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93 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Reptilian Brain (4F's)
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Brain stem
Simple motor skills and reflexes, all senses except smell and vision, feeding, fighting, fleeing and sex |
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Mammalian Brain
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Contains Hypothalamus, Amygdala, Hippocampus, Pituitary
Emotions, Hungers, Thirst, Sleep |
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Thinking Brain
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Frontal Lobe, Temporal Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Occipital Lobe
Decision-making, risk taking, Language and Spatial Perception |
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Cuckoldry
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Female Strategy
trick to raise to someone else baby |
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Brain Development: laughter
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Built in mechanism, liks sneezing; not learned like tool use. WHY?
Social Brain Hypothesis Social complexity and increased need for cohesion Laughter adds to sociability and smoother relations between people Chimps laugh too. Adds sociability while doing bonding activities like grooming Laughing may be analogous to blushing |
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Brain Development: fear
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Fear centers in the Amygdala
Originated to protect people from predators Even if a perceived threat is artificial (Like in scary movies_ it is still received and understood the same way by the brain Amygdala sends out dopamine in response: some people like this sensation, others don’t Extreme sports junkies feed off the chemical high |
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Instinctual fear
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predators, heights, danger
Snakes, bears, fire |
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Learned Fear
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: Something that has happended personally that creates a fear response not previously there
Dog bite, Gun fire |
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Bodily responses to Fear (3 types)
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Widening eyes and dilated pupils, so your eyes can take in more light and get the most information about what’s happening
Sweating palms. When you’re afraid, your sympathetic nervous system and epinephrine secretion from your adrenal glands kick in, acting on your sweat glands Tightening of muscles. Muscles are tightened and shot full of oxygen because of the body’s anticipation of a fight-or -flight response |
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Amygdala
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Fight, fear
amplifies attention to evolutionary significant forms of information Facial expressions, emotions, feelings Judging other’s expression |
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Hippocampus
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analyzes situation fight or flight
mamillian brain |
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Romantic Love
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Dopamine, similar to pain
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Benefits of Control
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Resource are social, biological, and physical
Men often have exclusive access to resources and exclusive access to women as sexual resources Women benefit from being with a man with resources |
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Sex Differences in Politics
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Benefits men, more to gain; women want stability
Gaining control over people and their resources |
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Mechanisms of Control
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Human ability to form mental representations of situations centered on the self and relationships with people
Form of mental time travel Problem solving Fantasizing about possibilities and strategies Scenario in a bar: Men how to get attention from a woman in a crowd of men Women how to choose which man to select |
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Ingroup vs Outgroup
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Us vs. Them
Involves bias for people and against people Attribution favor ingroup Attribution justify, facilitate, and precede violence in conflict situations Attribution failures to external causes (Not my fault) OR maintaining the illusion of predictable outcomes (I knew this would happen) |
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Working memory
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Ability to take mental representations of information and manipulate these representation
Related past experiences and simulations of potential future states Evolutionary history of past experiences, complex and ever-changing information, social cooperation and competition give unpredictability ( need for control) Rehearse to control possible outcomes better What tactics worked good or bad in past for survival |
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Emotions (5 facts to measure)
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observable feedback for others
expressive confidence Positive expressivity-Expression of positive emotions Negative Expressivity- Expression of negative emotions Impulse intensity- Difficulty of expressing intense emotions Masking- suppression of feelings |
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Feelings
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unobservable feedback to yourself
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Expressive confidence
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act emotions without feeling
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Positive expressivity
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Expression of positive emotions
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Negative Expressivity
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Expression of negative emotions
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Impulse intensity
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Difficulty of expressing intense emotions
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Masking
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Suppression of emotions. Men mask more
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Long term mating
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Mates tend to test each other periodically
Neglect shoes low investment Dependency and possessiveness can take too much energy Selfishness and self centeredness can create conflict Women are sexual deceivers- Men are commitment deceivers |
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Infidelity
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Emotional is more upsetting
