DOCSLIB.ORG

Sex Differences in Aggression: What Does Evolutionary Theory Predict?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sex Differences in Aggression: What Does Evolutionary Theory Predict? BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2009) 32, 249–311 Printed in the United States of America doi:10.1017/S0140525X09990951 Does sexual selection explain human sex differences in aggression? John Archer School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, United Kingdom [email protected] http://www.uclan.ac.uk/scitech/research/rae2008/psychology/ staff_profiles/jarcher.php Abstract: I argue that the magnitude and nature of sex differences in aggression, their development, causation, and variability, can be better explained by sexual selection than by the alternative biosocial version of social role theory. Thus, sex differences in physical aggression increase with the degree of risk, occur early in life, peak in young adulthood, and are likely to be mediated by greater male impulsiveness, and greater female fear of physical danger. Male variability in physical aggression is consistent with an alternative life history perspective, and context-dependent variability with responses to reproductive competition, although some variability follows the internal and external influences of social roles. Other sex differences, in variance in reproductive output, threat displays, size and strength, maturation rates, and mortality and conception rates, all indicate that male aggression is part of a sexually selected adaptive complex. Physical aggression between partners can be explained using different evolutionary principles, arising from the conflicts of interest between males and females entering a reproductive alliance, combined with variability following differences in societal gender roles. In this case, social roles are particularly important since they enable both the relatively equality in physical aggression between partners from Western nations, and the considerable cross-national variability, to be explained. Keywords: aggression; partner violence; sex differences; sexual selection; social role theory 1. Introduction partners in this article, so as to provide a comprehensive explanation of sex differences in aggression. Nevertheless, Darwin (1859/1911; 1871/1901) regarded the greater most of the discussion is devoted to within-sex differences, proneness to physical aggression by men than women as the main concern of sexual selection and social role part of a general mammalian pattern, which can be accounts. In assessing the evidence, I address the issues explained by one aspect of sexual selection, inter-male of ultimate origins, development, mediating variables, and competition. Within the social sciences there is a long tra- sources of individual differences, in relation to predictions dition of explaining sex differences in social behavior, derived from the two theories. I argue that sexual selection including aggression, in human-centered terms, as a con- provides the more complete explanation of the origins of sex sequence of social influences. In this article, I argue that differences in aggression, and that these differences are sexual selection provides a better explanation for human linked to a range of other features indicting the operation sex differences in aggression than the main contemporary of sexual selection in humans. Although reformulations of social science approach, the social role theory. social role theory do encompass some evolved differences, Aggression is typically defined as behavior intended to they are restricted to physical attributes, which form only harm another individual, and its study was originally part of the sexual selection view. restricted to direct physical and verbal forms. Psychologists began systematically documenting human sex differences in these types of aggression in the 1920s, and studies have continued to the present time. The forms of aggression JOHN ARCHER, Professor of Psychology at the Univer- 1 now include indirect (or “relational” ) aggression, which sity of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom, is Feshbach (1969) and Lagerspetz et al. (1988) found to be the author of more than 100 articles, in a wide range of more typical of girls than boys. They suggested that the journals, in the areas of animal aggression and emotion- sex difference, hitherto characterized as involving “aggres- ality, testosterone and behavior, human sex differences, sion,” was more accurately viewed as involving its form. human aggression, grief and loss, and evolutionary psy- Contemporary studies include both direct and indirect chology. He is also the author of several books, includ- aggression. A separate extensive literature documents sex ing The Behavioural Biology of Aggression (1988), The Nature of Grief (1999), and Sex and Gender (2nd differences (or similarities) in physical aggression between edition, 2002). He is a former President of the Inter- partners, although this is not usually considered in discus- national Society for Research on Aggression (ISRA), sions of sex differences in aggression. I do consider the evol- and is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society. utionary and social forces underlying aggression between # 2009 Cambridge University Press 0140-525X/09 $40.00 249 Archer: Sex differences in aggression 2. Aggression between same-sex individuals distributed, the potential for reproductive competition is less, and monogamy is more likely. These principles also 2.1. Sexual selection as an explanatory framework apply to variation within a species. For example, the for human aggression mating system of the dunnock (Prunella vulgaris) varies 2.1.1. Principles of sexual selection. Sexual selection from polygyny to monogamy to polyandry (Davies & involves the choice of members of one sex by the