Outline and evaluate evolutionary explanations of group display in humans
Description
A-Level Psychology (PSYA3: Aggression) Mind Map on Outline and evaluate evolutionary explanations of group display in humans, created by a a on 25/05/2016.
Outline and evaluate evolutionary
explanations of group display in
humans
Sports
AO1
Baron '77
Different types of aggression
within sport. HOSTILE: primary
intention of the behaviour is to
cause harm to the opponent.
INSTRUMENTAL: behaviour is
clearly likely to cause harm, but
its intention is to achieve
something else (e.g. score a goal)
Xenophobia
Wilson '75
Xenophobia has
been seen in
virtually every
group of animals
displaying
higher forms of
social
organisation
Natural selection
favours those that are
altruistic towards their
own group but
intolerant to others
Shaw and
Wong '89
Increases the
chance of
surviving so
being able to
PASS ON GENES
Mechanisms of
xenophobia
allows suspicion
towards
outsiders, helping
to avoid attack
MacDonald
'92
It is safer to
overestimate a
threat by
exaggerating
the negative
stereotypes
than to
underestimate
a threat
Podaliri
and
Balestri
'98
Found
evidence
of
xenophobic
tendencies
in
Italian
Football
Crowds
Territoriality
Huntingford
and
Turner
Territorial
behaviour is
used by
many
animal
species and
involves
threat
displays
towards
outsiders
Neave
and
Wolfson
Football teams
are more likely
to win at
home games
as the players
were found to
have a surge
of
testosterone
before the
match
Thought
that this is
related to
an evolved
drive to
defend
their home
territory,
which leads
to
aggressive
displays
AO2
Young '93
Increase in violence may
be due to increasing
financial incentives to win
Xenophobia
Foldesi '96
Found a relationship
between
xenophobic
behaviour at
Hungarian football
matches and overall
crowd violence
Territoriality
Lewis '05
For football teams, crowd support was
named as the most significant factor in
contributing to a home advantage, as fans
felt responsible for inspiring their team to
win and distracting the opposition
Pollard and Pollard '05
Even
small
crowds
contribute
to
the
home
advantage
Moore and Brylinsky
Found that American Basketball teams
actually scored more points on average
during games where there was no crowd
(which was due to an outbreak of measles
which meant no crowds could gather)
Warfare
AO1
Divale & Harris
War is supposedly
caused due to there
being more males than
females in society, so
males increase their
aggression to win a
mate
This increases the
likelihood of having
offspring to pass on
your alleles
This is because in societies
with frequent warfare,
males are more likely to
escape infanticide than
females
Aggression
also earns
respect and
status
within
groups
This increases the
chance of getting
protection within the
group society, and
also increases the
likelihood of being
able to have children
to pass on genes
AO2
Palmer and Tilly '95
Male youth
street gang
members have
more sexual
partners than
ordinary young
males
Leunissen & Van Vugt
Military men have greater sex appeal
but only if they have been observed
showing bravery in combat
LeBlanc & Register
Warfare and aggressive
displays are a
consequence of
environmental changes
such as rising
populations and
dwindling food supplies
Limitations of the theory
Any theory for
human
aggression
that looks
towards
increasing the
chance of
mating as the
main
explanation
for violence
fails to
consider why
the violence
humans show
in warfare is
SO severe
compared
with other
species that
compete for
mates
IDA
Real Life Application
Sheffield United: Football
unites, Racism divides
campaign aims to tackle racism
within football in England
Displays of
aggression
before
sporting
games (e.g.
Samoan
Rugby team's
Manu Siva Tau
war chant,
New Zealand
All Black's
Hakka)
Gender Bias
Adams '83
Females warriors
are pretty much
unheard of
within most
societies
This could
be due to
the fact that
women
have less to
gain from
fighting
within
warfare, and
a lot more
to lose (in
terms of
loss of the
reproductive
ability)
Our
understanding
of
group
displays
of
aggression
is
therefore
limited
solely
to
the
behaviour
of
males