83% of women 40% of men Sexual infidelity is more upsetting 17% of women 60% of men Number 1 reason for leaving a marriage Men are most likely to be unfaithful 3 reasons: men can impose their will, infidelity less costly than for a women, high cost of divorce Often use intentionally to get out of marriage Exploited even if just rumor, no actual infidelity |
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Infertility
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39% divorce are to people with no children (26% with 1 kid, 19% with 2 kids, 3% with 4 or more kids)
Children strengthen marriages 75 societies have infertility as a cause for dissolution of marriage Strongly sex linked (often ascribed to one sex more: women) Marriage are no consummated if no kids in several societies Old age linked to low fertility in both sexes Direct failure to provide reproductive resources in relationship Fear of reproductive reallocation to other men |
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Violence Theory
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Evolution has selected for high levels of male violence
Assault, murder, battery Control over resources Control over mates Evolutions says the death penalty will not deter murder Assumes murders are premeditated ( people weigh the outcome/penalty before committing a crime) Assumes death ( execution) is worst possible fate (not reproductive failure) |
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Fight or Flight
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Fight or flight: Hippocampus analyzes situation, message forwarded to hypothalamus, decision made there:
Amygdala-encourages arousal to fight Septum-discourages arousal to fight (flight) Testosterones makes the amygdala response “louder” in the brain, provoking fight response more often Women often attributed with a “tend and befriend” response: blend in with environment, calm and quiet children, build group affiliations |
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Tend and Befriend
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Attributed to women
blend in with environment, calm and quiet children, build group affiliations |
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Social expectations of violence
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Reinforce biological conclusions
Men are overwhelmingly soldiers, executioners, hunters, gang member, workers in slaughterhouses Men are expected to be aggressive, women are supposed to be passive Males have to compete for mates and resources through physical violence or intimidation Evolutions has favored aggeression over timidity for gaining mates |
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Male violence
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Strategy for gaining control
If aggression gains mating opportunities, then those genes will be passes along more often Violence had disadvantage: run risk of injury or death early in life ( no reproduction) Men commit violent crimes more than women at a rate of 3 or 4 to 1 Men who have a tendency towards violence open themselves up to other vulnerabilities Risk taking and competitions often results in accidents, fights, drugs, and alcohol Brain injuries (because of all of the above) can result in more loss of impulse control and violence Males who lack impulse control tend towards: Oppositional defiant disorder, general conduct disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, pathological gambling, pyromania A man is 20x as likely to be killed by another man 1995 US murders 3,329 men convicted 226 women convicted Victims: 3,051 men vs. 508 women Age of most male murderers in their 20s Highest arrest rate for murder is from 18-22 |
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Female violence
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Patterns are different often from men
Male aggression related to testosterones production, female aggression related to cerebral aggression Often indirect aggression: Gossip, rumors, use of third party, looks more moderated, but usually just not as physical in nature Women often see aggression as a loss of control and something to be ashamed of. Shoplifting and Prostitution Tends to be reactive Staying alive theory of female criminality Need to care for children Theft mainly Or violence to Protect themselves or children Battered women’s syndrome Achieve goals or secure resources Better life for children Tied to economic need |
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Public displays of aggression
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Men at the bottom have little to lose and are drawn to violent bravado that is risky and possibly deadly
Killers are likely to be unmarried, unemployed, less educated, and lower socioeconomic class Murders and violent crimes occurs in public Has evolutionary purpose If violence is an evolved strategy, it maintains a credible threat ongoing ability for violence that reinforces power for the individual Violence can be a performance Often being macho or many (usually provoked as non masculine) Largest motive for murder is “altercation of relatively trivial origin: insult, curse, jostling) arguments at sports games, bars, an offhanded remark, insult Evolution says this is NOT trivial because personal altercations were based on threats to prestige and social success Can be a risky strategy: law enforcement |
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Rape
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Rape has been documented in animals: fruit flies, crickets, guppies, snow geese, tree shrews, right whales, big horn sheep
Rape in Primates: rhesus monkeys, spider monkeys, gorillas, orangutan, chimpanzees Homosexual rape in prison: most men deny they performed a homosexual act, it is an act of male-male aggression Heterosexual rape: unconscious reproductive strategy enacted by males who have low probability of reproductive success Men display sexual arousal to consenting and non-consenting situations (exposed in studies to images and video) |
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Sexual harassment
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Motivated by access to short term mating
Most complains filed by women, most complaints filed against men Victims are disproportionately young, physically attractive, and single Single women are thought to more receptive to advances Study: 63% of women insulted by advance, 17% of women flattered, 15% of men insulted by advances, 67% flattered |
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Social expectations of violence
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Reinforce biological conclusions
Men are overwhelmingly soldiers, executioners, hunters, gang member, workers in slaughterhouses Men are expected to be aggressive, women are supposed to be passive Males have to compete for mates and resources through physical violence or intimidation Evolutions has favored aggeression over timidity for gaining mates |
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Sexual withholding
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Sexual teasing and leading a man and then turning him off, being cold and distant sexually, declining sexual requests.