other, Hartley 1996; Davies & Lundberg 1984), depending on and competition by members of one sex for access to the the food distribution, which affects female range size. other (Darwin 1871/1901). The more competitive and Underlying these associations is the ability of males to aggressive sex is usually the male, particularly in control access to females, or more precisely, the concept mammals. Sexual selection forms a basis for understanding of operational sex ratio (OSR; Emlen & Oring sex differences in aggression in animals, although it is not 1977) – the ratio of sexually active males to fertilizable the only explanation (Ralls 1976; Selander 1972). Trivers females at any given time and place. This will be biased (1972) proposed that the reason why males are typically in the female direction as a consequence of males being the more competitive sex is their lower parental investment, excluded from the breeding group by higher mortality, defined as any contribution by a parent that increases an or being ejected as a result of competition, or maturing offspring’s chances of survival and reproduction, while more slowly (Clutton-Brock & Harvey 1977), and in the reducing the parents’ ability to produce further offspring. male direction if females only gradually become fertile Examples include the energy expended in gamete pro- or available to males (e.g., Smuts 1987b). The OSR is duction (Bateman 1948), and feeding or guarding the essentially an index of the degree of male competition young. The initial greater contribution by the female to for mates, and is associated with greater variance in male the gametes will make desertion to seek access to other than female reproductive success. mates a more beneficial option for males than for females, Pomiankowski and Møller (1995) found greater variabil- providing that one parent can care for the offspring.2 The ity in sexually selected than non-sexually selected traits in sex showing higher parental investment becomes a limiting males than females from a range of species, and they resource, the other sex competing for reproductive access. attributed this to sexual selection producing traits exagger- Competition can take forms other than direct aggression, ated beyond those that were optimal for survival. An for example, sperm competition, or features that aid mate alternative explanation in species where there is some attraction, or securing a dispersed resource (Andersson degree of paternal care is that males of many monogamous 1994, pp. 10–13; Archer 1988, pp. 106–107). species retain traits associated with polygynous mating, When parental care by both sexes is required, inter-male and can therefore be regarded as facultatively polygynous competition will be countered by the male’s greater (Andersson 1994, pp. 157–58; Trivers 1972). The degree paternal investment, as occurs in monogamous birds. to which this occurs depends both on the context (e.g., Where the female can leave the male to brood the eggs the availability of alternative mates) and the individual and care for the young alone, as occurs in polyandrous (e.g., the ability to attract alternative mates). Such individ- wading birds, females will be the more competitive, and ual differences are said to arise from the extent to which the larger and more aggressive, sex (Jenni 1974). This rever- reproductive effort is concentrated on parental or mating sal of the usual sex differences provides crucial support for effort, which is termed a conditional reproductive strategy Trivers’ theory. In mammals, fertilization is internal and the (Gross 1996). It would lead to greater variation in sexually female feeds the developing offspring, so that parental selected traits among males than among females. investment is further female-biased, and polygyny is the usual outcome. In terrestrial mammals, this is typically 2.1.2. Sexual selection applied to human aggression. associated
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Inter-Group Cooperation in Humans and Other Animals
    Inter-group cooperation in humans and other animals Biology Letters: Author Pre-print Elva J. H. Robinson1 and Jessica L. Barker2 1. University of York, Department of Biology and York Centre for Complex Systems Analysis 2. Aarhus University, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies Abstract Social interactions are often characterised by cooperation within groups and conflict or competition between groups. In certain circumstances, however, cooperation can arise between social groups. Here we examine the circumstances under which inter-group cooperation is expected to emerge and present examples with particular focus on groups in two well-studied but dissimilar taxa: humans and social insects. Drivers for the evolution of inter-group cooperation include overarching threats from predators, competitors or adverse conditions, and group-level resource asymmetries. Resources can differ between groups in both quantity and type. Where the difference is in type, inequalities can lead to specialisation and division of labour between groups, a phenomenon characteristic of human societies, but rarely seen in other animals. The ability to identify members of one’s own group is essential for social coherence; we consider the proximate roles of identity effects in shaping inter- group cooperation and allowing membership of multiple groups. Finally, we identify numerous valuable avenues for future research that will improve our understanding of the processes shaping inter-group cooperation. Introduction Across taxa, group-living organisms tend to behave differently towards members of their own group (in-group) than towards members of other groups (out-groups) (Table 1). This characteristically involves two behaviours that are distinct but often co-occur: 1) cooperation with in-group members and 2) conflict with out-groups [1].
