Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T18:20:23.324Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The evolutionarily mismatched nature of modern group makeup and the proposed application of such knowledge on promoting unity among members during times of intergroup conflict

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2019

Jiaqing O*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Aberystwyth University, Ceredigion SY23 3UX, United Kingdom. ojthehuman@gmail.comhttps://www.aber.ac.uk/en/psychology/staff-profiles/listing/profile/jio2

Abstract

Many modern-day groups differ from prehistoric ones regarding the proportion of members who are related to any particular individual. From an evolutionary mismatch lens, an appreciation of this disparity could help better explain the potential dilution of group cohesion during peacetime and inform novel, more effective approaches to enhancing group unity – strategies that might enhance national security around the globe.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Dunbar, R. I. (1993) Coevolution of neocortical size, group size and language in humans. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 16:681–94.Google Scholar
Griskevicius, V., Cantú, S. M. & Vugt, M. V. (2012) The evolutionary bases for sustainable behavior: Implications for marketing, policy, and social entrepreneurship. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 31:115–28.Google Scholar
Hamilton, W. D. (1964a) The genetical evolution of social behavior: I. Journal of Theoretical Biology 7:116.Google Scholar
Hamilton, W. D. (1964b) The genetical evolution of social behavior: II. Journal of Theoretical Biology 7:1752.Google Scholar
Hill, K. R., Walker, R. S., Božičević, M., Eder, J., Headland, T., Hewlett, B., Hurtado, A. M., Marlowe, F., Wiessner, P. & Wood, B. (2011) Co-residence patterns in hunter-gatherer societies show unique human social structure. Science 331:1286–89.Google Scholar
Hughes, A. L. (1988) Evolution and human kinship. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Li, N. P., Lim, A. J. Y., Tsai, M.-H. & O, J. (2015) Too materialistic to get married and have children? PLoS One 10:e0126543.Google Scholar
O, J. (2018a) Learned helplessness from an evolutionary mismatch perspective. In: Encyclopedia of evolutionary psychological science, ed. Shackelford, T. K. & Weekes-Shackelford, V. A.. Springer Nature.Google Scholar
O, J. (2018b) Self-efficacy, animal phobias and evolutionary mismatch. In: Encyclopedia of evolutionary psychological science, ed. Shackelford, T. K. & Weekes-Shackelford, V. A.. Springer Nature.Google Scholar