Evolutionary approach review

1. Evolutionary approach review

2. True or false? • Aggression is innate. • Aggression is advantageous in terms of procreation and survival. • Females seeking a mate find it necessary to compete physically. • Successful aggression can eliminate rivals through fatal conflict. • Males would be expected to aggress against females. • Females would be attracted to aggressive males. • Aggressive males could pass on this trait to their offspring. • This approach can explain different types of aggression. • This approach cannot explain gender differences in aggression. • This approach has practical applications. • Tinbergen believed we have evolved to become more aggressive. • This approach is reductionist.

3. Strength of evolutionary theory • Supporting research and practical applications– Tinbergen (1968) Advances in weapons technology means aggressors don’t need to be physically close to targets. Can explain acts of terrorism and war as dropping bomb on target is different to stabbing children – no appeasement signal is present to stop act of aggression. Mass killings/genocide – humans have evolved to live in groups and thinking about us and them could cause aggression (need to feel socially dominant)

4. Strength of evolutionary theory • Can explain gender differences in aggression – Buss (1999) states we cannot assume that aggression is only male vs. male – the use and form of aggression by females is limited (because of physiological differences and strength) but verbal aggression is more common. Evolutionary approach would state female to female verbal aggression would be aimed to decreasing attractiveness of competitors in eyes of males which would have evolutionary advantage to the aggressor (name-caller).

5. Weakness of evolutionary theory • Cannot explain different types of aggression – this approach states aggression should serve an obvious reproductive/survival purpose for aggressor. Certain forms of aggression (e.g. rape/assaults on children/post-menopausal women) cannot easily be explained by this approach as aggression would not lead to procreation and passing on of aggressive gene

6. Weakness of evolutionary theory • Oversimplistic – trying to explain complicated behaviour like aggression using one explanation (that aggressive tendencies are adaptive to humans) is too simple to explain variety of forms of aggression in humans. Aggression could be product of learning vicariously through role models in environment (Bandura – SLT) – this isn’t denied by evolutionary psychologists but they insist there’s an innate mechanism or drive.

7. Evaluation of infidelity and jealousy • Supporting research evidence • Buss (1995) found that men and women differ in responses to infidelity due to different adaptations to different reproductive problems. Evolutionary perspective states both emotional and sexual infidelity are disturbing to both sexes. Male aggression arises from paternal uncertainty – if unsure a child is his he will become jealous and potentially aggressive. • Can also explain gender differences in aggression

8. Alternative explanations • SLT • Deindividuation • Biological • Freud

9. Operationalisation of infidelity • Dreznick (2004) – may be an alternative explanation to evolutionary theory, such as difference in beliefs about what constitutes infidelity. If men do not perceive emotional infidelity to be infidelity, then they might not be especially jealous in response to a partner’s emotional infidelity.

10. Methodology – perhaps giving Ps hypothetical ‘enforced-choice’ responses does not provide a fully valid measure of sex differences in response to infidelity. Therefore results may lack internal validity – the results may be due to the method employed rather than genuine gender differences in aggression. Should use real as opposed to hypothetical examples of aggression and infidelity. Research provides conflicting results (Ahrndt, 2005) with some research suggesting that men are more upset by emotional infidelity and women by sexual infidelity – these results are not explained by evolutionary theory.