Group Display: Warfare

Group Display: Warfare

1. Warfare

   • Societies that experience more warfare, males are more likely to escape infanticide, due to potential usefulness in battle.
   • Males compete for mates, and if they do well in battle then they are rewarded with access to mates.
   • Displays of aggression is attractive to females, and peers also respect more, thus strengthening the bond. Fleeing=coward=loss of respect. Aggression=likely to share benefits associated with status=increase reproductive fitness.
   • Irons
     • Costliness of permanent displays (scars), serves as honest signals of commitment to group. Thus, benefiting from profits of warfare.
   • Thorpe
     • Also important to group survival, as permanent displays minimise ability to abscond to another group, increasing commitment with current group.

2. Palmer and Tilley

   • Male youth street gangs have more sexual partners than normal males.

3. Leunissen and Van Vugt

   • Military males have greater sex appeal, but only if seen exhibiting bravery.

4. Changing lifestyle

   • Consequence of environmental changes, not biological compulsions.

5. Displays of Aggression

   • Explanations of displays of aggression based in mating success, status or commitment fail to explain cruelty in human wars yet not among non-humans.
   • Could be deindividuation.

6. IDA-Gender Bias

   • Adams-The idea of a woman warrior is almost unheard of. Females have less to gain, but more to lose.
   • Knowledge limited to males.