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A2 Psychology AQA Unit 3 Aggression

1. Evolution: Jealousy and Cuckoldry

   • Being aggressive would help a person acquire, and then protect, resource that are likely to help them, and their families, survive and pass on their genes - Natural Selection
   • Being aggressive would allow a person to gain dominance over another, and therefore establish status within the group. High status leads to greater access to resources and to good quality mates in particular as women find 'resources' attractive - Sexual Selection
   • DALEY AND WILSON (1988) Men want to avoid cuckoldry
     • Aggression could be very useful male retention strategy in response to imagined or actual sexual infidelity
   • BUSS ET AL. (1992)
     • Conducted a cross-cultural questionnaire investigating whether in a hypothetical situation where their partner cheated they would be more distressed and jealous if the person had formed a deep emotional attachment, or were just having sex.
       • Found gender differences in attitudes to infidelity, with males being far more upset by sexual infidelity and females by emotional infidelity
         • Same results across culture, which would be expected if evolution
           • Questionnaire subjective, especially since in a sensitive area
           • Answers may be untruthful due to soial desirability
           • Hypothetical situation does not demonstrate actual behaviour
   • MILLER (1980)
     • Conducted a meta-analysis study into battered women, 55% cited jealousy as the main cause of the aggression they experienced towards them from their spouse
   • DALEY AND WILSON (1985)
     • Looked at homicide rates in marriage between 1974 & 1984 in Canada
       • Found that 58/214 cases of murder motivated by sexual jealousy. Later also looked step parent vs. genetic parent households and aggression levels
   • Explanation is post-hoc: and, as with all evolutionary approaches, hard to test empirically, so lack scientific validity
     • Not ethnocentric - research does not just focus on 'Western experience.'
     • Does explain why men are more aggressive than women

2. Evolution: Sport and Warfare

   • Sport
     • A type of 'ritualised aggression' - it has benefits of success, without the dangers & it has replaced tribal warfare in modern society
     • Part 1: Victory, success and intimidation in sport can bring status to players and fans. In evolutionary terms status lead to access to resources
       • Part 2: Sport can be seen as an expression of xenophobia. In evolutionary terms it selects for altruism towards your own group and excludes outsiders
         • Genes that prompt 'suspicious' behaviour towards outsiders also likely to increase survival, as would avoid potential danger from other groups
         • Sport can be seen as an expression of territoriality. Evolutionarily this would have been advantageous as allows your group to gain more resources and then protect them by warding off, killing rivals
       • Successful sportsmen are seen as desirable to women
     • PODALIRI AND BALESTRI (1998)
       • Observed group displays of aggression in Italian football crowds in the 1980s. Found evidence of xenophobia between fans, and sometimes players
     • EVANS AND ROWE (2002) analysed data from 40 football matches
       • Games either English club side or English national side but all in Europe. Used post match reports and interviews with police
         • More aggression associated with National games than club games (attributed to the influence of nationalism and xenophobia)
         • Research into this are has motivated football clubs to take steps to minimise the influence of xenophobia
           • In 1992 all teams in the German Bunders league played in shirts displaying the slogan 'My friend is a foreigner'
             • In the UK since 2012, the government has pledged money to 'Show racism the red card'.
   • Warfare
     • Groups compete for higher status. This gives them access to larger hunting grounds, greater resources and more women
       • In warfare, group membership gives the individual a greater chance of survival and the chance to show off their bravery as a warrior and so attract mates
         • Does have face validity
           • Bravery is rewarded across many cultures. Suggests group displays in humans are innate
             • Doesn't explain the severe levels of cruelty found in war. Deindividuation can be seen to explain this better
               • Warfare is a reaction to changing environmental conditions (settling and agriculture). Not an evolved biological consumption
     • CHAGNON (1968)
       • Studies of surviving Yanomamo tribal communities confirm ta successful warriors have more wives and children. Most young men that had killed were married; most young men who had never killed were not
     • Kin selection may also be a factor in warfare. E.g. sacrificing oneself for protecting resources. Kin more likely to survive