Possible allocation of sexual resources to other man Mainly a woman’s strategy and source of conflict Used because: Selective allocation of sex increases the value Scarce resource Encourages commitment by men to get sex |
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Male violence
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Strategy for gaining control
If aggression gains mating opportunities, then those genes will be passes along more often Violence had disadvantage: run risk of injury or death early in life ( no reproduction) Men commit violent crimes more than women at a rate of 3 or 4 to 1 Men who have a tendency towards violence open themselves up to other vulnerabilities Risk taking and competitions often results in accidents, fights, drugs, and alcohol Brain injuries (because of all of the above) can result in more loss of impulse control and violence Males who lack impulse control tend towards: Oppositional defiant disorder, general conduct disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, pathological gambling, pyromania A man is 20x as likely to be killed by another man 1995 US murders 3,329 men convicted 226 women convicted Victims: 3,051 men vs. 508 women Age of most male murderers in their 20s Highest arrest rate for murder is from 18-22 |
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Incest
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Considered taboo in almost every country/culture
Widespread prohibition reflects biological consequences: genetically disadvantaged offspring Mother son incest is rarer than Father daughter incest |
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Female violence
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Patterns are different often from men
Male aggression related to testosterones production, female aggression related to cerebral aggression Often indirect aggression: Gossip, rumors, use of third party, looks more moderated, but usually just not as physical in nature Women often see aggression as a loss of control and something to be ashamed of. Shoplifting and Prostitution Tends to be reactive Staying alive theory of female criminality Need to care for children Theft mainly Or violence to Protect themselves or children Battered women’s syndrome Achieve goals or secure resources Better life for children Tied to economic need |
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Violent husbands
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Women and children may benefit by staying with a wealthy, abusive husband by utilizing resources
Men’s aggression towards their partner sometimes increases their victim’s emotional attachment Evolution tells us that at least the man is sticking around to parent the children Brutish men breed brutish sons and daughters and it continues on Violent men may continue to be produced and continue to force themselves on non-consenting women to continue their genes |
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Public displays of aggression
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Men at the bottom have little to lose and are drawn to violent bravado that is risky and possibly deadly
Killers are likely to be unmarried, unemployed, less educated, and lower socioeconomic class Murders and violent crimes occurs in public Has evolutionary purpose If violence is an evolved strategy, it maintains a credible threat ongoing ability for violence that reinforces power for the individual Violence can be a performance Often being macho or many (usually provoked as non masculine) Largest motive for murder is “altercation of relatively trivial origin: insult, curse, jostling) arguments at sports games, bars, an offhanded remark, insult Evolution says this is NOT trivial because personal altercations were based on threats to prestige and social success Can be a risky strategy: law enforcement |
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Adultery
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Husband’s extra-marital affairs often more socially acceptable
Historically adultery is viewed as a crime against men (against the betrayed husband)… so it is usually the woman’s crime that is in fact a crime (not the man) Adulterous man may impregnate the mistress but unless she is married, no man is short changed. If a man is forced into cuckoldry, he will unknowingly raise something else’s child |
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Rape
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Rape has been documented in animals: fruit flies, crickets, guppies, snow geese, tree shrews, right whales, big horn sheep
Rape in Primates: rhesus monkeys, spider monkeys, gorillas, orangutan, chimpanzees Homosexual rape in prison: most men deny they performed a homosexual act, it is an act of male-male aggression Heterosexual rape: unconscious reproductive strategy enacted by males who have low probability of reproductive success Men display sexual arousal to consenting and non-consenting situations (exposed in studies to images and video) |
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Sexual harassment
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Motivated by access to short term mating
Most complains filed by women, most complaints filed against men Victims are disproportionately young, physically attractive, and single Single women are thought to more receptive to advances Study: 63% of women insulted by advance, 17% of women flattered, 15% of men insulted by advances, 67% flattered |
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Sexual withholding
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Sexual teasing and leading a man and then turning him off, being cold and distant sexually, declining sexual requests.
