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lapsedmodernisti was just looking at paper abstracts for the HBES (human behavior and evolutionary society) this year, being held at rutgers, because a bunch of people i know will be presenting, and was a little depressed seeing all these paper abstracts similar to the kind of stuff i thought i was going to work on, and then i saw this abstract by david buss, who, granted, is the most disgusting example of evolutionary psychology, but it just reminded me of why i got the fuck out of UCLA...
Buss, David M. (University of Texas, Austin)
Duntley, Joshua D. (University of Texas, Austin)
Mating Motives for Murder
We propose that murder has evolved as one contextually effective strategy among several to solve several specific adaptive problems posed by mating. These adaptive problems include: (1) terminating mate encroachment by rivals, (2) staunching the reputational damage of cuckoldry, (3) terminating the costs of physical abuse from a mate, (4) terminating the costs of sexual abuse from non-mates, (5) eliminating the costs of stalking by mates or ex-mates, (6) eliminating investments in children whose existence decreases mate value, (7) eliminating the future mating competition of ones offspring, and (8) acquiring additional mates as temporary sex partners or spouses. Empirical support for the existence of predicted design features based on this theory comes from new studies of homicidal ideation (N = 3,000), hypothetical scenarios in which people gauge the likelihood of killing in certain contexts (N = 400), and a study of actual killers (N = 800). The deployment of killing as an effective solution is held in check by the evolution of anti-homicide mechanisms specific to the contexts in which potential victims lives are in danger. Specialized fears, cognitive biases designed to over-perceive threat, specialized mind-reading ability to discern homicidal intent, behavioral precautions, and pre-emptive murder have co-evolved to combat the risks of getting killed in these contexts. Discussion focuses on the menu of evolved solutions to critical adaptive problems posed in the dangerous game of mating.
Keywords: murder, mating, defense, coevolution
Buss, David M. (University of Texas, Austin)
Duntley, Joshua D. (University of Texas, Austin)
Mating Motives for Murder
We propose that murder has evolved as one contextually effective strategy among several to solve several specific adaptive problems posed by mating. These adaptive problems include: (1) terminating mate encroachment by rivals, (2) staunching the reputational damage of cuckoldry, (3) terminating the costs of physical abuse from a mate, (4) terminating the costs of sexual abuse from non-mates, (5) eliminating the costs of stalking by mates or ex-mates, (6) eliminating investments in children whose existence decreases mate value, (7) eliminating the future mating competition of ones offspring, and (8) acquiring additional mates as temporary sex partners or spouses. Empirical support for the existence of predicted design features based on this theory comes from new studies of homicidal ideation (N = 3,000), hypothetical scenarios in which people gauge the likelihood of killing in certain contexts (N = 400), and a study of actual killers (N = 800). The deployment of killing as an effective solution is held in check by the evolution of anti-homicide mechanisms specific to the contexts in which potential victims lives are in danger. Specialized fears, cognitive biases designed to over-perceive threat, specialized mind-reading ability to discern homicidal intent, behavioral precautions, and pre-emptive murder have co-evolved to combat the risks of getting killed in these contexts. Discussion focuses on the menu of evolved solutions to critical adaptive problems posed in the dangerous game of mating.
Keywords: murder, mating, defense, coevolution
