differences in jealousy that have evolved in order to ensure mate retention and reproductive success. Daly and Wilson (1988) claim that men have evolved several different strategies to deter their female partners from committing adultery (i.e. Infidelity).These range from vigilance to violence, but all are fuelled by male jealousy, an adaptation that evolved specifically to deal with the threat of paternal uncertainty.
So why have men evolved the emotion of sexual jealousy? Unlike women, men can never be entirely certain that they are the fathers of their children, as fertilisation is hidden from them, inside the woman. As a result men are always at risk of cuckoldry, the reproductive cost that might be inflicted on a man as a result of his partner’s infidelity. The consequence of cuckoldry is that the man might unwillingly invest his resources in offspring that are not his own. The adaptive functions of sexual jealousy therefore, would have been to deter a mate from sexual infidelity, thereby minimising the risk of cuckoldry.
Buss (1988) suggests that males have a number of strategies that have evolved specifically for the purpose of keeping a mate. These include direct guarding of the female and negative inducements that would