Possible allocation of sexual resources to other man Mainly a woman’s strategy and source of conflict Used because: Selective allocation of sex increases the value Scarce resource Encourages commitment by men to get sex |
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Incest
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Considered taboo in almost every country/culture
Widespread prohibition reflects biological consequences: genetically disadvantaged offspring Mother son incest is rarer than Father daughter incest |
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Social expectations of violence
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Reinforce biological conclusions
Men are overwhelmingly soldiers, executioners, hunters, gang member, workers in slaughterhouses Men are expected to be aggressive, women are supposed to be passive Males have to compete for mates and resources through physical violence or intimidation Evolutions has favored aggeression over timidity for gaining mates |
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Violent husbands
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Women and children may benefit by staying with a wealthy, abusive husband by utilizing resources
Men’s aggression towards their partner sometimes increases their victim’s emotional attachment Evolution tells us that at least the man is sticking around to parent the children Brutish men breed brutish sons and daughters and it continues on Violent men may continue to be produced and continue to force themselves on non-consenting women to continue their genes |
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Male violence
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Strategy for gaining control
If aggression gains mating opportunities, then those genes will be passes along more often Violence had disadvantage: run risk of injury or death early in life ( no reproduction) Men commit violent crimes more than women at a rate of 3 or 4 to 1 Men who have a tendency towards violence open themselves up to other vulnerabilities Risk taking and competitions often results in accidents, fights, drugs, and alcohol Brain injuries (because of all of the above) can result in more loss of impulse control and violence Males who lack impulse control tend towards: Oppositional defiant disorder, general conduct disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, pathological gambling, pyromania A man is 20x as likely to be killed by another man 1995 US murders 3,329 men convicted 226 women convicted Victims: 3,051 men vs. 508 women Age of most male murderers in their 20s Highest arrest rate for murder is from 18-22 |
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Adultery
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Husband’s extra-marital affairs often more socially acceptable
Historically adultery is viewed as a crime against men (against the betrayed husband)… so it is usually the woman’s crime that is in fact a crime (not the man) Adulterous man may impregnate the mistress but unless she is married, no man is short changed. If a man is forced into cuckoldry, he will unknowingly raise something else’s child |
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Female violence
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Patterns are different often from men
Male aggression related to testosterones production, female aggression related to cerebral aggression Often indirect aggression: Gossip, rumors, use of third party, looks more moderated, but usually just not as physical in nature Women often see aggression as a loss of control and something to be ashamed of. Shoplifting and Prostitution Tends to be reactive Staying alive theory of female criminality Need to care for children Theft mainly Or violence to Protect themselves or children Battered women’s syndrome Achieve goals or secure resources Better life for children Tied to economic need |
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Public displays of aggression
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Men at the bottom have little to lose and are drawn to violent bravado that is risky and possibly deadly
Killers are likely to be unmarried, unemployed, less educated, and lower socioeconomic class Murders and violent crimes occurs in public Has evolutionary purpose If violence is an evolved strategy, it maintains a credible threat ongoing ability for violence that reinforces power for the individual Violence can be a performance Often being macho or many (usually provoked as non masculine) Largest motive for murder is “altercation of relatively trivial origin: insult, curse, jostling) arguments at sports games, bars, an offhanded remark, insult Evolution says this is NOT trivial because personal altercations were based on threats to prestige and social success Can be a risky strategy: law enforcement |
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Rape
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Rape has been documented in animals: fruit flies, crickets, guppies, snow geese, tree shrews, right whales, big horn sheep
Rape in Primates: rhesus monkeys, spider monkeys, gorillas, orangutan, chimpanzees Homosexual rape in prison: most men deny they performed a homosexual act, it is an act of male-male aggression Heterosexual rape: unconscious reproductive strategy enacted by males who have low probability of reproductive success Men display sexual arousal to consenting and non-consenting situations (exposed in studies to images and video) |
