evolution Flashcards
- give evolutionary reasons as to why humans display aggressive behavior
- increase reproductive fitness
- to find a mate
- prevent females from leaving
- increase survival chances
- protecting offspring or mates
why could males today experience sexual jealousy
- in the past a concern for males was to not find a mate
- even when they have one they want to maintain influence over her
- aggressive behavior was used to prevent females leaving
what would happen to aggressive behaviors which aid the survival of genes
they would be passed onto offspring
- we compete in life for partners
- what did mate competition include
- rivalry
- led to jealousy
why were people jealous - evolutionary
- to secure them a mate and survival of genes
- sex
- babies
- continuation of family
why was family continuation very important for early humans
- community or group needed a constant supply of new members if it was to continue
what evolution wise does a pregnant woman need from her mate
- physical resources
- energy
- time
- a man to provide for her and her child
- food
- shelter
- protection
why could a woman be jealous of a man
- if she suspects he is with another woman
- sexually unfaithful
- puts her and her child’s survival at risk
how is aggression useful to women. to enhance her and her child’s survival
- good strategy to drive off or remove other women
- deters another woman from trying to attract that man
- punishes the man
why may the ‘other woman’ be aggressive to the existing female partner
- to secure the man and his resources for herself
what does make jealousy and aggression translate to
- a man not wanting to devote his time and resources to another man’s child
why may a man be aggressive and jealous towards another woman man
- if a woman was unfaithful
- he doesn’t want her to risk having another man’s child
aggression would help to secure food and shelter- limited resources
- how does aggression have an adaptive purpose
- it facilitates survival
- adaption to the environment
- those who defend food and shelter survive longer and reproduce
- aggression then is passed down as genes leading to aggression
why would males who are more aggressive be more successful
- against other males
- securing mates as they could fight any rivals
- prevents their mates from sexual infidelity
- more likely to pass on genes
study supporting infidelity and jealousy - Buss and Shackleton
- saw what men do in response to feeling threatened in a relationship
- for evidence of natural selection
- found men tended to give into females giving her everything she wanted to and were threatening when other males were around
- aiding survival of men’s genes
what did Buss and Shackelton find out about women
- women threaten to leave the man if he is unfaithful
- use verbal threats ‘he’s taken’
- women know 100% their baby is there’s, men don’t
- explains current inherited behavior
disadvantage - female aggressive jealousy
- idea that this may deter another woman from trying to attract her man may be valid
- how much jealousy put into that aggressive action depends on social norms of the group and personalities and strengths of those observed
evolutionary theory - deterministic
- innate response
- doesn’t consider free will
- humans do have choice over behavior
evolutionary theory - alternative explanations
- social aggression can be explained by social factors not evolution
how could the evolutionary theory be reductionist
- suggests our behaviors are the results of dispositional factors ignoring role of situational factors such as aggression or environment
- aggression is based on situational and dispositional factors
- more holistic explanation needed
- too simplistic
what is the evolutionary worry of not reproducing
- end of their genes
what genes are likely to be naturally selective
- genes which maximize an individuals ability to reproduce successfully
anisogamy and parental investment
- makes produce sperm at little cost
- best strategy is to mate with as many females as possible to have maximum number of offspring to continue genes