    [Show full text]
  • A Few Good Men: Evolutionary Psychology and Female Adolescent Aggression Anne Campbell Durham University, England
    ELSEVIER A Few Good Men: Evolutionary Psychology and Female Adolescent Aggression Anne Campbell Durham University, England Criminologists have drawn attention to the fact that crime peaks in the teens and early 20s and that this pattern shows invariance over culture, history, offense, and sex. Wilson and Duly (1985) have proposed that among young, disadvantaged mules, the age-crime curve reflects risky tactics aimed at averting "reproductive death." Though young women's rate of involvement in violent crime is much lower than men's, they also show a similar age-violence curve for assault. This paper proposes that this may be the result of aggressive mate selection among young women and that, under certain specified dgcumstances, women may engage in low-key intrasexual strategies in addition to epigamic strategies. This pa- per reviews material on sex differences in violent crime and in mate selection strategies, and offers predictions about the likely circumstances under which females will use intrasexual strategies. The scant available data on female adolescent fighting suggest that female-female assaults are more common than official statistical estimates and that they are frequently triggered by three key issues related to reproductive fitness: management of sexual reputation, competition over access to resource-rich young men, and protecting heterosexual relationships from takeover by rival women. KEY WORDS: Aggression; Female; Mate selection. H irschi and Gottfredson (1983) make a compelling argument for the invariance of the age-crime curve. The association between youth and heightened crime rate, they argue, holds constant regardless of histor- ical period, country, race, type of crime, and (most relevant for the present discussion) sex.
    [Show full text]
  • Group-Level Cooperation in Chimpanzees Is Shaped by Strong Social Ties ✉ Liran Samuni 1,2,3 , Catherine Crockford1,2 & Roman M
    ARTICLE https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20709-9 OPEN Group-level cooperation in chimpanzees is shaped by strong social ties ✉ Liran Samuni 1,2,3 , Catherine Crockford1,2 & Roman M. Wittig 1,2 Humans maintain extensive social ties of varying preferences, providing a range of oppor- tunities for beneficial cooperative exchange that may promote collective action and our unique capacity for large-scale cooperation. Similarly, non-human animals maintain differ- 1234567890():,; entiated social relationships that promote dyadic cooperative exchange, but their link to cooperative collective action is little known. Here, we investigate the influence of social relationship properties on male and female chimpanzee participations in a costly form of group action, intergroup encounters. We find that intergroup encounter participation increases with a greater number of other participants as well as when participants are maternal kin or social bond partners, and that these effects are independent from one another and from the likelihood to associate with certain partners. Together, strong social relation- ships between kin and non-kin facilitate group-level cooperation in one of our closest living relatives, suggesting that social bonds may be integral to the evolution of cooperation in our own species. 1 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. 2 Taï Chimpanzee Project, CSRS, 01 BP 1303 Abidjan, Ivory Coast. ✉ 3 Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 02138 Cambridge, MA, USA. email: [email protected]
    [Show full text]
  • Psychology of Intergroup Conflict 1 RUNNING HEAD
    Psychology of Intergroup Conflict 1 RUNNING HEAD: Psychology of Intergroup Conflict Evolution and the Psychology of Intergroup Conflict: The Male Warrior Hypothesis Melissa M. McDonald, Carlos David Navarrete, and Mark Van Vugt CONTRIBUTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE OF PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS ON “THE BIOLOGY OF CULTURAL CONFLICT” GUEST-EDITORS GREGORY BERNS AND SCOTT ATRAN Date Revision: 13 June 2011 Author Note Melissa M. McDonald and Carlos David Navarrete, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University. Mark Van Vugt, VU University of Amsterdam, Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, and University of Oxford, Institute for Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Melissa M. McDonald, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48840, E-mail: [email protected]. Psychology of Intergroup Conflict 2 Abstract The social science literature contains numerous examples of human tribalism and parochialism -- the tendency to categorize individuals on the basis of their group membership, and treat ingroup members benevolently and outgroup members malevolently. We hypothesize that this tribal inclination is an adaptive response to the threat of coalitional aggression and intergroup violence perpetrated by “warrior males” in both ancestral and modern human environments. Here we describe how male coalitional aggression could have affected the social psychologies of men and women differently and present preliminary evidence from experimental social
