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Evolutionary and neuroendocrine foundations of human aggression
Amar Sarkar1, Richard W Wrangham1
1Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
|April 1, 2023
Summary
Human behavior is paradoxical, showing both peace and violence. A social evolutionary theory explains this by linking aggression to groupishness, self-domestication, and social norms, supported by neuroendocrine mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Human behavior
- Neuroendocrinology
Background:
- Humans exhibit a behavioral paradox, displaying both peacefulness and high rates of lethal aggression towards conspecifics.
- Existing theories struggle to reconcile these opposing behaviors within a unified framework.
Purpose of the Study:
- To resolve the human behavioral paradox by proposing a social evolutionary theory of aggression.
- To explain the unique profile of human aggression, characterized by low reactive and coercive tendencies alongside high proactive aggression, particularly coalitionary forms.
Main Methods:
- Development of a social evolutionary theory integrating concepts of groupishness, self-domestication, and social norms.
- Examination of the neuroendocrine underpinnings of aggression, focusing on social signaling molecules.
Main Results:
- Human aggression is theorized as a product of specific evolutionary pressures, resulting in a distinct aggression profile.
- This profile necessitates significant plasticity in evolved biological mechanisms governing aggression.
Conclusions:
- The proposed theory reconciles human peacefulness and violence through an evolutionary lens.
- Social signaling molecules like testosterone, cortisol, oxytocin, vasopressin, serotonin, and dopamine provide the neuroendocrine basis for this behavioral plasticity.
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