Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- 1 Introduction to evolutionary psychology
- 2 Mechanisms of evolutionary change
- 3 Sexual selection
- 4 The evolution of human mate choice
- 5 Cognitive development and the innateness issue
- 6 Social development
- 7 The evolutionary psychology of social behaviour – kin relationships and conflict
- 8 The evolutionary psychology of social behaviour – reciprocity and group behaviour
- 9 Evolution, thought and cognition
- 10 The evolution of language
- 11 The evolution of emotion
- 12 Evolutionary psychopathology and Darwinian medicine
- 13 Evolutionary psychology and culture
- Glossary
- References
- Index
- References
7 - The evolutionary psychology of social behaviour – kin relationships and conflict
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- 1 Introduction to evolutionary psychology
- 2 Mechanisms of evolutionary change
- 3 Sexual selection
- 4 The evolution of human mate choice
- 5 Cognitive development and the innateness issue
- 6 Social development
- 7 The evolutionary psychology of social behaviour – kin relationships and conflict
- 8 The evolutionary psychology of social behaviour – reciprocity and group behaviour
- 9 Evolution, thought and cognition
- 10 The evolution of language
- 11 The evolution of emotion
- 12 Evolutionary psychopathology and Darwinian medicine
- 13 Evolutionary psychology and culture
- Glossary
- References
- Index
- References
Summary
Key concepts Inclusive fitness, direct and indirect fitness, co-efficient of relatedness, kin altruism, parental investment, parent–offspring conflict, K and r selection, parental manipulation
To many people human behaviour is social behaviour. Linguistic communication is meaningless unless used between at least two people; sex by definition involves more than one person (usually, although not invariably, two); child rearing and sibling relationships are clearly social and most working practices occur in groups. Humans do engage in some solitary activities – reading a book or taking a bath, for example, are not normally social events. But even by primate standards, we are an extremely socially integrated species. So it's not surprising that some evolutionary theorists have suggested that evolutionary psychology may have the greatest impact on social psychology (Archer, 1996; Simpson and Kendrick, 1997). Social behaviour can broadly be divided into pro- and anti-social patterns of response. Both can be found frequently in interactions that involve kin. Social scientists have long sought to explain why such love–hate relationships exist in families. Evolutionary psychologists think they have the answer – to them it's all about maximising inclusive fitness.
Social psychology and evolutionary theory
Social psychology is a well-developed area of psychological enquiry. During the twentieth century social psychologists developed theories to account for, among other things, group conformity, in and out-group stereotyping, inter-group aggression, social concept and attitude formation (Hewstone, Stroebe and Stephenson, 1996). Moreover, it has been very successful in testing these theories in both the lab and field.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Evolutionary PsychologyAn Introduction, pp. 172 - 193Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004