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Sexual harassment
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Motivated by access to short term mating
Most complains filed by women, most complaints filed against men Victims are disproportionately young, physically attractive, and single Single women are thought to more receptive to advances Study: 63% of women insulted by advance, 17% of women flattered, 15% of men insulted by advances, 67% flattered |
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Sexual withholding
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Sexual teasing and leading a man and then turning him off, being cold and distant sexually, declining sexual requests.
Possible allocation of sexual resources to other man Mainly a woman’s strategy and source of conflict Used because: Selective allocation of sex increases the value Scarce resource Encourages commitment by men to get sex |
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Incest
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Considered taboo in almost every country/culture
Widespread prohibition reflects biological consequences: genetically disadvantaged offspring Mother son incest is rarer than Father daughter incest |
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Violent husbands
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Women and children may benefit by staying with a wealthy, abusive husband by utilizing resources
Men’s aggression towards their partner sometimes increases their victim’s emotional attachment Evolution tells us that at least the man is sticking around to parent the children Brutish men breed brutish sons and daughters and it continues on Violent men may continue to be produced and continue to force themselves on non-consenting women to continue their genes |
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Adultery
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Husband’s extra-marital affairs often more socially acceptable
Historically adultery is viewed as a crime against men (against the betrayed husband)… so it is usually the woman’s crime that is in fact a crime (not the man) Adulterous man may impregnate the mistress but unless she is married, no man is short changed. If a man is forced into cuckoldry, he will unknowingly raise something else’s child |
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Social expectations of violence
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Reinforce biological conclusions
Men are overwhelmingly soldiers, executioners, hunters, gang member, workers in slaughterhouses Men are expected to be aggressive, women are supposed to be passive Males have to compete for mates and resources through physical violence or intimidation Evolutions has favored aggeression over timidity for gaining mates |
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Male violence
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Strategy for gaining control
If aggression gains mating opportunities, then those genes will be passes along more often Violence had disadvantage: run risk of injury or death early in life ( no reproduction) Men commit violent crimes more than women at a rate of 3 or 4 to 1 Men who have a tendency towards violence open themselves up to other vulnerabilities Risk taking and competitions often results in accidents, fights, drugs, and alcohol Brain injuries (because of all of the above) can result in more loss of impulse control and violence Males who lack impulse control tend towards: Oppositional defiant disorder, general conduct disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, pathological gambling, pyromania A man is 20x as likely to be killed by another man 1995 US murders 3,329 men convicted 226 women convicted Victims: 3,051 men vs. 508 women Age of most male murderers in their 20s Highest arrest rate for murder is from 18-22 |
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Female violence
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Patterns are different often from men
Male aggression related to testosterones production, female aggression related to cerebral aggression Often indirect aggression: Gossip, rumors, use of third party, looks more moderated, but usually just not as physical in nature Women often see aggression as a loss of control and something to be ashamed of. Shoplifting and Prostitution Tends to be reactive Staying alive theory of female criminality Need to care for children Theft mainly Or violence to Protect themselves or children Battered women’s syndrome Achieve goals or secure resources Better life for children Tied to economic need |
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Public displays of aggression
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Men at the bottom have little to lose and are drawn to violent bravado that is risky and possibly deadly
