Psychology- role of evolution and natural selection in explaining human behavior

According to evolutionary theory why would females be less aggressive?

Due to the lack of evolutionary advantage of being aggressive.

What is evolutionary theory?

Evolution is a gradual development or change that occurs to living organisms to enable them to adapt to the environment in which they live which ensures their survival.

1. weakness

Evolutionary theory is difficult to falsify- as the theory is developed based on the supporting evidence it is difficult to observe instances that would provide evidence that would suggest it to be false.

What explains why women are more emotionally aggressive according to EEA?

Females spend a lot of time being pregnant and looking after young children which helps explain why females tend to be more emotionally and verbally aggressive by denigrating other females than physically aggressive to other.

What is evolution a product of?

Product of national selection which suggests that the organisms that best adapt to their surroundings are more likely to survive and pas son their genes to future generations.

1. strength

Proposed by Charles Darwin, considered to be scientific to be scientific explanation of human behavior as it is based on a careful examination of fossils of numerous specials found and analyzed by scientists giving it scientific credibility.

2. weakness

Reductionist as it suggests that aggression has evolved naturally as a response to the environmental demands and ignores other factors such as people's cognition and personality and how these may lead to aggressive behaviors.

2. strength

Supporting evidence such as Mazur's show the link between testosterone levels and aggression. He found inter-male fighting tends to happen around puberty, which then declines, as they grow older.

What do evolutionary psychologists believe?

That the mind had also evolved in the same way. They were particularly interested in studying genotypes (the ways in which our genes govern our behavior) and phenotypes (the ways in our genes interact with the environment).

According to evolutionary theory what has caused males to act more aggressively?

The competition for mates has driven males to behave more aggressively.

What would be the outcome of males who were aggressive in threat situations?

They would have an advantage over non-aggressive one's, as they would be prepared to attack other males in order to protect and provide for their families.

What does the EEA (evolutionary explanation of aggression) suggest?

ales who were successful at mating and passing on their genes were physically bigger and stronger which allowed them to protect and feed their mate and offspring