    [Show full text]
  • Warfare in an Evolutionary Perspective
    Received: 26 November 2018 Revised: 7 May 2019 Accepted: 18 September 2019 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21806 REVIEW ARTICLE Warfare in an evolutionary perspective Bonaventura Majolo School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Sarah Swift Building, Lincoln, UK Abstract The importance of warfare for human evolution is hotly debated in anthropology. Correspondence Bonaventura Majolo, School of Psychology, Some authors hypothesize that warfare emerged at least 200,000–100,000 years BP, University of Lincoln, Sarah Swift Building, was frequent, and significantly shaped human social evolution. Other authors claim Brayford Wharf East, Lincoln LN5 7AT, UK. Email: [email protected] that warfare is a recent phenomenon, linked to the emergence of agriculture, and mostly explained by cultural rather than evolutionary forces. Here I highlight and crit- ically evaluate six controversial points on the evolutionary bases of warfare. I argue that cultural and evolutionary explanations on the emergence of warfare are not alternative but analyze biological diversity at two distinct levels. An evolved propen- sity to act aggressively toward outgroup individuals may emerge irrespective of whether warfare appeared early/late during human evolution. Finally, I argue that lethal violence and aggression toward outgroup individuals are two linked but distinct phenomena, and that war and peace are complementary and should not always be treated as two mutually exclusive behavioral responses. KEYWORDS aggression, competition, conflict, cooperation, peace, social evolution, violence, war 1 | INTRODUCTION and others on the importance of organized/cooperative actions among members of one social group against members of the opposing The question of whether humans are innately peaceful or aggressive group.5 Clearly, how we define warfare affects how deep we can go has fascinated scientists and philosophers for centuries.1,2 Wars, eth- back in time in human evolution to investigate its emergence and evo- nic or religious contests, and intra-group or intra-family violence are lutionary bases.
    [Show full text]
  • Can the Social Scientists Be Saved? Should They?
    Evolutionary Psychology human-nature.com/ep – 2006. 4: 102-106 ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Book Review Can the social scientists be saved? Should they? A review of Missing the Revolution: Darwinism for Social Scientists by Jerome H. Barkow (Ed.). 2006. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 302 + vii. $49.95 (hardcover). Satoshi Kanazawa, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom. Email: [email protected]. I began my graduate career in the Department of Sociology at the University of Washington, where the great sociobiologist Pierre van den Berghe taught all his career. I was a stupid SSSM (“Standard Social Science Model”) sociology graduate student then, and I joined the chorus of the confederacy of dunces to ridicule Pierre’s sociobiological work. More than a decade later, I discovered evolutionary psychology on my own by reading Wright's The Moral Animal, and converted to it overnight. When I began working in EP, I apologized to Pierre for having been too dense to see the light a decade earlier, and told him my grand plan to introduce EP into sociology and revolutionize social sciences. Pierre was encouraging but cautious. He told me that he had tried to do that himself a quarter of a century earlier but to no avail. Sociologists were just too stupid to understand the importance of biology in human behavior, a view that he has expressed in print (van den Berghe, 1990), and he eventually left the field in disgust. Blinded by youthful optimism and ambition, I did not heed Pierre’s cautionary words and tried very hard to introduce EP into sociology.
    [Show full text]
  • Biology and Criminology
    Biology and Criminology Routledge Advances in Criminology 1. Family Life and Youth Offending Home Is Where the Hurt Is Raymond Arthur 2. China’s Death Penalty History, Law, and Contemporary Practices Hong Lu and Terance D. Miethe 3. The Politics of Antisocial Behaviour Amoral Panics Stuart Waiton 4. Hooked Drug War Films in Britain, Canada, and the United States Susan C. Boyd 5. The Violence of Incarceration Edited by Phil Scraton and Jude McCulloch 6. Violence, Prejudice and Sexuality Stephen Tomsen 7. Biology and Criminology The Biosocial Synthesis Anthony Walsh Biology and Criminology The Biosocial Synthesis Anthony Walsh New York London First published 2009 by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. © 2009 Taylor & Francis All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereaf- ter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trade- marks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Walsh, Anthony, 1941- Biology and criminology : the biosocial synthesis / by Anthony Walsh.—1st ed.