Killers are likely to be unmarried, unemployed, less educated, and lower socioeconomic class Murders and violent crimes occurs in public Has evolutionary purpose If violence is an evolved strategy, it maintains a credible threat ongoing ability for violence that reinforces power for the individual Violence can be a performance Often being macho or many (usually provoked as non masculine) Largest motive for murder is “altercation of relatively trivial origin: insult, curse, jostling) arguments at sports games, bars, an offhanded remark, insult Evolution says this is NOT trivial because personal altercations were based on threats to prestige and social success Can be a risky strategy: law enforcement |
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Rape
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Rape has been documented in animals: fruit flies, crickets, guppies, snow geese, tree shrews, right whales, big horn sheep
Rape in Primates: rhesus monkeys, spider monkeys, gorillas, orangutan, chimpanzees Homosexual rape in prison: most men deny they performed a homosexual act, it is an act of male-male aggression Heterosexual rape: unconscious reproductive strategy enacted by males who have low probability of reproductive success Men display sexual arousal to consenting and non-consenting situations (exposed in studies to images and video) |
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Sexual harassment
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Motivated by access to short term mating
Most complains filed by women, most complaints filed against men Victims are disproportionately young, physically attractive, and single Single women are thought to more receptive to advances Study: 63% of women insulted by advance, 17% of women flattered, 15% of men insulted by advances, 67% flattered |
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Sexual withholding
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Sexual teasing and leading a man and then turning him off, being cold and distant sexually, declining sexual requests.
Possible allocation of sexual resources to other man Mainly a woman’s strategy and source of conflict Used because: Selective allocation of sex increases the value Scarce resource Encourages commitment by men to get sex |
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Incest
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Considered taboo in almost every country/culture
Widespread prohibition reflects biological consequences: genetically disadvantaged offspring Mother son incest is rarer than Father daughter incest |
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Violent husbands
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Women and children may benefit by staying with a wealthy, abusive husband by utilizing resources
Men’s aggression towards their partner sometimes increases their victim’s emotional attachment Evolution tells us that at least the man is sticking around to parent the children Brutish men breed brutish sons and daughters and it continues on Violent men may continue to be produced and continue to force themselves on non-consenting women to continue their genes |
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Adultery
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Husband’s extra-marital affairs often more socially acceptable
Historically adultery is viewed as a crime against men (against the betrayed husband)… so it is usually the woman’s crime that is in fact a crime (not the man) Adulterous man may impregnate the mistress but unless she is married, no man is short changed. If a man is forced into cuckoldry, he will unknowingly raise something else’s child |
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Murdering a spouse
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Most cases are out of jealousy and a response to a wife’s real or imagined infidelity
Until 1974 in Texas: homicides were legal if committed by husband upon the person of anyone taken in the act of adultery with the wife, provided the act takes place before the parties to the act have separated (the act is literally in progress) Common for a man to pursue and kill a separated or estranged wife Rarely do women kill their husbands Seems biologically maladaptive Three reasons for it: Weak and ineffectual men are held in low regard and this empowers them If there are multiple wives, this is a major statement to the rest of the wives It is biologically problematic for a man to raise someone else’s child and results in a need to take back control |
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Violence
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Abandonment of children by parents
Mothers less likely to abandon or kill their children Children of divorce more often stay with mothers Women’s reproductive strategy says she will remain invested in those offspring Male reproductive strategy says he can continue to have more children by investing in second mate that is younger 40 year old male can produce 20 more children in lifetime Mother’s commitment to children often allows fathers to neglect them more |
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Infanticide
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Natural selection has favored Infanticide
Hormones like testosterone may be involved Infants and children who do not live with both biological parents face 40 to 100 times a greater chance of being injured or killed within the family Most often it is stepparents of strangers with whom the killer has no genetic connection (often to further their own genetic success) |
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Testosterone's role
