Evolution of Human Aggression
The evolution of human aggression refers to the historical development and adaptive significance of aggressive behavior in humans. It encompasses the study of how aggression has been shaped by natural selection and influenced by social, environmental, and cultural factors over time. Understanding the evolution of human aggression can provide insights into its underlying mechanisms and potential strategies for its management.
7 Key excerpts on "Evolution of Human Aggression"
eBook - ePubThe Social Psychology of Aggression
3rd Edition
- Barbara Krahé(Author)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...The early instinct-related views entail a pessimistic view because they conceptualise aggression as an inevitable part of human nature. However, there is now a consensus that a deterministic view of aggression is not appropriate. Even though evolutionary principles may be applied to understanding aggressive behaviour, and genetic make-up as well as physiological processes can explain variability in aggressive behaviour, it is clear that individual learning, thinking, and feeling play a major role in shaping social behaviour, including aggression. As Berkowitz (1993, p. 387) pointed out, “people have a capacity for aggression and violence, but not a biological urge to attack and destroy others that is continually building up inside them.” This view is supported by theories that emphasise the mediating role of cognitions and learning as well as decision-making processes. By highlighting how aggressive behaviour is acquired, these approaches also generate knowledge about strengthening the inhibitory forces against aggression, and they acknowledge the individual’s freedom to decide against acting aggressively in favour of alternative courses of action. Summary • Theoretical explanations of aggressive behaviour include both biological and psychological lines of thinking and research. • Biological models refer to evolutionary and genetic principles and the role of hormones in explaining aggression. The ethological perspective regards the manifestation of overt aggression as a function of an internal aggressive energy that is released by aggression-related external cues, but it cannot conclusively explain aggressive behaviour in humans. The sociobiological approach postulates that aggression has developed as an adaptive form of social behaviour in the process of evolution. Evidence from the field of behaviour genetics suggests that the propensity to act aggressively is at least partly influenced by genetic dispositions...
eBook - ePub- Mark Schaller, Jeffry A. Simpson, Douglas T. Kenrick, Mark Schaller, Jeffry A. Simpson, Douglas T. Kenrick(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Psychology Press(Publisher)
...Following these dismissals, textbook writers proceed to spend the bulk of their coverage on theories of aggression that invoke environmental conditions, such as observational learning as a result of media exposure to violence (for a notable exception, see Kenrick, Neuberg, & Cialdini, 2005). Perhaps the dismissal of biological explanations was too hasty. During the domination of learning theory, which reigned over psychology for the bulk of the last century, biological explanations were commonly ridiculed. The dichotomies drawn between instincts and learning, biology and environment, or nature and nature, however, are now known to be misleading and logically incoherent (Tooby & Cosmides, 1992). These dichotomies obscure more than they reveal. A primary benefit of an evolutionary model of human aggression is that it is truly integrative. It does not deny the importance of environmental influences. Rather, evolutionary psychology gives us the conceptual tools to understand precisely how and why certain environmental factors affect the psychological adaptations that produce aggression. The fact that humans show such behavioral flexibility and context-sensitivity is certainly enough evidence to discard notions of inflexible aggressive instincts invariably getting “pushed out” into behavior regardless of circumstances. But neither are humans passive receptacles for environmental forces, unformed lumps of clay until molded by reinforcement contingencies. A more complex model is needed—a model anchored in evolutionary psychology. AGGRESSIOM AS AN EVOLVED SOLUTION TO ADAPTIVE PROBLEMS An evolutionary psychological perspective does not yield just one hypothesis about the origins of aggression or any other behavioral phenomenon. Within evolutionary psychology, several hypotheses are sometimes proposed and put into scientific competition with each other...
- Brian J. Taylor(Author)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Learning Matters(Publisher)
...Yet the F-A hypothesis evolved in response to research, to encompass aspects of cognitive appraisal and attribution theory: theories related to how we think and learn. As you will see, theory is not set in stone; as scientific endeavour continues unabated, theories go in and out of fashion, or disappear altogether, depending on the evidence available. Theories of aggression related to human biology, instinct and evolution These theories consider aggression primarily from biological and evolutionary perspectives, but they also encompass psychodynamic theory in the form of Freud’s work on instinct and drives. There has been a trend in recent years to dismiss Freudian approaches as irrelevant and even to denigrate psychoanalytic theory as oppressive, unethical and sexist; however, Freud’s contribution to understanding human behaviour, particularly in terms of defence mechanisms and the influence of childhood experience, cannot be overestimated. While this chapter will confer upon Freud some of the recognition and criticism he deserves, it will begin with the basics: where human anger and aggression come from, and what they look like. Physiological and neurobiological approaches to understanding anger and aggression Indications of anger and aggression are usually expressed physically in our facial expressions, before they are acted on, so understanding the internal and external manifestations of these emotional responses can help to anticipate and deal with them both as practitioners and individuals. Biological research can help us to understand the nature of anger and aggression from a physiological perspective, by offering insight into the role biochemical, genetic and hormonal make-up plays in how we experience, manage and convey emotions. An extremely simplistic way to understand the structure of the human brain is to divide it into three parts: the brain stem, the limbic system and the cerebral cortex...