    [Show full text]
  • Evolutionary Roots of Property Rights; the Natural and Cultural Nature of Human Cooperation
    Open Research Online The Open University’s repository of research publications and other research outputs Evolutionary Roots of Property Rights; The Natural and Cultural Nature of Human Cooperation Journal Item How to cite: Szocik, Konrad and Herian, Robert (2019). Evolutionary Roots of Property Rights; The Natural and Cultural Nature of Human Cooperation. The Heythrop Journal, 60(6) pp. 821–831. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 2016 Trustees for Roman Catholic Purposes Registered https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Version: Accepted Manuscript Link(s) to article on publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1111/heyj.12338 Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. oro.open.ac.uk HeyJ •• (2016), pp. ••–•• EVOLUTIONARY ROOTS OF PROPERTY RIGHTS; THE NATURAL AND CULTURAL NATURE OF HUMAN COOPERATION KONRAD SZOCIK University of Information Technology and Management, Rzeszow, Poland ROBERT HERIAN The Open University Law School 1. INTRODUCTION Debates about the role of natural and cultural selection in the development of prosocial, anti- social and socially neutral mechanisms and behavior raise questions that touch property rights, cooperation, and conflict. For example, some researchers suggest that cooperation and prosocial- ity evolved by natural selection (Hamilton 1964, Trivers 1971, Axelrod and Hamilton 1981, De Waal 2013, 2014), while others claim that natural selection is insufficient for the evolution of cooperation, which required in addition cultural selection (Sterelny 2013, Bowles and Gintis 2003, Seabright 2013, Norenzayan 2013).
    [Show full text]
  • The Natures of Universal Moralities, 75 Brook
    Brooklyn Law Review Volume 75 Issue 2 SYMPOSIUM: Article 4 Is Morality Universal, and Should the Law Care? 2009 The aN tures of Universal Moralities Bailey Kuklin Follow this and additional works at: https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/blr Recommended Citation Bailey Kuklin, The Natures of Universal Moralities, 75 Brook. L. Rev. (2009). Available at: https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/blr/vol75/iss2/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at BrooklynWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Brooklyn Law Review by an authorized editor of BrooklynWorks. The Natures of Universal Moralities Bailey Kuklin† One of the abiding lessons from postmodernism is that reason does not go all the way down.1 In the context of this symposium, one cannot deductively derive a universal morality from incontestible moral primitives,2 or practical reason alone.3 Instead, even reasoned moral systems must ultimately be grounded on intuition,4 a sense of justice. The question then † Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School. I wish to thank the presenters and participants of the Brooklyn Law School Symposium entitled “Is Morality Universal, and Should the Law Care?” and those at the Tenth SEAL Scholarship Conference. Further thanks go to Brooklyn Law School for supporting this project with a summer research stipend. 1 “Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives.” JEAN-FRANCOIS LYOTARD, THE POSTMODERN CONDITION: A REPORT ON KNOWLEDGE xxiv (Geoff Bennington & Brian Massumi trans., 1984). “If modernity is viewed with Weberian optimism as the project of rationalisation of the life-world, an era of material progress, social emancipation and scientific innovation, the postmodern is derided as chaotic, catastrophic, nihilistic, the end of good order.” COSTAS DOUZINAS ET AL., POSTMODERN JURISPRUDENCE 16 (1991).