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Testosterones makes the amygdala response “louder” in the brain, provoking fight response more often
Testosterones decreases fear and increases risk-taking in both men and women Testosterone levels high in women who have long criminal records or been declared dangerous by parole boards |
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Maternal Homicide
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Young mothers most common to kill their young- more reproductive potential still ahead of them
Older mothers kill defective children most often to reserve resources for those most likely to benefit from them Biological parents very rarely kill their own children. When they do- they get lots of press like Susan Smith or Andrea yates |
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Homosexuality
Kin Altruism theory |
Homosexuals increase their reproductive fitness by investing in genetic relatives (nieces/nephews)
No mate, so invest where it counts Homosexual men have greater empathy Often later in birth order Problem: why not asexual, you need a partner to be homosexual |
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Alliance Formation Theory
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Homoerotic behavior strengthens same sex bonds
Valuable relationships Better for younger, lesser ranked males Guarantees resources, protection, status boost, better access to women Problems: same sex alliance does not require sex, only sexual behaviors, and does not explain exclusive homosexual behaviors |
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Nice guy theory
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Homosexuality is a by-product of genes that have another function (feminine traits like empathy)
Good guy traits make you more appealing to women (better parents and providers) Complex gene process in spectrum of men and characteristic expression Genes lead heterosexual men to greater fitness Genes pass on because women select for it leading to concentration of genes and homosexuality Problems: Why not be masculine heterosexual with kindness, and fails to explain lesbians |
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Pre/Protocultural behaviors
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Primate homosexuality
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Homosexuality
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Presence or absence of testosterone (as prenatal hormones) builds structure in the brain in 3 stages for male or female identity
1. development of sex centers (physical characteristics) 2. mating center in hypothalamus (low male hormones, you like men; high male hormones, you like women) 3. gender roles center-acting feminine or masculine (if differs from physical sex then effeminate or tomboy) Hormone imbalance can lead to things like straight, effeminate male or effeminate homosexual) No single gay gene, but a possibility of a multiple gene effect May affect hormones, enzymes that modify hormones, or receptors on hormone producing cells Mutations vs. Continuation through mating Women likely to choose nurturing men as mates Men with biological older brothers are more likely to be gay. Most often males 2nd or later in birth order May have something to do with prenatal environment and antibodies/immune response to testosterone Also higher # of gay males born in times of stress (like war) Cortisol (stress hormone) may compete with testosterone in the womb preventing it from getting to the fetus |
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Primate Homosexuality
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Chimpanzees and Bonobos
Both engage in same-sex open mouth kissing. Bonobos have been seen using tongue in male-male kissing Bonobos also have specific arm positions that signal same-sex behaviors Rump rubbing, manual stimulation, genital inspection, kissing or licking of genital, masturbation and other behaviors all observed. Chimps use tolls to masturbate like stones, sticks, leaves, etc. Gorillas Females create pair friendships, constant touching, grooming, fondle genitals in face to face positioning (uncommon in heterosexual) Young males do have homosexual encounters in small groups of all males and it involves mounting and thrusting, most males mount each other but only Silverbacks are not mounted. Orangutans Young, adolescent males perform anal intercourse or fellatio (oral) Females will stimulate each other with their fingers All less violent than heterosexual encounters Gibbon Father/son interactions that includes grooming, play, and rubbing of penises together in a face to face position If the son ejaculates on him, the father will often eat it. Siamang Same as Gibbon, but brothers will often join in as well, nibbling on groin area and penis of usually younger brother Baboon Homosexual male mounting, including ejaculation, masturbating each other, and often play fighting Usually perform diddling, which is touching or pulling on the other’s penis and fondling the scrotum. Often dominance displays Sometimes with chimps from other troops when conquered Diffuse tense social situations Gain an advantage Make allies Barter for food |
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Female orgasm theories
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What do we know about the female orgasm?