eBook - ePubSocial Psychology in Christian Perspective
Exploring the Human Condition
- Angela M. Sabates(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- IVP Academic(Publisher)
...In the example of desensitization, repetitive exposure to, or involvement in, aggression alters the brain. For example, an individual who is constantly exposed to violence or engages in violence over an extended period of time may become desensitized to violent images, which means experiencing less psychological or emotional responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated exposure (Bartholow, Bushman & Sestir, 2006). This desensitization may in turn continue to alter the brain and its chemistry such that inhibition of future aggression becomes increasingly difficult. Neglecting this important possibility overlooks the possibility that the brain’s function may reflect a consequence, rather than a cause, of aggression. We may not fully understand the role of biological factors in aggression, but from a Christian view we can at least find in this research a powerful reminder of the fallen condition of humans, even at the physiological level. Yet researchers are careful to note that genetic and other physiological vulnerabilities do not suggest an inevitably aggressive lifestyle. In fact, a clearer understanding of the nature of these biological limitations should increase our hope for finding more specific and effective intervention strategies to reduce aggression. Evolutionary Psychology Perspectives of Aggression An evolutionary psychology perspective of aggression draws on its understanding of the origin of emotions overall. According to Cosmides and Tooby (2000), emotions evolved as superordinate programs that serve to direct the activities of subprograms in the brain. These subprograms regulate a wide variety of functions including learning, perception, attention, memory, goals and categorizing...
eBook - ePubAggression and Violence
A Social Psychological Perspective
- Brad J. Bushman, Brad J. Bushman(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Part I Understanding the Roots of Aggression and Violence in Humans 1 An Integrative Theoretical Understanding of Aggression L. Rowell Huesmann In this chapter I lay out the most important key principles for understanding the occurrence of aggressive behavior. These are principles that have emerged out of many decades of research on aggression but also draw on key findings from social, cognitive, and developmental psychology. Aggressive behavior is a social behavior, is influenced by peoples’ cognitive processing, and changes over the developmental life course. In the context of this chapter, aggressive behavior is any behavior intended to injure or irritate another person (Berkowitz, 1974, 1993; Eron et al., 1972). Psychologists have usually distinguished between the kind of aggressive behavior that is directed at the goal of obtaining a tangible reward for the aggressor (instrumental or proactive aggression) and the kind of aggressive behavior that is simply intended to hurt someone else (at different times denoted hostile, angry, emotional, or reactive aggression) (Berkowitz, 1993; Dodge & Coie, 1987, Feshbach, 1964). Nevertheless, an examination of the underlying cognitive processes involved (e.g., Dodge & Coie, 1987) has led to a realization that many of the same mechanisms are involved in both types of aggression (Bushman & Anderson, 2001); so many of the principles I describe in this chapter apply to both types. Finally, violent behavior is defined simply as an extreme form of aggressive behavior in which the target of the behavior is actually physically harmed, e.g., hit, punched, choked, beaten, bludgeoned, stabbed, shot. Four Important Principles about the Occurrence of Aggressive Behavior First, aggressive behavior, like other social behaviors, is always the product of personal predispositions and precipitating situational determinants...
eBook - ePubViolence Within The Family
Social Psychological Perspectives
- Sharon D Herzberger(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Left-hemisphere dysfunction has figured prominently among the characteristics of violent individuals (cf. Nachson & Denno, 1987), as have abnormal EEG patterns and tumors in the temporal lobe and other areas of the limbic system (Moyer, 1987). Damage to the brain may spontaneously elicit hostile behaviors or may disrupt the mechanisms that are responsible for maintaining a high threshold for anger-induced aggression. It is also possible that the damage may preclude rational assessment of the person’s social environment. If an individual cannot adequately reason about the extent to which he or she has been provoked or cannot discern the difference between an accidental or intentional slight, then aggression may follow. Concluding Remarks This chapter has introduced us to evidence of biological underpinnings of violent behavior. Although the evidence in favor of an evolutionarily-driven propensity for family violence is not strong, this theory has received many adherents and proposes to explain why so much violence may be evident in modern society. Evidence has also accumulated regarding genetic, hormonal, and other physiological contributors to aggression. One idea that should be apparent from this chapter is the reciprocal interplay between biological systems and environmental stimulation. Magnusson (1988) states this relationship well: … (I)ndividual subsystems of cognitions, emotions, physiological factors, and conduct are in a constant, reciprocal interaction, influencing each other with developmental consequences for all systems involved. During development both the psychological and the biological subsystems change, not only as a result of maturation, but also as a result of the interaction among the subsystems; as a result of experience this interaction among subsystems within the individual depends on the nature of the environment in which the individual is developing...
eBook - ePub- Helen Gavin, Theresa Porter(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
...2 The Evolution of Aggression The idea that all life is descended from a common ancestor and that complex creatures descend from simpler is very old, and can be found in ancient writings such as those of Anaximander, the Greek philosopher who lived in the sixth century BC (Couprie, Hahn, & Gerard, 2003). However, we do not have to look quite that far back to examine modern, more scientific thought on the origin of our species, nor its paradoxical and seemingly unstoppable quest to destroy itself. Darwinism and Sociobiology Modern evolutionary theory is based on the writings of Charles Darwin, and it adds more scientific knowledge to the understanding of the process of descent. The process of this change is genetic mutation, and those mutations that are beneficial to an organism will survive to the next generation. The process by which beneficial mutations survive is known as natural selection. This refers to the preservation of a functional advantage that enables a species to compete better for food, territory, mates and so on, and leads to the elimination of inferior species gradually over time. Evolutionary biology concentrates on the physical aspects of species and how they have adapted over time. Evolutionary psychology, on the other hand, focuses on behaviour that demonstrates psychological adaptations to recurring problems. Hence, it attempts to identify how emotional and cognitive adaptations have evolved. A genetic mutation has no hope of being successfully passed to the next generation without some accompanying behaviour that allows it to aid in the reproductive success of the organism and the survival of its offspring. In dimorphic organisms, those that have developed two sexes of different forms, these behaviours relate to sexual selection, as well as all the other changes needed to survive, such as gathering food, finding shelter and so on...
