Evolution, jealousy and violent crime against women

“Perhaps the most dangerous human a woman will encounter in her lifetime is her own romantic partner.” (Duntley, 2005)

Violence against women 28% of women (18% M) have been targets of intimate partner violence (BCS, 2005) 20% of UK violent crime is domestic abuse (635,000 reports/year); 80% of offenders male In >50% of cases women are repeatedly victimised 2 women a week are killed by their intimate partner

Evolutionary psychology may be able to explain why men direct so much violence against women. – What are the main ideas of evolution? – How do they apply to psychology?

Evolutionary Psychology Thinking, emotion and behaviour are shaped by genes – Genes that promote (1) survival; (2) successful reproduction are more likely to be passed on to next generation – Population ends up with particular ways of thinking, feeling and acting because of evolutionary pressures

Reproductive Strategy Humans are sexually dimorphic – female and male are different. – What are the reproductive differences between men and women?

Reproductive Strategy Women Large egg, 1-2 per month, 350ish in lifetime Embryo and infant are dependant Men Small sperm, 180,000,000 per ejaculation Does not carry embryo or feed infant

Reproductive Strategy Women Relatively few opportunities and high investment of energy in each so... Choose carefully, the highest quality mate available Ensure that mate invests resources in you Men Many opportunities and low investment of energy in each so... Reproduce indiscriminately; have lots of children

Reproductive Strategy Why do women tend to invest more in the children than men?

Mummy’s babies, daddy’s maybes Estimates of misattributed paternity: – Anderson (2005) meta-analysis, studies of general population: 3.9% – Bellis et al (2005) meta-analysis, studies of general population: 3.7% – CSA (2005) cases of disputed paternity only: 16%

How might men’s thinking, feeling & behaviour be shaped by the fact that they cannot guarantee the paternity of their children?

Men’s problems: Vulnerable to sexual infidelity: – Does not know when female is fertile – Does not know baby is his – High risk of investing resources in a child that carries a competitor’s genes Creates selection pressure for Male Sexual Jealousy

Abuse in intimate relationships This account is fairly typical. How would you characterise this behaviour? My ex-boyfriend used to check my phone, tell me what to wear and who I couldn’t be friends with. On one occasion he slapped me in front of his friends because I 'answered him back'. He made me feel really bad about myself and that I was always the one in the wrong. If I did what he said - things would be ok. I wish I’d known then that his behaviour was the problem - not mine. UK 17-year old female, from Morgan (2009)

Abuse in intimate relationships Cumulative and cyclical. Pattern typically starts with man suspecting woman of infidelity or fearing losing control over her. – Risk of abuse increases if woman is young, attractive, near ovulation or pregnant; man has lost status or resources (e.g. lost job) – Accompanied by ‘dropping in’; frequent phone calls; attempts to separate partner from men; filling partner’s time – Rape is a frequent element of abuse in IRs

Danger signals Dropping in unexpectedly Saying ‘I’d die if you ever left me’ or similar Insisting on knowing whereabouts all the time Trying to limit contact with friends

How convinced are you by the evolutionary explanations we have looked at? What are the potential drawbacks of explaining men’s violence against women in evolutionary terms? What alternative explanations can you think of? What sorts of evidence would allow you to decide between explanations?