Not necessary for conception Often Analogous to male nipples (because of design from start as female development) No hard evidence of female primates having an orgasm during intercourse (only alternative stimulation) Female orgasm is highly variable (from person to person, and culture to culture) Hedonistic Hypothesis: Women can and want to experience orgasm and it encourages sex (explains why women like sex) Mr. Right Hypothesis: Orgasm is a method for choosing the right mate. If he works to secure female pleasure, he may stick around to raise children Paternity Confidence Hypothesis: The presence of a female orgasm provides confidence to the partner of her commitment. Paternity Confusion Hypothesis: Female orgasm may promote promiscuity and secure connections with multiple males giving her benefits Sperm Retention Hypothesis: Female orgasm may draw more sperm into the cervix and uterus. Women’s bodies eject 35% of sperm within 30 mins, if there is a female orgasm then she ejects only 30% Women report more orgasms with men who are symmetrical Remember: what does symmetry signal? Orgasm is not linked always to greater love by women or men for their partner Women have more frequent sperm retention orgasms with lovers than with husbands |
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Menopause
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Humans live beyond their reproductive years (about 30-40% of their lifetime)
Most other mammals only live for 10% or less of their life span in post-reproductive years. Women begin puberty about 2 years before, but reproductive capacity ends 20-30 years before men’s. Why would we have menopause and pose-reproductive years? |
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Grandmother hypothesis
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Female adaptation to shift from parenting to other forms of investing in kin
Acquired wisdom and knowledge are useful menopause |
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Accidents
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Higher frequency of men and boys dying and becoming injured in accidents
Boys: 2x the likelihood of near drowning & 4x the likelihood of drowning More boys are injured or killed while riding bicycles, playing on recreational equipment, and during unorganized and unsupervised athletics For every 1 girl injured on a playground, 4 boys are. For every 1 girl injured with a serious burn, 3 boys sustain and equally bad burn (like fireworks) Traffic fatalities, including pedestrians increase in late teens, early 20’s Because of risk-taking behaviors and frequency of rough and tumble behaviors in play |
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General intelligence
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Measured by IQ
There is no general sex difference in scores, just distribution of scores Study: 1,296 opposite sex twins: small male advantage in IQ score, more brothers than sisters at the high AND low end For top 2%, brothers outnumbered sister 2 to 1 |
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Reading
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Females have a modest but consistent advantage
Females use both hemispheres of the brain during language processing and comprehension Females read more than males, and about romance and relationship themed materials Males read about politics, competitions and technical matters |
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Math
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No real differences in general/average
Males: better at geometry and words problems Social sex difference: ratio ales to females at high end of math scores: 13:1 in 1983 and 3:1 today |
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E brain
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Ancestrally adaptive for women
Facilitates mothering, caring for infants Useful for making friends and allies in small camps |
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S Brain
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Ancestrally adaptive for men
Necessary for tool making and weapons No need for empathizing on solitary hunting trips Need for ability to be aggressive if provoked/male competition |
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Politics
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Powerful men have married monogamously and mated polygynously
Wives but also mistresses Usually attain high reproductive success, large amount of offsprings Theory: Men strive to attain political success to gain reproductive success (access to large numbers of women) Politics is the mean, women are the goal |
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Religion
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Religion is not an adaptation but a BY-PRODUCT of other adaptations
Did not evolve so religious people can live longer and reproduce more successfully, but is a result of other unrelated adaptive problems 2 ways to think about unpredictable nature, caused by: Impersonal, inanimate, unintentional forces Personal, animate, intentional forces Evolutionarily, it is good to be wary or paranoid |
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Why are many suicide bomber Muslims?
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Islam tolerates polygyny
Men are left out of mating games more often Increase violence Promise of 72 Virgins for the martyr Motivation for some form of reproductive success, even in after life Nearly all suicide bombers are single men Think about other historical examples of suicide bombers. Is this still true |