    [Show full text]
  • Psicobiología De La Sociosexualidad En Hombres
    PSICOBIOLOGÍA DE LA SOCIOSEXUALIDAD EN HOMBRES. UNA APROXIMACIÓN DESDE LA PSICOMETRÍA Y LA TEORÍA DE JUEGOS POR: ORIANA FIGUEROA VALDEBENITO Tesis presentada a la Facultad de Gobierno de la Universidad del Desarrollo para optar al grado académico de Doctora en Ciencias de la Complejidad Social PROFESORES GUÍA: Sr. CARLOS RODRÍGUEZ- SICKERT Sr. JOSÉ ANTONIO MUÑOZ- REYES Enero, 2021 SANTIAGO © Oriana Figueroa Valdebenito, 2021 Creative Commons Atribución-No Comercial-Compartir Igual (CC: BY-NC-SA) 3.0 Chile: Se permite usar la obra y hacer obras derivadas, siempre que esos usos no tengan fines comerciales y las obras derivadas lleven una licencia idéntica a la obra original, reconociendo a los autores. ii DEDICATORIA Quiero dedicar y agradecer a todas las personas que han sido parte de este proceso que se inició hace años, especialmente a ti mi viejita, ambas sabemos cuánto te habría gustado ver y disfrutar conmigo este momento, pero aquí estoy, finalizando este camino y sabiendo lo orgullosa que habrías estado, te quiero infinito. A Roberto por estar ahí siempre apoyándome incondicionalmente y acompañarme en esta aventura de convertirme en científica. iii AGRADECIMIENTOS A mis profesores José Antonio Muñoz- Reyes, Carlos Rodríguez-Sickert y Pablo Polo Rodrigo. Al proyecto Fondecyt regular #1170513 por haber patrocinado la realización de este trabajo. Al equipo del Laboratorio de Comportamiento Animal y Humano por haber facilitado la exitosa realización de este trabajo. A mis compañeros del doctorado. A todos los participantes que contribuyeron a esta investigación y con eso a la generación de conocimiento en el campo de estudio del comportamiento humano. iv Tabla de Contenidos I.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding Variation in Reactions to Displays of Allegiance
    Human Ethology Bulletin 32 (2017)1- Proc. of the XXIII Biennial ISHE Congress: 17-28 Research Article UNDERSTANDING VARIATION IN REACTIONS TO DISPLAYS OF ALLEGIANCE Daniel J. Kruger1, Michele Day2, Ailiya Duan2, Anna Heyblom2, Dora Juhasz2, Stephanie Misevich2, Camile Phaneuf2, Claire Saunders2, Peter Sonnega2 & Vibra Sreenivasa2 1 Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 2 Literature, Science and Arts, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan [email protected] ABSTRACT Sports team rivalries involve expressions of evolved psychology related to in-group loyalty and inter-group competition. ESPN ranked the University of Michigan–Ohio State University football rivalry as the greatest North American sports rivalry. Toledo, Ohio is geographically closer to Ann Arbor, MI (UM), than to Columbus, OH (OSU) and conventional wisdom holds that team loyalty is divided among local residents. Previous observational research of thousands of individuals in Toledo indicated that no one simultaneously wore apparel from the two competing teams. Inspired by these observations, a second study examined reactions to displays of mixed loyalty vs. consistent loyalty. When a research confederate wore clothing featuring both UM and OSU, he elicited more attention and reactions than when wearing equivalent outfits featuring just one of the universities. The current study examines factors explaining individual differences in attention to displays of allegiance to rival groups, whether consistent or mixed. We made several predictions for explaining variation in reaction rates based on evolved coalitional psychology. We predicted that men, young adults in the typical undergraduate age range (18-25), and those wearing university merchandise themselves will have higher reaction rates to the confederate than women, individuals in other age groups, and individuals not wearing university merchandise respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • Marxist, Conflict, and Feminist 95
    CHAPTER 6 CriticalCritical Theories:Theories: Marxist,Marxist, Conflict,Conflict, andand FeministFeminist At the heart of the theories in this chapter is social stratification by class and power, and they are the most “politicized” of all criminological theories. Sanyika Shakur, aka Kody Scott, came to embrace this critical and politicized view of society as he grew older and converted to Afrocentric Islam. Shakur was very much a member of the class Karl Marx called the “lumpenproletariat” (a German word meaning “rag proletariat”), which is the very bottom of the class hierarchy. Many critical theorists would view Shakur’s criminality as justifiable rebellion against class and racial exploitation. Shakur wanted all the material rewards of American capitalism, but he perceived that the only way he could get them was through crime. He was a total egoist, but many Marxists would excuse this as a trait that is nourished by capitalism, the “root cause” of crime. From his earliest days, he was on the fringes of a society he clearly disdained. He frequently referred to whites as “Americans” to emphasize his distance from them, and he referred to black cops as “Negroes” to distinguish them from the “New African Man.” He called himself a “student of revolutionary science” and “rebellion,” and advocated a separate black nation in America. Conflict concepts dominated Shakur’s life as he battled the Bloods as well as other Crips “subsets” whose interests were at odds with his set. It is easy to imagine his violent acts as the outlets of a desperate man struggling against feelings of class and race inferiority.
    [Show full text]