Christie, D. J., & Pim, J. E. (Eds.). (2012). Nonkilling Psychology

Nonkilling Psychology Edited by Daniel J. Christie and Joám Evans Pim Center for Global Nonkilling CREATIVE COMMONS LICENCE Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 You are free to share, copy, distribute and transmit this work* Under the following conditions: Attribution. You must attribute this work in the manner specified by the author/licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works. You may not alter, transform or build upon this work. * For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. * Any of the above conditions can be waived if you gain permission from the copyright holders. Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the Authors’ moral and legal rights. Parts of this volume have been released under GFDL and Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 as part of Wikiversity’s School of Nonkilling Studies (http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/School:Nonkilling_studies). The Center for Global Nonkilling does not necessarily endorse the views expressed by the authors. Also available for free download at: http://www.nonkilling.org © The Authors, 2011 © Center for Global Nonkilling, 2011 (this edition) First Edition: June 2011 ISBN-13 978-0-9822983-8-1 ISBN-10 0-9822983-8-2 ______________________________________________________ Cataloging in Publication Data (CIP) Nonkilling Psychology / Edited by Daniel J. Christie and Joám Evans Pim. ISBN 978-0-9822983-8-1 1. Nonkilling 2. Peace. 3. Pacifism – Nonviolence. I. Title. II. Christie, Daniel J., ed. III. Evans Pim, Joám, ed. CDU - 172.4 : 327.36 ______________________________________________________ A catalogue record is also available from the Library of Congress. Center for Global Nonkilling Post Office Box 12232 Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96828 United States of America Email: [email protected] http://www.nonkilling.org “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that we have to erect the ramparts of peace.” (Preamble of the UNESCO constitution, 1945) Contents Foreword Morton Deutsch Columbia University This volume. 9 Introduction Introduction Daniel J. Christie Ohio State University Introduction... References Ref. 13 Neurobiological and Evolutionary Perspectives on Nonkilling Neurobiology of Human Killing Tracy A. Bedrosian and Randy J. Nelson The Ohio State University Introduction Human violence and killing present a major public health problem to society, with the FBI reporting in 2009 over a million violent crimes (i.e., of- fences involving force or the threat thereof) in the United States alone. Murders comprise more than 15,000 of these crimes. Clearly, violence pre- sents a grave challenge to society, in terms of the destruction of lives, con- sequences for the people involved, and the billions of dollars invested in the criminal justice system each year to deal with this problem. In the past, violence and killing has been wholly the domain of the criminal justice system; however, as other disciplines have expanded to include the study of violence and killing, a deeper understanding of this behavior has emerged. Neuroscience research, in particular, has recently made strides in delineating the neural mechanisms underlying violent behavior and in identi- fying risk factors for extreme violence. As neuroscience advances our understanding in these areas, we may look toward biologically-based interventions to prevent and treat the extremes in behavior which lead to killing. Such research is integral to the shift toward a nonkilling society. Research in both humans and nonhuman animals has been essential to progress in this field in order to understand the mechanisms of violence and killing. Human research is useful for its direct application to society; however, these studies are limited to establishing correlations between biological metrics and behavior, whereas animal research makes it possible to determine causative mechanisms of behavior. Most human studies are retro- spective (i.e., assaying genes or hormones in violent offenders well after the behavior has ceased), but animal research allows studies of changes in hormones or neurotransmitters during the aggressive act itself. Studies in humans and nonhuman animals employ several different techniques as well. Human studies seek to understand genetic influences on violent behavior through the use of genotyping, family histories, and twin studies. 17 18 Nonkilling Psychology Animal research uses gene knockouts, inducible gene expression, and direct quantification of gene expression levels to determine causative effects on behavior. To understand brain functioning, human research uses imaging techniques such as fMRI or PET to correlate neural activity with behavioral tenden- cies. Animal research allows direct manipulation of brain function via pharma- cological, stimulation, or ablation methods to determine the corresponding behavioral output. Other animal techniques such as microdialysis allow for the measurement of neurotransmitter levels in specific brain regions during per- formance of aggressive acts. Taken together, these research techniques in humans and nonhuman animals complement each other by addressing both the neurobiological mechanisms of violence and the direct human correlates. This chapter will summarize major findings from the field of neurobiology of aggression, focusing on the distinction between adaptive aggression and violent behavior, and their neural correlates, in both humans and nonhuman animals. We will also discuss factors which predispose humans to engage in violence and killing, and explore preventative strategies and interventions derived from biological research. We do not necessarily argue that a biological approach is better or necessarily more effective in treating or preventing killing behavior, but in addition to sociological or psychological perspectives, biological tools will pro- vide a useful and necessary complement to other approaches. Aggression and Violence Defined In both human and nonhuman animal research, it is important to distinguish between aggression and violence (Haller, 2006). Aggression is composed of a suite of adaptive behaviors expressed during conflict with a specific, functional aim. In nonhuman animals, the goal of aggressive displays is often obtaining resources or defending territories or social status. Once the goal has been at- tained, aggression ceases. In many cases, aggression is “ritualized”, meaning that escalation to overt physical fighting is unnecessary to resolve the conflict (Natarajan and Caramaschi, 2010). Certain social signals, such as increasing the apparent size of the animal, are sufficient to assert dominance. In this way, aggression rarely leads to death or serious harm and serves as an adaptive strat- egy for obtaining resources and status. Similarly, humans may display some amount of aggression in certain situations of conflict or competition; however, this is importantly distinguished from violence. A child may push another on the playground, but this is typically considered aggression, not violence. Aggression that is uninhibited, escalated beyond normal limits, and expressed with the intent to harm or kill, is considered separate from other forms Neurobiological and Evolutionary Perspectives on Nonkilling 19 of aggression. This specific behavior is known as violence; that is, extreme behavior expressed with the intent of causing serious damage (e.g., death) to another individual (Anderson and Bushman, 2002). Humans and nonhuman animals can both display such escalated and pathological behavior. Research, which will be discussed in detail below, suggests that violence is comprised of a very different set of neurobiological processes than adaptive aggression. Another important distinction to make is between the two subtypes of violent behavior. In humans, violent behavior can be displayed as either a reactive or instrumental subtype. These two subtypes speak to the different motives underlying the behavior and research suggests there may be different neurobiological correlates here as well. The first subtype, reactive violence, comprises violence that is impulsive and usually not pre-meditated. It may be explosive and occur out of anger or rage. The second subtype, instrumental violence, is con- trolled, purposeful, and goal-oriented. It can be thought of as “predatory” and is usually planned (Nelson and Trainor, 2007). As an example of each, a gang member who gets angry during a conflict and suddenly pulls a gun on another individual is displaying reactive violence. In contrast, a jealous husband who murders his wife’s lover would be demonstrating the instrumental subtype. Because different types of behavior have distinct neural correlates, dis- tinguishing between each form of aggression and violence is crucial to dis- cerning the underlying neuroanatomical and neurophysiologic contributions to violence versus aggression. These differentiations are important to understand for developing interventions and preventative strategies specific to the behavior expressed by an individual. Biology of Aggression Neural Correlates In many circumstances, particularly among nonhuman animals, displays of aggression are normal and adaptive responses to environmental challenges. Scarce resources, competition for mates, and territorial defense provoke aggressive encounters between individuals. In rodents, this

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