The evolutionary psychology of violence.
This paper reviews theory and research on the evolutionary psychology of violence. First, I examine evidence suggesting that humans have experienced an evolutionary history of violence. Next, I discuss violence as a context-sensitive strategy that might have provided benefits to our ancestors under certain circumstances. I then focus on the two most common forms of violence that plague humans -violence over status contests and intimate partner violence- outlining psychological mechanisms involved in each. Finally, I suggest that greater progress will be made by shifting the study from contexts to mechanisms.
Goetz
Aaron T
AT
California State University, USA. agoetz@fullerton.edu
D005075:Biological Evolution; D006801:Humans; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*