The Evolutionary Drive Is Sexual Selection

Scientists have suggested that biological characteristics of males predispose them towards certain behavior and statistical evidence exists to support these ideas. Blum examined crime reports in the United States and Europe and noted that men commit ten to fifteen times as many robberies as women (459). She also noted that for those robberies men were twice as likely to use a gun while committing the crime. Daly and Wilson present homicide rates for men and women in their article “Darwinism and the Roots of Machismo.” They found that in the United States, Canada, and England over a time period spanning 15 to 20 years, men committed 10 to 30 times as many homicides as women. Based on these statistics it is clear

Violence take multiple forms, many of which are covered in the nightly news. Murder, rape, familial abuse, bullying, workplace hostility, armed robbery—all of these are societal problems with far-reaching repercussions. There have long debates and discussions regarding whether nature or nurture influences individual violent behavior. People are concerned about what makes an individual to engage in violent behavior such murder or burglary among other types of crimes. They are also concerned about what makes people stop such behavior. However, there is no precise conception whether nature, nurture or both influence violence. Some people assume that, violent behavior results from individual’s life experiences or upbringing also known as nurture. Others feel that violent behavior is more complex and results from individual’s genetic character or nature. In other words, it is not clear whether violent behavior is inborn or occurs at some point in persons’ lives, but even it’s hard, emphasizing one and ignoring other influences is always an unwise way to go.

In honor killings, most of the women are killed on the basis of an illicit relationship as specified by their partner or family. Sometimes the killings are carried out for ridiculously pathetic reasons such as failing to serve a meal on time can be seen as a stain on family honor and can lead to woman’s death. In modern time, where the world is revolving around technological advances and the independence of women and gender equality, honor killings have exceeded and are more rampant. While India is indeed a prominent exception to Islam 's near domination on contemporary honor killing cases in the world, Hindu honor killings in India are of different form and command from those of Islamic honor killings. Though no less gruesome, the honor killings in India are mostly confined to the northern states of India. Besides, as Phyllis Chesler and Nathan Bloom state these killings are “perpetuated by sociocultural factors largely specific to India.” As mentioned earlier, in India, honor killing cases are not just limited to women, but they are also extended to men. However, in Pakistan and other Islamic countries, majority of honor killing cases are usually related to female victims, there are hardly any cases of male victims. In India, some of the major motives behind these atrocities are caste-specific motives such as “immoral character” and non-caste-specific illicit relationships. In Pakistan and other Islamic countries, caste purity is not a concern, the motivation behind

Modern biology is focused more on understanding behavior, like violence and crime, through research on indicators and influences. Rather than attempting to determine a single root cause, researchers are discovering markers of predisposition and identifying factors of risk. In a recent interview about his new book, The Anatomy of Violence: The Biological Roots of Crime, criminologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Adrian Raine asserts that there is a “biology of violence” that should not be ignored; “Just as there’s a biological basis for schizophrenia and anxiety disorders and depression… there’s a biological basis also to recidivistic violent offending” (Gross, 2013).

Data consistently shows that Southern U.S. has higher violent-crime rates than other regions of the United States (Anderson, 2001). The heat hypothesis and the southern culture of honor hypothesis are among the many explanations for the high violence rates in the south. The heat hypothesis claims, heat increases aggressive behaviors (Anderson, 2001). However, Baron and Bell tested the hypothesis and found contradicting results. They found, high heat reduces aggression if there are other discomforting factors involved. Accordingly, Baron and Bell found, aggression increase if heat is the only discomforting variable upon a person. Cohen tested the southern “culture of honor” and found significance in the explanation. He states, crimes rates

Sexual selection was an idea proposed by Darwin and refers to the process in which males and females attempt to maximize their chances of reproductive success. Within a species there are certain characteristics that make individuals attractive to potential mates. An example of this is in peacocks, female peacocks are attracted to males with long brightly colored tails, even though this makes them easier to be spotted by predators. This characteristic then evolves within the species due to how males with this characteristic have a higher chance of reproductive success and their characteristics being passed on to surviving offspring.

This documentary specifies that there is no easy answer to what is going on inside the mind of killers, and we cannot simply place these individuals into “neat diagnostic boxes” that explain why their actions turned so violent. However, the investigators present research studying different avenues regarding ways to “predict” the likelihood that an individual will commit violent crime, will maintaining that no method is perfect. Throughout the presentation, viewers are offered mountains of research highlighting a mix of nature and nurture ranging from neurologists from Harvard studying brain patterns affected by genetics, to psychologists studying maternal care and attachment during infancy.

Evolutionary history effects more than just genetic behaviour level. It also effects how society socializes its members. Males –despite having the innate behaviors and perspectives on relationships— experience socialization that, in essence, reinforces gender differences in perspectives and behavior. From early childhood up until adulthood, the individual is bombarded with a plethora of advertisments that portray males as more aggressive (Henslin p. 78). In television male newscasters turn female athletes into sexual objects (78). And socialization is not limited to the media. It begins in the home –within the family. In an experiment performed by Goldberg and Lewis, Mothers were more less likely to keep their boys

The most interesting thing that I have learned in this course was Barnhill’s argument that it is alright for a male to be pushy in order to pursue a potential lover (Barnhill, 92). I found this concept interesting in the sense that I at first could agree with the argument that being pushy can benefit the development relationship since it allows for attention to be gained during the initiation phase. However, I don’t believe that it is the right type of attention because it leaves the woman with a bad impression of the male since their attempt to create a closer relations makes them feel as if their boundaries are violated. In this essay, I will be arguing how I disagree with Barnhill’s argument that it’s morally right to be pushy because I find that this action is manipulative and morally wrong. I then will go on to discuss how it is morally wrong to allow males to

It is also likely for psychological factors to influence the likelihood of committing honor-based violence. For instance, those who do commit honor crimes tend to show a certain type of moral reasoning. Many

Sexual selection can best be described by the definition given by Darwin himself. Sexual selection is “the advantage which certain individuals have over other individuals of the same species solely in respect of reproduction” (Hosken et al, 2011). Sexual selection occurs throughout the animal kingdom, where male frogs dominate through the depth of their croak, and certain peacocks reign superior based on the colour and intricate detail on their tails. They remain superior to their lesser counterparts as they bear more admirable characteristics, from which they are chosen by females of the same species.

The main debate amongst the explanation is the key motivation that drives the offender to commit rape. Previously, majority of social scientists’ perspective of rape is seen as a sexually motivated crime; for instance, males are given the opportunity to fulfil their sexual desires that cannot be met legally, thus

Part of the evolutionary explanation is Trivers’ parental investment theory which argues that the origin of behavioural differences between men and women lies in the different ways of achieving reproductive success. Trivers

The Anatomy of Violence presents the latest findings in the field of biological psychology and human behavior, focusing on brain chemistry, as it relates to human behavior, and offers great insight on how brains of those who commit acts of violence or crime differ from those who do not. Mr. Raine provides solid scientific data regarding the ways in which brain chemistry differs and how injuries can alter personality using medical MRI and fMRI and various neurotransmitter studies. A clear connection between human biology and behavior emerges, bringing

According to a study undertaken by Lewis and Brown (2004), men have an innate preference to be in a relationship with women who are less dominant and conform more to traditional gender roles. This is believed to stem from early human history, where men wished to ensure their genes were carried forward to the next generation. One way to ensure this would have been to find a woman who is less dominant and therefore easier to have influence over. The female offspring from such a union would also have a better chance of ensuring submissive women for future generations (Lewis & Brown, 2004).