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Evolutionary Approaches to Group Dynamics: an Introduction Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice Copyright 2008 by the American Psychological Association 2008, Vol. 12, No. 1, 1–6 1089-2699/08/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/1089-2699.12.1.1 Evolutionary Approaches to Group Dynamics: An Introduction Mark Van Vugt Mark Schaller University of Kent University of British Columbia An evolutionary perspective offers many new insights in the study of group dynamics. First, groups are an inevitable aspect of human evolution, suggesting that humans have evolved a range of psychological mechanisms to deal with specific challenges of group living. Second, an evolutionary perspective combines and integrates knowledge from different social science disciplines such as psychology, biology, anthropology, and economics to find evidence for group-related psychological adaptations. Third, an evolutionary analysis produces many unique hypotheses about group psychology, showing the promise and generativity of this approach. Keywords: special issue, group dynamics, evolutionary psychology, leadership, inter- group conflict With those animals which were benefited by living in unique opportunities that group living provides, close association, the individuals which took the great- while avoiding the unique dangers associated est pleasure in society would best escape various dan- gers, while those that cared least for their comrades, with groups. These opportunities and dangers and lived solitary, would perish in greater numbers. exist in many different, highly distinct social —Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man domains (e.g., navigation of status hierarchies, The father of modern evolutionary theory, opportunities for reciprocal exchange, finding Charles Darwin, pointed out long ago that group mates, communal parental care, disease avoid- living is an adaptive strategy for species such as ance). The conceptual implication is that, in humans. Groups are critical to human survival response to the many unique prospects and per- and reproduction. For ancestral humans, groups ils of group living, humans may have evolved provided a buffer against hostile environments various unique psychological mechanisms that and facilitated access to many resources that have profound implications for many different were essential to reproductive fitness. As a con- aspects of group dynamics. That conceptual im- sequence, humans may well have evolved a plication yields a practical implication as well: range of psychological mechanisms that pro- By applying the logical tools provided by evo- mote an attraction to and capacity for living in lutionary psychology, we have the potential to groups. strengthen groups and foster beneficial group Of course, the benefits of group living would dynamics. not have accrued equally to every member of an Consider just one of many potentially useful ancestral group. The greatest benefits presum- implications: Among ancestral humans, fitness ably accrued to those individuals who were may have depended crucially upon the sharing most adept at availing themselves of the many of valued resources, such as food; but this cre- ated the problem of finding trustworthy partners to share food with. Because it was potentially lethal to share with people unlikely to recipro- Mark Van Vugt, Department of Psychology, University cate, natural selection processes may have fa- of Kent; Mark Schaller, Department of Psychology, Uni- vored psychological mechanisms that facilitate versity of British Columbia. Correspondence concerning this article should be ad- the identification, avoidance, and ostracism of dressed to Mark Van Vugt, Centre for the Study of Group nonreciprocators. There is growing evidence Processes, Department of Psychology, University of Kent, that humans indeed have specialized decision Canterbury, UK, CT2 7BD. E-mail: [email protected] or rules for cheater detection and social exclusion Mark Schaller, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Z4. E-mail: (Kerr & Levine, 2007; Kurzban & Leary, 2001). [email protected] By understanding how and when these mecha- 1 2 VAN VUGT AND SCHALLER nisms operate, we may be better equipped to tered. This is increasingly acknowledged in the develop interventions that encourage groups— literature. For instance, the latest version of the and the people that comprise them—to be more well-known textbook on evolutionary psychol- socially inclusive and less prejudiced (Schaller ogy by Buss (2007) devotes considerable space & Neuberg, in press). to obviously group-relevant topics such as sta- Another example is provided by an evolu- tus, dominance, prejudice, and intergroup rela- tionary analysis of risk taking among adoles- tions. Evolutionary approaches are also increas- cents. It has long been known that young men, ingly prominent in the study of real-world in particular, are prone to potentially self- groups in management, business, marketing, destructive forms of risk taking (e.g., crime, law, and health (Barkow, 2006). gambling, drug use). Why is this? One evolu- Advances in evolutionary psychology, and its tionarily informed explanation (buttressed by applications, may not yet be evident to every considerable supportive data; M. Wilson & researcher interested in groups and group dy- Daly, 1985) indicates that in ancestral times, namics. Indeed, even enthusiasts of evolution- risk taking enhanced the social status of young ary psychology may be unfamiliar with many of men and made them more attractive sexual part- the new directions that are emerging within this ners. A practical implication is that organiza- burgeoning field of inquiry. It is for this reason tions fare better if they acknowledge the greater that we have assembled this special issue on status sensitivity of young men and try to chan- evolutionary approaches to group dynamics. nel it in socially desirable directions (e.g., com- The special issue comprises a set of theoretical petitive altruism; Hardy & Van Vugt, 2006). articles, authored by eminent researchers with joint interests in evolutionary processes and Evolutionary Psychology and Group group dynamics. For readers who are new to Dynamics this method of inquiry, these articles may pro- vide a useful introduction to the field and an An evolutionary approach to group dynamics illustration of the many useful insights that can begins with the recognition that human psychol- emerge by thinking simultaneously about evo- ogy (like human physiology) is the product of a lution and human groups. For readers who are long history of biological evolution. It follows, already familiar with evolutionary psychology, therefore, that conceptual insights of evolution- these articles provide a stimulating and diverse ary biology can, when applied with rigor and sample of the many creative ways in which care, produce novel discoveries about human evolutionary logic is now being applied produc- psychology. This is demonstrably the case. tively in the study of group processes. Evolutionary inquiries not only have provided Dunbar discusses the possibility that the hu- deeper explanations for the origins of already- man brain evolved in response to a specific set recognized psychological phenomena such as of problems associated with sizes of social phobias and mate preferences but also have groups; he identifies implications of this social produced an impressive array of novel theories, brain hypothesis for contemporary social hypotheses, and empirical discoveries about the interactions and group dynamics. O’Gorman, way the human mind works in contemporary Sheldon, and Wilson provide an overview of environments. multilevel selection theory—a theory that artic- Within evolutionary psychology, much re- ulates a means through which groups play a search has focused on behaviors that have ob- fundamental role in evolutionary processes— vious reproductive consequences, such as mat- and describe important implications for under- ing and parenting. As the field grows, the tools standing group behavior and group outcomes. of evolutionary inquiry are being applied to a Webster addresses the topic of kinship, which is much wider and diverse set of phenomena. fundamental to evolutionary theory but is rela- Many of these phenomena pertain directly to tively neglected in the study of group dynamics. groups and group dynamics. This is not surpris- His analysis suggests that kinship plays a non- ing. As a group-living species, the environment obvious but important role in many aspects of in which our ancestors evolved was primarily interpersonal and intergroup aggression. Kerr social. We therefore expect that many evolved and Levine speculate about the evolution of a aspects of human psychology are group cen- social exclusion detection mechanism in hu- SPECIAL ISSUE: EVOLUTIONARY APPROACHES TO GROUP DYNAMICS 3 mans. They suggest different ways in which Barring the unlikely invention of a time ma- social exclusion may be signaled, with various chine, it is impossible to collect data in ancestral implications for the psychology of groups. Buss environments or to empirically track the actual and Duntley consider the potential for exploita- evolution of any alleged psychological adapta- tion that exists in any social interaction and tion. Instead, evolutionary psychologists must suggest that humans have evolved strategies to rely on a multitude of other, more indirect, both exploit and avoid being exploited by other sources of evidence (Schmitt & Pilcher, 2004). group members. Their analysis produces novel Some of these methods—such as the methods of insights
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